4 December 2024 marks an important milestone in the field of employment with the entry into force of Organic Law 5/2024 on the Right of Defence. This regulation, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 11 November 2024, introduces a measure of great relevance: the extension of the protection of the guarantee of indemnity, extending its application to the closest and most related persons to the worker in the same company.

1. Definition of the Indemnity Guarantee

The Indemnity Guarantee for workers refers to the principle that prohibits any action or reprisal by the employer against a worker who has exercised his or her labour rights or has lodged a judicial or administrative complaint. The third additional provision of Organic Law 5/2024 sets out the right:

‘Workers have the right to indemnity against any unfavourable consequences they may suffer as a result of taking any action before the company or before an administrative or judicial action aimed at claiming their labour rights, whether taken by themselves or by their legal representatives’.

This approach means that any dismissal or sanction that is motivated by the defence of the worker’s labour rights will be considered null and void.

2. Application to family members of the worker

An innovative aspect of this regulation is its extension of protection to the worker’s family members. The new regulation establishes that:

‘The spouse, common-law partner and relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, who provide services in the same company, even if they have not made any claim’.

This implies that not only the worker who claims his or her rights is protected, but also his or her relatives who provide services in the same company. This measure seeks to prevent indirect reprisals that could affect the loved ones of those exercising their right to defence.

3. Objective Nullity of Dismissals

With the publication of Organic Law 1/2025, of 2 January, on measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service, the ‘technical error’ of the Parity Law was corrected and letter b) of section 4 of article 53 (objective dismissal) was modified, which now reads as follows:

‘b) The dismissal of pregnant workers, from the beginning of the pregnancy until the beginning of the suspension period mentioned in letter a); the dismissal of workers who have requested any of the leaves referred to in sections 3.b), 4, 5 and 6 of Article 37, or who are enjoying them, or who have requested or are enjoying the working day adaptations referred to in Article 34. 8, as well as the leave of absence provided for in Article 46.3; and the dismissal of workers who are victims of gender-based or sexual violence, by virtue of exercising their right to effective judicial protection or the rights recognised in this law to guarantee their protection or their right to comprehensive social assistance.’

Likewise, Article 55(5)(b) (disciplinary dismissal) is amended to read as follows:

‘b) The dismissal of pregnant workers, from the beginning of the pregnancy until the beginning of the suspension period mentioned in letter a); the dismissal of workers who have requested any of the leaves referred to in sections 3.b), 4, 5 and 6 of Article 37, or who are enjoying them, or who have requested or are enjoying the working day adaptations referred to in Article 34. 8, as well as the leave of absence provided for in Article 46.3; and the dismissal of workers who are victims of gender-based or sexual violence, by virtue of exercising their right to effective judicial protection or the rights recognised in this law to guarantee their protection or their right to comprehensive social assistance.’

It is important to note that the entry into force of this regulation is 3 April 2025, as established in the Thirty-eighth Final Provision of LO 1/2025 (Entry into force), so this correction amends Organic Law 2/2024 on equal representation and balanced presence of women and men, which came into force on 22 August 2024, leaving the wording previously established in Royal Decree Law 5/2023.

From the of , with extensive experience in advising on labour law and legal assistance in dismissal proceedings, we are at your disposal to analyse your problem in the most professional, efficient and solvent manner. We therefore recommend that companies are attentive and take into account these new reforms in the labour regulations with special incidence in matters of dismissals and sanctions, recommending that in any case they seek specialised advice in labour law, such as that provided by the of