Journal of Labor and Social Security Legal Studies (REJLSS)
The Revista de Estudios Jurídico Laborales y de Seguridad Social (REJLSS) is a scientific publication published by the Publications and Scientific Dissemination Service of the University of Malaga (UMA Editorial). Since its founding in 2020, it has established itself as a leading platform for the dissemination of original and unpublished works focused on the field of Labor and Social Security Law. The journal is characterized by its free, open, and open access, its international reach—particularly in Europe and Latin America—and its commitment to rigor, quality, and critical reflection on the current challenges of this legal discipline. Its objective is to contribute to doctrinal debate and the search for legal solutions to the complex transformation processes in the socio-labor world. This is a biannual interuniversity journal, published electronically, with two regular issues per year (covering the periods May-October and November-April), as well as special issues. It is aimed at university professors, researchers, students, labor law professionals (lawyers, social science graduates, and advisors), and, in general, anyone interested in labor law studies. Its purpose is to promote research, knowledge transfer, and academic and professional development in the field of labor and social security law. clear 124 / 5.000 Resultados de traducción Resultado de traducción The journal is indexed in numerous catalogues, databases and scientific evaluation systems, including: CIRC (C, Ciencias Sociales), Dialnet, Dialnet Métricas (Cuartil 1 -C1- Derecho; Cuartil 2 -C2- Derecho del Trabajo), Latindex, OpenAlex, MIAR, REBIUN, REDIB, DOAJ, DRJI, ROAD, WorldCat, Wizdom, CSUC, Google Académico, Crossref Metadata Search, EZB, WZB, ZDB, Dulcinea, Journal TOCs, Scilit y Erih Plus. And it is present on Twitter and Facebook:
In the Revista de Estudios Juridico Laborales y de Seguridad Social (REJLSS) we are clearly committed to a policy of open access to scientific knowledge (See Berlin Declaration). Those authors who have publications with this journal accept the following terms: This journal provides immediate free access to its content under the principle of making research freely available to the public. All the contents published in the REJLSS are subject to the Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Copyrights are of two kinds: moral and patrimonial. Moral rights are perpetual, inalienable, non-transferable, inalienable, unattachable and imprescriptible prerogatives. In accordance with Spanish copyright legislation, the authors who publish in REJLSS retain the moral right over their work, as well as the ownership of the patrimonial right, which will be transferred to the University of Malaga for its dissemination in open access. The patrimonial rights, refer to the benefits that are obtained by the use or disclosure of the works. REJLSS is published in open access and is exclusively authorized to perform or authorize by any means the use, distribution, dissemination, reproduction, adaptation, translation or transformation of the work. It is the responsibility of the authors to obtain the necessary permissions of the images that are subject to copyright. Authors whose contributions are accepted for publication in this journal retain the non-exclusive right to use their contributions for academic, research and educational purposes, including self-archiving or depositing in open access repositories of any kind. The electronic edition of this magazine is edited by the Editorial of the University of Malaga (UmaEditorial), being necessary to cite the origin in any partial or total reproduction. The authors may adopt other non-exclusive license agreements for the distribution of the version of the published work (eg: deposit it in an institutional telematic archive or publish it in a monographic volume) provided that the initial publication is indicated in this magazine. Authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work through the Internet (eg, in institutional telematic archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work.
Workplace absenteeism is a complex phenomenon that challenges both companies and legal experts, as it lacks a univocal definition in Spain. This study proposes a paradigm shift: focusing on unjustified or avoidable absences, moving beyond a statistical perspective that overlooks human behavior. The analysis breaks down causes ranging from mental health and working conditions to “acts of rebellion” and subtle “presenteeism”. To combat it, transversal tools are offered that go beyond punishment: loyalty strategies, the improvement of the work environment, and the strategic role of collective bargaining. However, it emphasizes that incentives such as attendance bonuses must strictly adhere to legality to avoid any discrimination based on health or gender. Through objective indicators and the reinforcement of “economic or industrial democracy,” this study aims to draft a comprehensive roadmap to transform absenteeism into an environment of commitment and shared well-being.
