Equality plans in companies

Law 3/2007, for effective equality between women and men, established the obligation to draw up and implement an equality plan, equality plans in companies. In this regard and under the protection of the provisions of Decree 6/2019, next March 6, the deadline for the implementation of equality plans in companies with more than 250 workers ends. In order to draw up an Equality Plan, it is necessary to know what it is and how it should be implemented. Thus, an Equality Plan is an ordered set of equality measures and positive actions that seeks to integrate the principle of equality between women and men in the company, being the first phase for its proper preparation, negotiation and communication to employees of the will to implement an Equality Plan and carry out a prior diagnosis of the company in order to know the state in which it is located. Once the negotiation is concluded and the previous diagnosis has been made, it is important that the company and all employees know Also, what are the objectives they want to achieve with the implementation of the Equality Plan. As an example, some of the objectives that must be common in all Equality Plans are set out: to contribute to equality between men and women in the workplace, both in treatment and in opportunities, to guarantee equal pay for women and men, to promote the reconciliation of work, family and personal life, especially in positions with a predominance of women, etc. Taking into account the objectives set out in the Equality Plan, it must be prepared by proposing and agreeing on active measures to facilitate application of the principle of equality in all aspects derived from the company and related to employees. However, it must also be taken into account what is the minimum content required by the regulations for an Equality Plan to be registered. In this way, an Equality Plan must refer to the hiring and selection of personnel, to the training of workers, to professional classification and categorization, to working conditions, to female representation in the company, to the reconciliation of work, personal and family life and to the prevention of harassment based on gender. The next phase will be the registration of the Equality Plan in the Register of Equality Plans, which forms part of the records of collective labor agreements and agreements under the Management General Labor. After your registration, you will have to wait for the Labor Authority to order your deposit, registration and publication in the Official Gazette of the State or the Autonomous Community, to begin the implementation phase in the company. Tourism & Law offers advice on the implementation of Equality Plans in order to offer our clients peace of mind and prevention in labor matters.

Rosario Saldarriaga (T&L Attorney)