The upcoming elections in Spain will determine mayors across the country and most regional parliaments next Sunday, 28 May. Although the day is a public holiday for many, more than four million people still work on Sundays, and around 20% of workers in Spain regularly have Sunday shifts. The state provides several allowances to help employees align their work with their right to vote.
Whether a person is assigned duties as a poll worker or serves in a coordinating role, or whether their turn falls on a workday, it can be challenging to vote without permission from their employer. This article reviews the permissions workers can request to vote.
I work on Sundays and need to be a board member or chair, what should I do?
The law covers several scenarios in which a person may be exempt from the duty of being a poll worker or chair on election day. Some exemptions are tied to the nature of the job. The obligation to report to the polling station takes precedence over normal work duties, even if it means missing a scheduled shift.
Therefore, unless the conditions for exemption are met, the worker should attend the polls and not report to work. If an exemption is not granted, the worker should apply for one, present supporting documentation at the ballot box, and, when possible, obtain a receipt from the town hall. It is also wise to inform the employer in advance about the need to be at the polls that day.
Additionally, if the worker is on a night shift, the employer is required, upon request, to adjust the shift so that the worker can rest the night before the election day.
Under what circumstances is a worker exempt from being a poll worker or chair?
First, essential services personnel on duty that day are exempt. This includes civil protection, firefighters, police, and health professionals, among others. In such cases, a supervisor’s report confirming the absence is essential.
If the exemption is granted due to temporary disability, a worker is excused from both going to work and serving as a poll worker or chair. Exemptions also extend to caregivers during breastfeeding until the child reaches nine months old.
Another accepted exemption is caring for children under 14 when the other parent cannot provide care on election day and there are no other adults in the household capable of helping. For example, if both parents are working on Sunday and one must be at the polling station, this may qualify for exemption.
My schedule overlaps with voting, can I request permission to vote?
Yes. The law provides for four hours of leave so the worker can go to vote. The amount of time available for absenteeism varies by how the workday aligns with polling hours, and each autonomous community handles this entitlement in its own way. For example, in Catalonia the rules are as follows:
If the workday does not coincide with voting (9 am to 8 pm) or overlaps but lasts less than two hours, the employee is not entitled to leave.
Two hours of leave are available if the workday overlaps with voting for between two and four hours.
Four hours of leave are available when the workday overlaps with voting for more than four hours.
Does the worker have to make up the working hours later?
No. The law provides for paid leave to vote, and the company bears the responsibility for the employee’s pay during the hours not worked. In other words, the employer must release the employee to exercise the right to vote and pay for the hours missed. It is not legal to require the employee to compensate for the absence by staying later the following week.