Copyright (c) 2026 Francisco Javier Arrieta Idiakez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The minimum living income as the fifth pillar of the Welfare State:
When considering how to restore full membership in society (based on the premise of guaranteeing a dignified existence), there are various solutions, some of which have already been tried, with varying degrees of intensity (and varying degrees of success), in different countries. Among them, we find two ideal types: minimum integration or insertion incomes (classic and renewed conditional income programmes, such as the Minimum Living Income in its capacity as a non-contributory benefit of the Social Security system); and basic income or basic income (innovative unconditional income programmes). These figures present specific points of connection and substantial differences. In their most evolved forms, the two protection techniques are linked to the creation of an Active Welfare State, committed to the participation of individuals based on freedom and integration in all areas of social and economic life. This ties in with the social law policy debate on the construction of a Fifth Pillar of the Welfare State.
non-contributory social security benefit
basic income or unconditional basic income
Copyright (c) 2026 José Luis Monereo Pérez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Labour governance in the European Union:
This essay analyses the European institutional (tripartite) social dialogue process and one of its key players, the social partners, who can become true co-legislators. Furthermore, it considers positively the fact that the Community agreements reached in this area can be implemented through the procedures and practices of the social partners and Member States, if the signatories so decide; it is also important to recognise the significance of the lack of agreement in the negotiation phases provided for in the social dialogue process. All of this is a model of governance characteristic of the European Union. The conclusions express concern about the risks, ambiguities and internal interference in the model, leading us to wonder whether this mechanism of European social dialogue is in crisis or whether its promotion is actually leading to its own strengthening.
Copyright (c) 2026 Laurentino Javier Dueñas Herrero https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Sustainability of the public pension system in scenarios of instability, crisis and economic uncertainty
Copyright (c) 2026 Francisco Vila Tierno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The territoriality of non-contributory social security benefits in comparative terms, with regard to the exclusion of citizens residing in Puerto Rico, constitutionalized by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2022
One of the most essential characteristics of non-contributory benefits, both in Spain and in European Union law, is their territoriality. The same is true in the United States, where federal non-contributory benefits are limited to residents of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. The United States Supreme Court itself has recently confirmed this territoriality, validating the legal exclusion of residents of Puerto Rico from access to such federal non-contributory benefits.
Copyright (c) 2026 Alberto Arufe Varela, Jesús Martínez Girón https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
This article analyzes the employment situation of Spanish youth in a context of overqualification, job insecurity, and structural uncertainty. Through this approach, it examines the mismatch between the high educational level of young people and the lack of decent opportunities in our country's labor market. It addresses changes in work culture, new generational attitudes, and the impact of working conditions on youth well-being. It also identifies the main challenges for transforming the current labor model and reviews the legal and social measures adopted in recent years by the Spanish government, paying special attention to those that remain pending.
Copyright (c) 2025 Clara María Arrondo Asensio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
From flexible retirement to reversible retirement
Flexible retirement, introduced in Spain in 2002 to allow the combination of a pension with part-time employment, has remained a residual option. The draft Royal Decree transforming it into “reversible retirement” seeks to revitalise the scheme by broadening the range of permissible working hours and introducing economic incentives. However, the suppression of the possibility of recalculating the pension on the basis of new contributions significantly reduces its attractiveness, particularly for early retirees who have historically constituted its main user profile. The compatibility regime is scarcely modified, and fragmentation persists with other schemes such as active retirement or deferred retirement. Although official forecasts estimate more than 30,000 beneficiaries within the next five years, the reform raises more questions than it resolves and highlights the need to design genuinely flexible pathways between work and retirement.
Copyright (c) 2025 Matthieu Chabannes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The devilish causality of employment contract on the grounds of production circumstances
This essay focuses on fixed-term contracts of employment on the grounds of production circumstances to highlight the main interpretative issues raised by the current regulations and the various technical shortcomings they present. Although the art. 15 of the Workers' Statute legal reform by RDL 32/2021 sought to limit excessive temporary employment by simplifying contracts and strengthening causality, it also introduced a high degree of ambiguity in the definition of the causes that justify the conclusion of this type of fixed-term contract. This study, after conducting an exegetical analysis of the diverse types of contracts covered by art. 15.2 ET, introduces a wide range of proposals aimed at reforming current legal regulations.
Contract of employment on the grounds of production circumstances
Copyright (c) 2026 David Montoya Medina https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The port stevadore and the legal-labour challenges of automation and AI systems
The challenges of the digitalization of labor relations extend to all work sectors, including stevedoring. Automation poses a significant challenge to social dialogue and collective bargaining, given the risk of job loss and the need to implement safeguards. The stevedore faces dual automation, physical and invisible, exacerbating the sector's structural vulnerabilities. In response, classical labor law reveals inadequacies regarding algorithmic opacity and job substitution, while collective bargaining emerges as a key protective pillar. The ILA-USMX Agreement and the 2025 Lisbon Document constitute important precedents: a labor agreement and an international alliance committed to prohibiting fully automated terminals in order to preserve employment.
