Government to Cap Training Contracts
Spain's government today approved a new Workers' Statute regulation, announced by Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, that caps training and intern contracts at 3-20% of a company's total staff to prevent misuse.
The new Workers' Statute is set to introduce restrictions for employers, limiting how many young people or individuals in training they can hire. Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz announced that the government will approve a specific regulation today in the Council of Ministers. This new rule will set a maximum limit on the number of training contracts allowed per company.
Minister Díaz stated, "We want to ensure high-quality training that fits the diverse needs of different industries." She was referring to both interns and trainees. The government has often highlighted that since the Interns' Statute was approved, two main types of training contracts have been recognized:
The government has stressed that people on these contracts should never be treated as "low-cost workers." This new regulation aims to tackle various forms of workplace exploitation and provides clear legal guidelines for these contracts, which previously had many gaps.
Minister Yolanda Díaz confirmed that the government will approve these detailed rules today. They will limit the number of such contracts to a maximum of between 3% and 20% of a company's total staff. A draft from the Ministry of Labor outlines the specific limits:
The document also states that when calculating a company's total staff, employees on training contracts will not be included.
Through this change, the Ministry of Labor aims to prevent the significant misuse of intern positions.