Employment and Social Security Lawyers in Fuenlabrada

Employment disputes rarely involve a single isolated issue.

A dismissal may be preceded by a period of sick leave. Temporary incapacity may later raise questions about whether the employee can return to the same position or whether the job should be adapted. The professional category stated in a contract may not reflect the duties actually performed. A company may formally change ownership while the underlying activity continues almost unchanged. In other situations, the ability to start working may depend on whether the worker’s immigration status allows lawful employment and registration with the Spanish Social Security system.

At EBAN Abogados, our Fuenlabrada office handles Employment and Social Security matters for both employees and employers, with particular experience in disputes involving disability, Social Security contributions, occupational risk prevention, professional classification, outsourcing arrangements and smaller business structures.

A significant number of the firm’s matters involving Social Security, the National Social Security Institute (INSS), benefits and contribution records are also handled from this office.

An employment practice shaped by the reality of southern Madrid

Fuenlabrada forms part of a metropolitan area where large companies, contractors, shops, care homes, service companies, small family businesses and workers in a wide range of trades coexist.

That diversity is also reflected in the matters that reach our office.

Many of our clients live in Fuenlabrada or elsewhere in southern Madrid but work in Madrid city or in other parts of the region. The employee’s home, the workplace and the employer’s corporate headquarters are not always located in the same place.

For that reason, some matters are handled on a coordinated basis between our Fuenlabrada and Madrid offices, depending on the client’s needs, the location of the workplace and the development of the proceedings.

Conciliation in Madrid and litigation in Móstoles

In many employment disputes, an administrative conciliation procedure must be attempted before proceedings can be brought before the court.

For matters connected with Fuenlabrada, this preliminary stage takes place before the Servicio de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación (SMAC) of the Community of Madrid, based in Madrid.

If an agreement is reached during the conciliation hearing, the dispute may be resolved without the need for court proceedings.

Where no agreement is reached and a claim must be filed, employment cases connected with Fuenlabrada are generally heard by the employment courts with jurisdiction in Móstoles.

In practical terms, the same dispute may begin with a conciliation hearing in Madrid and, if no settlement is reached, continue through litigation in Móstoles.

Our work may cover that entire process: initial assessment of the case, preparation of the conciliation claim, negotiation before the SMAC and, where necessary, representation in the subsequent court proceedings.

Remote HR structures and depersonalised employment decisions

Employment disputes do not arise only in small businesses.

In some sectors, we encounter corporate structures in which the employee works in Madrid while the Human Resources department is located in another city, the people making employment decisions may barely know the employee personally, and disputes are managed through standardised corporate procedures.

This type of structure can be found, for example, in certain contracting, cleaning and service companies.

This model is not necessarily better or worse than a more local form of management, but it changes the dynamics of the dispute. Negotiations may depend on managers who have limited knowledge of the workplace, and a company may consider not only the financial cost of settling an individual case but also the message that a particular settlement policy may send to other employees.

Understanding who actually makes the decisions can therefore be as important as analysing the employment contract itself.

Sick leave, disability and the ability to continue working

In the work handled by our Fuenlabrada office, we frequently encounter cases in which an employee’s health becomes one of the central elements of the employment relationship.

It is important to distinguish between situations that are often treated as if they were the same in everyday language.

A period of temporary incapacity does not automatically lead to permanent disability. Likewise, experiencing serious difficulties in continuing to perform a particular occupation does not necessarily mean that the medical and legal requirements for a permanent disability benefit are satisfied.

These cases may require a combined analysis of issues such as:

• extended periods of sick leave;
• return to work;
• adaptation of duties or working conditions;
• functional limitations;
• permanent disability;
• INSS benefits;
• contribution periods and contribution bases;
• compatibility between different professional activities;
• the employment consequences of a prolonged medical condition.

The amount of any benefit does not depend solely on the seriousness of the medical condition. The worker’s contribution history, applicable contribution bases and qualifying periods may be equally important.

Occupational risks and work-related health conditions

Some employment disputes are closely connected with the physical conditions of the job: chemical substances, repetitive movements, manual handling, tools, machinery or particular workplace environments.

We have acted in situations where professional exposure to certain products ultimately resulted in significant health problems.

In activities involving artificial nail products, for example, substances such as acrylates may cause sensitisation and allergic reactions that can become particularly significant for workers exposed to them on a daily basis.

When a health condition may be connected with the workplace, the question is not simply whether the employee is able to continue performing the same job.

It may also be necessary to examine the employer’s risk assessment, the information and training provided, protective equipment and preventive measures, possible adaptations to the position and the employer’s response once the health problem became known.