Copyright (c) 2026 Manuel Jesús Garnica Corbacho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Science and legal method in François Gény
It should be noted that at the time of the publication of François Gény's masterful work, “Method of interpretation and sources of positive private law” (1899), the school of thought of the School of Exegesis was dominant, although it had already entered a phase of relative decadence. Gény will cause a decisive break with respect to the positivist routine of the previous century, which had been the protagonist of this School. Behind this traditional understanding of law, there was also a certain conception of the “function of legal doctrine”. Judicial practice shows that this model of the “functional” jurist ends up participating in the creation of law that has only been “disguised” and not eliminated in the daily life of the law in action. The reaction or revolt against legal positivism that will follow puts a definitive end to any vestige of the postulates of the School of Exegesis, in Germany and France, already seriously wounded by the criticism made at the end of the 19th century by François Gény and, in general, by the various directions of legal realist thought.
Copyright (c) 2025 José Luis Monereo Pérez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
What is seen and what is not seen in the active retirement reform
Copyright (c) 2025 José Luis Tortuero Plaza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Sexual and reproductive health in the context of labour relations
The paper examines the legal vicissitudes arising from the protection of sexual and reproductive health in the workplace. The new cases of temporary incapacity due to common contingencies in the event of painful menstruation, termination of pregnancy and advanced pregnancy are in line with what has been termed the ‘right to work without pain’; however, the legal design of these special situations is subject to improvement. It also studies the impact of fertility treatments and situations such as abortion on the classification of dismissals, emphasising the Supreme Court's response to possible cases of sex discrimination. Finally, scientific literature has highlighted that numerous hazards present in the workplace can have a direct impact on the sexual and reproductive health of workers, such as chemical agents (organic and inorganic) and biological, physical, ergonomic and psychosocial factors. This essay focuses on the analysis of these risks and their possible adverse effects from the perspective of occupational safety and health, paying particular attention to exposure to nanomaterials and endocrine disruptors.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Castro Franco https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Employability and job prospects for migrant youth, refugees, and asylum seekers in Spain
This paper defines the concepts of migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker, analysing the labour rights and socioeconomic situation that define both the theory and practice of “employability” for each of these three legal categories. Firstly, the study focuses on the challenges and employment prospects that these social groups face or are likely to face in the future; secondly, on the influence that their socio-cultural context has on their socio-occupational integration in the current Spanish labour market; and thirdly, on the effectiveness of policies, programmes and strategies for the labour integration of young migrants. It is finally observed that many of the people who make up these groups experience particular difficulties and vulnerability in finding work (and housing), which is partly due to structural racial discrimination inherent in Spanish society.
Copyright (c) 2025 Marta Sánchez-Capel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Vila Tierno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Additional compensation in the event of unfair dismissal in article 24 of the European Social Charter as interpreted by the Supreme Court
Towards real equality for the LGTBI community: Law 4/2023 and its impact through collective bargaining
This article examines the progress toward real equality for the LGTBI community in Spain, focusing on Law 4/2023 and its impact on labor relations and collective bargaining. This article, highlights the persistence of structural LGTBIphobia despite legal advancements, as shown by recent data on discrimination and violence. Law 4/2023, also known as the “Trans Law,” introduces key legal obligations for companies and public institutions, including anti-harassment protocols, equality measures, and mandatory clauses in collective agreements. The paper underscores the growing role of collective bargaining in protecting LGTBI rights through concrete commitments. Nevertheless, it notes that the effectiveness of these measures depends on proper enforcement and sustained engagement from employers, unions, and public authorities.
Environmental protection as a new content of collective labor agreements: green collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is the appropriate regulatory source for achieving an ecological transition tailored to the needs and characteristics of each sector and company. Analyzing the environmental clauses in collective bargaining agreements allows us to identify regulatory trends and the main measures adopted within the framework of labor relations to protect the environment and combat climate change.
Copyright (c) 2025 Miguel Ángel Almendros González https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The european model of skills and competences for employment in the context of the digital revolution
The new digital society and technological advances generate a high demand for people who are highly skilled in a wide range of skills and adaptable to the rapid advancement of knowledge and the development of new disruptive technologies. Changes in the skills required for the new jobs that are emerging make it necessary to develop flexible and innovative vocational training and lifelong learning systems. The ageing of society raises the need for lifelong vocational retraining to enable the adult population to remain educated and up-to-date throughout their lives in order to cope with the loss of skill utility. In the current era, with the development of globalisation, digitisation, robotics and artificial intelligence, a skills revolution is being sought across the European Union to ensure that people can thrive in the ‘green and digital transitions’ and to enhance new employment opportunities arising from demographic and technological changes. This is leading to a growing interest in the issues of general and in-company training; reskilling and upskilling of the workforce (‘reskilling’ and ‘upskilling’).
