On Wednesday, the Congress approved the package of labor and Social Security measures with which the Government has tried to mitigate the impact of the severe fires this summer. The Council of Ministers approved the aid, on the occasion of the large fire that devastated Madrid and Ávila, the largest in Spain since records began. By doing so in the form of a royal decree-law, the project required parliamentary validation to remain in force. Thanks to the favorable vote of almost all deputies (only Vox voted against, compared to 312 yes votes), the measures will continue to apply until December in case of severe fires, even outside the summer season, but will not be extended beyond 2026. For this, the Government would have to approve a new decree-law.
The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, said about the fire that motivated the decree-law that “the effects on people and the economy were enormous.” “They were not limited to economic losses or the suspension of productive activity. There were mandatory evacuations,” Díaz recalled.
Workers affected by the fires had (and have, if a similar fire occurs in the future) the right to suspend their employment contract and request an extraordinary benefit for extreme emergency, a newly created concept paid by the State Public Employment Service. This benefit starts on the day the contract is suspended, no minimum contribution period is required (nor does it consume previous contributions), and the duration is limited to a maximum of four months.
Likewise, aid is also provided for the self-employed. Those who cease their work totally or partially and have coverage for cessation of activity can request an extraordinary benefit without the need to prove force majeure. In addition, companies with a temporary employment regulation file derived from the fires are entitled to a 100% exemption from their Social Security contribution regarding the fees from August to November 2026.
Díaz said in her speech in Congress that “the role of public authorities cannot be limited to adopting preventive or palliative measures, it must also serve to educate, to explain what is happening,” referring to the threat of climate change.
This new regulation, which expires at the end of 2026, adds to other measures adopted in recent years against climate disasters. Spain already has a four-day climate leave for workers who cannot travel to their workplaces due to an emergency and the obligation to adapt or modify the working day, as set out in the Workers’ Statute. This climate leave was approved in November 2024 after the tragic Dana that hit Valencia in October of that year, which ended the lives of 229 people and devastated much of the productive fabric of the area.
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