When professional classification does not match the actual job

Another type of dispute arises when an employee is hired for a particular role but gradually begins performing a much wider range of duties.

This can occur particularly in care facilities, residential homes, service companies and smaller business structures.

An employee hired as a driver may eventually be expected to perform minor maintenance work. Someone recruited for a clearly defined position may gradually become the person called whenever something needs to be repaired or an operational problem arises.

While the tasks remain relatively minor, that lack of definition may remain unnoticed.

The difficulty becomes apparent when a serious breakdown, accident or other incident requires technical expertise for which the employee was never hired or trained.

In these cases, it may be necessary to examine the applicable collective bargaining agreement, professional classification, duties actually performed, training provided and the employer’s own organisation of work.

Organisational shortcomings cannot automatically be transformed into personal responsibility on the part of an employee for work that was never properly assigned or for which the employee did not have the necessary training.

Outsourcing, cleaning services and business succession

Outsourcing arrangements are another frequent source of employment disputes.

In sectors such as cleaning services, changes of contractor may give rise to employee transfers, changes in working conditions, disputes concerning seniority, holidays or wages, and questions about which company is ultimately responsible towards the employee.

We also encounter a different type of situation, particularly among smaller businesses, where one company ceases operating and another begins shortly afterwards while carrying on substantially the same activity, using similar resources or maintaining a very similar structure.

A change in the company’s name or legal entity does not necessarily eliminate existing employment liabilities.

Where there are indications of a possible business succession, it is necessary to reconstruct what actually happened: who continues the activity, which employees remain, what assets or resources are being used and what relationship exists between the companies involved.

When family conflict enters the workplace

In small companies, shops and family businesses, there is another reality that is not always visible in the employment contract: the business may be closely connected with a marriage, family relationship or personal partnership.

When that relationship breaks down, the personal conflict may rapidly spread into the workplace.

Changes in duties, salary disputes, corporate decisions, loss of access to the business or even dismissal may arise in the context of a dispute that was not originally an employment matter.

In such situations, it is important to separate the personal and employment dimensions carefully and determine which decisions are genuinely based on business reasons and which may be influenced by the underlying personal conflict.

Multiple activities and less linear working careers

We also represent workers whose professional situation cannot be understood by looking at a single employment contract.

Some work for several employers, combine employment with self-employment, or have built fragmented professional careers across different Social Security regimes.

This type of multiple professional activity can have important consequences for contributions, benefits and Social Security rights and must be assessed by examining the worker’s full employment and contribution history.

The most recent payslip or employment contract does not always provide the complete picture.

Employment and immigration: when a job exists but cannot yet be started

In an area with a strong presence of trades, operational work and service occupations, there is also a particular point of tension between employment opportunities and immigration status.

Some people have professional experience, identify a genuine job opportunity or even have an employer willing to hire them, but do not yet have the administrative authorisation required to work lawfully in Spain.

In those cases, the problem is not necessarily the absence of employment, but the gap between having a real job opportunity and being legally entitled to take it up.

These situations may require Employment Law and Immigration Law to be considered together, particularly in relation to the future employment contract, work authorisation and registration with the Spanish Social Security system.

Social Security and INSS matters from our Fuenlabrada office

Our work in Fuenlabrada is not limited to disputes between employers and employees.

This office regularly handles matters involving:

• permanent disability;
• Social Security benefits;
• contribution records and qualifying periods;
• contribution bases;
• employment and Social Security records;
• registration and deregistration issues;
• multiple professional activities;
• claims and proceedings involving the INSS and other Social Security authorities.

The connection between Employment Law and Social Security is particularly important because many cases move naturally from one area into the other.

A period of sick leave may later raise a permanent disability issue. A work-related health condition may affect the continuation of the employment relationship. A contribution problem may determine whether a person qualifies for a benefit or affect the amount ultimately received.

For that reason, the complete situation should be understood before deciding what claim should be pursued.

Employment lawyers in Fuenlabrada

At EBAN Abogados, we approach employment cases by first reconstructing the reality of the employment relationship.

The contract is important, but it does not always tell the whole story.

Payslips, WhatsApp communications, work schedules, timekeeping records, medical reports, Social Security records, contribution bases, the applicable collective bargaining agreement, the duties actually performed and internal company communications may all be relevant.

Only once that information has been properly organised can it be determined what can realistically be claimed, against whom and through which procedure.

Our Fuenlabrada office also allows employment matters to be coordinated with our work in Social Security, disability and Immigration Law, as well as with our Madrid office where the circumstances of the client or the proceedings make that appropriate.