Copyright (c) 2025 María Nieves Moreno Vida https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Right to cease activity in the event of serious and imminent environmental risk
The analysis in this paper focuses on the concept of serious and imminent risk in the workplace, relating it to environmental protection both internally (the working environment and workers' health) and externally (the natural environment). The increase in external risks, such as adverse climatic phenomena or natural disasters, raises the need to extend the possibility of stopping work due to serious and imminent risk, on the one hand, to cases in which workers may be affected by such adverse weather conditions at work and, on the other, whether this right can be extended to environmental risks caused by the company itself, even if they do not directly and immediately affect workers' health. The link between people's health and the environment suggests that environmental damage may have a long-term impact on workers' health, which opens the debate on the extension of the right to work-related resistance.
Copyright (c) 2025 Macarena Ángel Quiroga https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Long-term sickness absence and return to work: from improvisation to planning
An analysis of more than a hundred collective agreements up to mid-2024 (the deadline set by REGCON for locating the texts in which they are registered) gives an eloquent picture of the current situation of workers who are forced to take a long break from work for health reasons. In contrast to the lack of concern for the problem, there is a variable range of isolated measures, which in some cases already take the form of a more or less complete plan, as is the case, for example, with those who have suffered from cancer.
Copyright (c) 2025 Juan José Fernández Domínguez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Labour inspection reports, their probative value and contestation
This study offers an exhaustive analysis of all the legal provisions that refer to the labour inspection report and the sanctioning procedure, and, in the light of the judicial pronouncements, it records those non-compliances or irregularities that can lead to the nullity of the sanction imposed. Given the far-reaching consequences that their assessment entails, the grounds for nullity as of right are interpreted in a strict and restrictive sense. Only when the omission or irregularity entails a real and effective prejudice for the person concerned, i.e. the right to defence is deprived, is the administrative sanctioning act invalid.
Copyright (c) 2025 José Luis Goñi Sein https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Science and legal method in François Gény: New science and free scientific research (Part I)
Retirement, remuneration and the law: the inmutability of pensions rights under the nicaraguan family code
This article reviews the impact of the Nicaraguan Family Code, especially its influence on old-age pensioners, who assumed that they could combine the perception of the economic benefit whit access to employment. The research represents a novelty in the Nicaraguan context by addressing whether old-age pensioners can combine without restriction the enjoyment of their pension with employment, proposing solutions, and highlighting the need for reform in the configuration of social security, at the same time, it focuses on describing the legal ambiguity and opportunism arising from the regulatory disorder.
Copyright (c) 2024 Luis Ernesto Alemán Madrigal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
On two (possible) breaches of international conventions on dismissal: worker prior defence and loss of representative status
Debates around unfair dismissal concern multiple issues: the amount and extent of compensation; whether reinstating a worker should be mandatory rather than a mere option; whether severance pay should be regarded as compensation or salary; and whether it should be related or not to the option of reinstatement. Yet, beyond these questions, other interrogations are hanging over the institution of dismissal which must be resolved and paid attention to. Indeed, they affect different aspects of the institution’s mechanisms and are specifically: the dismissed worker’s right to a prior defence and the loss of the representative status in the case of disciplinary dismissal. Both issues are today raising uncertainty because the judicial solutions currently being adopted may be contravening certain precepts of international texts, notably ILO Conventions No. 158 and No. 135. The aim of this paper was to analyse both problems in detail in order to draw the correct conclusions.
Copyright (c) 2024 Carolina Blasco Jover https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The ‘Age of the masses’ and the conservative reaction and defense to the advent of the working classes into economic-social and political life: Gustave Le Bon (II)
Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) is one of those multifaceted and difficult to pigeonhole personalities that proliferated at the end of the 19th century and between the two centuries. He was a sociologist and social psychologist, especially of sociologically oriented social psychology (although he was also a physician, physiologist and hygienist). In fact, he was one of the main founders of social psychology, whose approach was maintained in numerous works, such as Psychology of Crowds, Psychology of Socialism, Psychology of Revolutions, and so on. This new “mass psychology” would confront a new phenomenon of industrial modernity characterized by the emergence of the “multitude” as a human grouping especially prone to irrationality, manipulation of political, union and religious leaders and leaders. Le Bon emphasizes the importance of suggestion and imitation in the irrational behavior of crowds and its social, political and legal consequences. Le Bon has too often been underestimated, and yet it has been claimed that, except for Sorel, and certainly Tocqueville, no French scholar has had an influence equal to that of Le Bon, who wrote books of extraordinary impact in all fields. Le Bon analyzes the mass phenomenon from a positivist and phenomenological approach to the behavior of individuals and groups in mass societies.
