The government is set to approve a reform that grants domestic workers the right to contribute to and collect unemployment benefits, a move slated to clear the Council of Ministers next Tuesday. This legislative change closes a notable gap that previously existed in European Union law, and it fulfills a pledge made in the coalition agreement, reinforced by recent court rulings and now entering official state records. As of today, more than 373,000 domestic workers registered with Social Security stand to benefit from this update.
Under Pedro Sánchez’s leadership, the government has pursued this reform as a core campaign promise. The initiative aligns with ILO standards, which call for explicit recognition of domestic work and require signatory states to extend relevant social protection measures. The reform emerges from a broader international framework while addressing national implementation details that have lingered for years.
In an important development, on 24 February the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) criticized Spain for unfair discrimination. Spanish courts had begun granting basic rights to wage earners, but the penalties faced by this specific group were not consistently applied. This legislation targets a population that is predominantly female and foreign-born, highlighting a long-standing pattern of unequal treatment in social protections.
European law
For three years, a pioneering domestic worker awaited a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union. The CJEU ultimately sided with the claimant, reinforcing a doctrine that speeds up reforms the cabinet is preparing to approve. The decision found that Spanish regulations violated the European directive on Social Security, and that barring domestic workers from contributing to unemployment benefits amounted to discrimination. The ruling underscored that excluding a mainly female group from these protections amounted to open discrimination against a substantial portion of the female workforce.
Leading sentence in Barcelona
Just weeks after the CJEU decision was released, the 32nd Social Court of Barcelona cited the court’s arguments as a basis for its ruling. According to EL PERIÓDICO, the publication of this decision indicated that a domestic worker who could not receive compensation due to an employer’s inability to pay was protected by the state fund, ensuring that the right to compensation applied to all workers. This signaled a shift toward guaranteeing unemployment-related protections for domestic workers, mirroring protections enjoyed by other employees.
Failures are proliferating across the country
Subsequent decisions continued to push reform forward. In Galicia, a Vigo court recognized a domestic worker’s right to contribute to unemployment benefits and to receive them when eligible. Until that point, domestic workers had been denied this possibility even if a willing employer existed. The judiciary’s stance reinforced the argument that social protection should not be contingent on employer discretion alone.
Supreme courts decide in favor
The Catalan High Court of Justice (TSJC) delivered a landmark ruling recognizing unemployment subsidies for domestic workers over 52 years old. The court had previously dispute SEPE’s position that workers did not meet the required duration of employment. The ruling, published on March 25, affirmed the subsidy for the domestic worker for the first time and established it as a precedent set by the highest regional court. A follow-up verdict from the same court on May 30 reinforced the same position, accelerating nationwide alignment with European protections.