The elections on December 21, 2017, are being held on a working day, which may raise controversy regarding the compatibility of work obligations with the right to vote.
Given this situation, through various regulations, a special paid and non-recoverable leave has been established, which grants workers the right to be absent from their job in a justified manner, so that they can exercise their right to vote as citizens included in the electoral register for the present electoral call.
The duration of paid leave depends on the hours of the working day that coincide with the opening hours of the polling stations
It should be noted that during the election day of December 21, 2017, which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., employees will have the right to be absent from their workplace, with a limit of hours depending on their work schedule, to exercise their right to vote, provided that the company is given the corresponding receipt issued by the electoral board at the time of voting.
In this regard, workers whose working hours do not coincide with the opening of the polling stations or do so for a time of less than 2 hours do not have paid leave.
However, workers whose work schedule coincides with the polling station's opening hours by more than 2 hours and less than 4 hours will be granted 2 hours of paid leave.
Finally, and no less importantly, workers whose working hours coincide with the established election hours for 4 or more hours will be granted a 4-hour leave.
It should be emphasized that, for organizational reasons, the company has the power to determine when the hours granted for voting are used, and therefore the paid leave as such, and cannot deny it.
Paid leave for members of the polling station
Members of the polling station staff, including the president, members, and observers, will be granted paid leave for the entire workday of December 21, 2017. Being present at the polling station is a public and unavoidable duty, and in this case, since election day falls on a working day, the cost of this paid leave must be covered by the employers. Furthermore, on the day following the election, December 22, 2017, those who served at the polling station will be granted paid leave for the first five hours of their workday.
Workers who are summoned as substitutes and who do not ultimately carry out their integration into the electoral board must return to their job after the corresponding appearance, considering a reasonable time between the end of their electoral appearance and their return to the job.
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A graduate in Law from the University of Barcelona, she also completed a Master's degree specializing in Labor Law and Social Security at the Barcelona Bar Association. She began her professional career as an intern while studying and later joined the Navarro Law Firm as an employment lawyer, advising companies nationwide on labor law matters and representing them before the Labor Courts, the Labor Inspectorate, in conciliation proceedings, etc. In February 2017, she joined Àmbit Jurídic i Econòmic as a professional partner after extensive experience as an employment lawyer.
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