The tug-of-war between European justice and Spain over public administration contracts could shape the future for more than 755,000 interim civil servants in Spain, or—alternatively—validate the temporary status of this group, which accounts for nearly a third of the state workforce.
Yesterday the Supreme Court announced it would consult the European Union Court of Justice imminently to determine whether the current model complies with European law, aiming to remove any ambiguity in its response. The court argues that making this staff permanent is not the only viable solution for a matter that will also be addressed by the Constitutional Court.
According to the most recent data from the National Statistics Institute, out of almost 3 million people employed by various Spanish administrations, more than 755,000 hold an interim civil servant status. In plain terms, roughly one in every three public workers is classified in a way that, according to the administration, should be limited to urgent, explicitly justified needs for roles normally filled by career civil servants.
By region, these contracts concentrate most in Andalusia (106,964 interim civil servants), Catalonia (103,228), the Community of Madrid (78,643), and the Basque Country (58,674). Yet, the sectoral distribution is uneven: half of these interim workers (356,580) belong to healthcare institutions, and nearly a third (215,239) work in non-university education.
Europe left the door open
Last February, a ruling from the European Court of Justice seemed to open the possibility that Spain would have to make some interim staff permanent, but practice has yet to reflect this interpretation.
As reported by a leading national newspaper, sources from the Supreme Court Social Chamber explain that the February 22, 2024 ruling did not say the sole solution for permanent irregular contracts was automatic conferral of permanent status. In fact, it anticipated other viable alternatives. In short, European proposals to make these workers permanent do not imply a mandatory obligation to align with EU law.
For the moment, the Supreme Court appears to hold that the February EU ruling does not derive any obligation to automatically convert indefinite contracts into permanent positions. Such a move would be incompatible with Spain’s self-government framework for public administration, which rests on equality, merit, and public access to the civil service. The ruling applies to both state employees and legally contracted workers alike.
The Constitutional Court will speak
The issue is not confined to Europe alone; the Constitutional Court recently admitted a challenge from a regional high court against two specific provisions of the late-2021 government decree aimed at reducing temporary employment in the public sector.
The contested law seeks to curb abuses of temporary contracts in line with European jurisprudence, aiming to improve the working conditions of public employees and prevent repeated short-term contracts by administrations.
Last December, the Constitutional Court rejected, unanimously, a challenge brought by a political party against a July 2021 decree designed to curb temporality. The ruling, written by a respected judge, recognized the measures as appropriate given the urgency of the situation.
The court also argued that there was no constitutional breach because the challenged norm does not establish a broad regulation of the fundamental right to access the public service, nor does it affect its essential content.