charisma and social and political leadership
Copyright (c) 2024 José Luis Monereo Pérez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Some current application issues regarding telework
The progressive incorporation of teleworking by companies as another organizational formula and its necessary adaptation to the guidelines established by Law 10/2021, of July 9, on remote work, has opened and interesting field of study on the subject. This work addresses the analysis of some issues related to the new regulation of teleworking whose practical translations, up to now, has been raising certain interpretative doubts in order to know the answer that is being offered to them both from the doctrinal and from judicial authorities.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ana María Romero Burillo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Current situation of new family models in the socio-laboral field: special attention to single parenthood and homoparenthood
It is undeniable that family diversity is a reality that is in constant transformation and that is increasing over the years, adopting new identities and social needs that must be addressed for the implementation of an adequate legal framework that responds to this social evolution. Specifically, the aim is to analyze the case of single-parent and homo-parent families in Spain, population groups that have particular characteristics that place them at risk of social exclusion. Among them, we can find difficulties in accessing well-paid and stable jobs, the excessive burden of domestic and care responsibilities, difficulties in starting a family, greater economic vulnerability, etc. Therefore, it is important to review the existing regulations and, especially, the Family Law Project 2024, which aims to recognize the multiple family forms present and improve effective policies to support them, in such a way that highlights the importance of financing for social protection policies.
Copyright (c) 2024 Aída Cabello Roldán https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Some impressions about the Social Agreement of July 31, 2024 on pensions and the sustainability of the System
En el marco del proceso de reformas que pretenden dotar de sostenibilidad económica (y social) al Sistema Público de Pensiones en nuestro país, en el seno y la senda del Pacto de Toledo y del diálogo social, se da forma a un texto que, pendiente su traslación normativa, introduce una serie de medidas que tienden a garantizar aquel objetivo. Se trata del “Acuerdo Social para la mejora de la compatibilidad de la Pensión de jubilación con el trabajo, para la regulación de un nuevo procedimiento de acceso a la pensión de las actividades con elevada peligrosidad y para el mayor aprovechamiento de los recursos de las mutuas con el fin de recuperar la salud de las personas trabajadoras”, firmado el 31 de julio de 2024 por el Gobierno, CEOE y CEPYME y CC.OO. y UGT.
Copyright (c) 2024 Francisco Vila Tierno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A debate over the categorization (or not) of digital disconnection in the workplace as a fundamental right
The article analyzes the issue of the right to digital disconnection in the work context, arguing that the Spanish courts do not consider it a fundamental right. Court cases are presented that support this position, highlighting that failure to comply with this right can lead to the termination of the employment contract, but not to additional compensation for moral damages as it is not a fundamental right under Spanish law. However, arguments are put forward in favor of considering the right to digital disconnection as fundamental. The relevance of national and international regulations that support this right is mentioned, such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Furthermore, the community legislative initiative to guarantee this right at the European level is highlighted. In short, it is proposed that the debate on the fundamental nature of the right to digital disconnection continues, and it is expected that future judicial decisions (Supreme Court) may change this interpretation, especially considering its relationship with the health, dignity and privacy of Workers.
Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Trujillo Pons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The activation of the network mechanism in the motor vehicle manufacturing sector in a context of sustainable mobility
The ecological transition is the fundamental pillar of the transformation of the Spanish productive model, which requires resilience or adaptation to climate change. At an industrial level, the various sectors of activity must reformulate and adapt their patterns and behaviors to a model that is more respectful of the environment and the climate. Spain has renewable resources, its own technologies and the capacity to face challenges and turn them into job creation opportunities in the automotive sector, but it needs to adopt measures to reduce emissions between now and 2030. The recent activation of the Network Mechanism in its sectoral modality provides to companies related to the manufacture of motor vehicles (directly or through the entire value chain), as long as they have work centers located in Spain, the necessary flexibility to adapt to the transitional situation, while encouraging actions timely training to complete the sector's transformation process. This will allow the requalification of workers linked to combustion vehicles, helping to lay the foundations to strengthen the competitiveness of the companies affected by this process of changes and adequately position them for the future production needs of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Copyright (c) 2025 María de los Reyes Martínez Barroso https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0