Royal Decree 723/2026: new employer information obligations on essential employment terms and working conditions

Published in the Spanish Official Gazette on 15 September 2026.

The new regulation introduces significant changes to employers’ obligation to provide employees, in writing and prior to the commencement of the employment relationship, with information regarding the employment terms that are deemed “essential” under the legislation. Employees with existing employment contracts may also request this information, and employers will be required to provide it within thirty days.

These obligations apply to employment relationships lasting more than four weeks and cover the following essential terms and conditions:

• The identity of the parties.
• The start date and, where applicable, the end date of the employment relationship.
• The employer’s registered office and the usual place of work.
• The nature of the work to be performed and, in the case of fixed-term employment, the justification for the temporary arrangement, including precise identification of the legal grounds permitting such employment.
• The employee’s professional category or occupational group.
• Remuneration, including basic salary, salary supplements, the method for calculating variable pay elements, and the criteria governing entitlement to such payments.
• Working time arrangements, including:
  • the duration and organisation of working hours;
  • circumstances and procedures for modifying working time or changing shifts;
  • overtime arrangements and the remuneration applicable thereto;
  • annual leave entitlement and the procedure for determining when leave may be taken.

  Where working time is distributed unevenly throughout the year, employers must also provide information regarding the applicable arrangements, minimum notice periods, and periods of activity or inactivity applicable to discontinuous permanent employees.

• The duration and conditions of the probationary period, including express justification where a collective bargaining agreement permits an extension of the probationary period. From a practical perspective, employers are advised to ensure that any decision not to confirm employment following probation is supported by objective reasons.
• The employee’s entitlement to training provided by the employer.
• In the case of agency work arrangements, the identity of the user undertaking and the legal grounds justifying the temporary assignment.
• The use of algorithmic or automated decision-making systems. The regulation places particular emphasis on this issue. Employers must inform employees of the guidelines, criteria and rules governing the use of algorithms or automated systems in employment-related decision-making. This requirement is especially relevant given the increasing role that such systems play in decisions affecting working hours, shifts, task allocation, remuneration, career progression, workplace location and even termination of employment.
• Details of the applicable equality plan and, where relevant, any work-life balance policies exceeding the minimum requirements established by employment legislation, together with information regarding the organisation’s sexual and gender-based harassment prevention protocol.
• LGBTI measures and resources available within the organisation.
• The procedure for termination of employment, including formal requirements and notice periods.
• Identification of the collective bargaining agreement applicable to the employment relationship, including its official registration code, publication details, period of validity and, where relevant, any extended application following expiry.
• The social security collaboration scheme applicable within the organisation, including the relevant mutual insurance entity where applicable.
• The circumstances under which essential employment terms may be modified.

The Royal Decree also establishes specific rules and essential information requirements relating to employment in the fishing sector, seafarers and employees providing services abroad.

Conclusion

The new regulation seeks to enhance transparency in employment relationships by ensuring that employees are fully informed of the essential terms governing their employment from the outset. As a result, employers will be subject to more extensive information obligations, requiring them to provide detailed information on matters that have not traditionally been addressed with such specificity in employment contracts.

These matters include remuneration and the criteria governing salary supplements, working time arrangements, annual leave, algorithmic and automated decision-making systems, the applicable collective bargaining agreement, probationary periods and termination procedures. The objective is clear: to ensure that employees have a better understanding of their employment conditions and, consequently, greater legal certainty regarding their rights and obligations.

Pompeyo Ortega Lozano

Of Counsel