On April 13, Sagardoy took part in the International Congress on Current Issues in Labour Law and Social Security in Spain and Italy, held at the Faculty of Law of the University of Granada.
The event was directed by José Luis Monereo Pérez, Professor of Labour and Social Security Law and Head of the Department at the University of Granada, as well as President of the Spanish Association of Health and Social Security; María Nieves Moreno Vida, Professor of the same field at the University of Granada; Belén del Mar López Insua, Accredited Professor and Treasurer of the Spanish Association of Health and Social Security; Pompeyo Gabriel Ortega Lozano, Accredited Professor and Head of the Young and Emerging Professionals Section of the same Association; and Sara Guindo Morales, Associate Professor and General Coordinator of the Young and Emerging Professionals Section.
The Congress brought together leading experts to address the transfer of knowledge into legal practice in a context of transformation of the labour market.
Representing the firm, Juan Alfonso Urbano Medina, Partner in charge of the Málaga office, delivered a presentation entitled “New grounds for nullity of dismissal and their practical effects on current labour relations.” During his speech, he noted: “Legal practitioners must remain attentive to the evolution of the situations that may lead to findings of nullity in dismissals or other forms of unilateral termination. One clear example is the development of the ‘illness factor’ over the past three years.”
Alberto Aguilar Pascual, lawyer at the Málaga office, analysed the consequences arising from an employer’s failure to comply with the duty to negotiate in requests for working time adjustments under Article 34.8 of the Spanish Workers’ Statute, as well as its interpretation in light of Supreme Court Judgment No. 825/2025, dated 24 September. He also highlighted the need for companies to implement appropriate internal mechanisms to ensure effective compliance with this duty. In this regard, he stated: “The Supreme Court, approaching the issue from a constitutional perspective, has unified its doctrine by establishing that a failure to comply with the duty to negotiate results in the automatic judicial approval of the requested measure, except where it is manifestly unreasonable or disproportionate. This consolidates a genuine subjective right with reinforced procedural configuration, whereby non-compliance with formal procedural requirements not only affects the validity of the employer’s action but also predetermines the outcome of the judgment, producing direct material effects on the employee’s legal sphere.”
Ignacio Moreno Lucenilla, associate at the Seville office, focused his intervention on “The recent evolution of case law on business transfers: a practical analysis of the latest rulings on the suspension or termination of productive activity.” His presentation examined the impact of the suspension or termination of the transferred activity when assessing the application of the business succession mechanism under Article 44 of the Spanish Workers’ Statute, based on the most recent case law of the Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court, in particular the judgments of 9 and 16 February 2026.
Finally, Pompeyo Gabriel Ortega Lozano, of counsel at the firm and co-director of the Congress, took part in both the opening and closing sessions and also delivered a presentation entitled “Technology, AI and labour relations in legal practice” within the panel devoted to current issues in Spain and Italy.
The event provided an excellent opportunity to continue bridging legal analysis with its practical application within organisations, in a setting of high-level academic and professional discussion.
