The Labor and Social Security Inspectorate will not immediately fine employers of domestic workers who have not yet carried out an occupational risk assessment of their homes, despite it being mandatory from Friday. This was confirmed by sources from Yolanda Díaz’s department, on which the control body depends, given the number of people who abandoned this procedure in the last days before the obligation came into force, just when the free site enabled for this purpose reported errors due to a cyber attack, according to the ministry. The tool has been available for six months, but Labor indicates there will be flexibility in the face of these initial non-compliances and asks for peace of mind from those who have failed to complete the process.
From the Ministry of Labor they specify that this Friday no deadline expires, but the obligation to assess the risks of the home comes into force because six months have passed since the launch of prevencion10.es. And the decree regulating this new right for domestic workers established that six months after the activation of the tool it was necessary for the employer to have completed the procedure.
The problem is that the website has been down since Wednesday. By mid-afternoon Thursday, the ministry reported that the failures were due to a “malicious attack,” a series of bot “automated” that would have “artificially” overloaded the platform.
According to data provided by Labor, a total of 16,091 suspicious Internet Protocol (IP) addresses were blocked in the 24 hours prior to Thursday afternoon, sending 49.4 million transactions. That is, almost 50 million attempts to access the platform to fill out the questionnaire. Ministry sources claim that more than one million requests have arrived from some blocked IPs. This Friday it continues to work in dribs and drabs, with problems for many users.
The Ministry does not quantify the days this flexibility period will last, but insists that the Inspectorate does not have a desire for collection, but rather seeks to guarantee workers’ rights. That is, the purpose of this regulation, the ministry argues, is not to fine employers who try to complete the process and fail, but to consolidate more rights for domestic workers. In 2022, Labor has already taken a similar step by recognizing these workers’ access to unemployment benefits.
Failure to complete the self-assessment or failure to inform domestic workers of the prevention measures adopted may be interpreted by the Inspectorate as a serious infringement. The highest penalty for this type of crime is 49,180 euros, provided there are aggravating circumstances. Without them, in most cases, non-compliance would be considered minor and the fine would be a maximum of 2,450 euros. It should be noted that the Inspectorate cannot access homes to ensure compliance with the measures, given the inviolability of homes recognized by the Constitution. However, it may request documentation and investigate based on the complaints.
The Spanish Association of Personal and Domestic Services (AESPD), the main employer in the sector, evaluates the new right to risk assessment positively, but believes that support measures for families are poor.
“The continued burden of obligations on the family home, which presupposes all this progress in the full rights of domestic workers without adequate measures to support hiring, is viewed with skepticism,” the employers’ association said in a recent statement. Employment in this sector has fallen by 8% in the last year, according to the latest data from the Survey of the active populationin a context of global job creation.
Missed deadlines for work
The decree regulating this new right establishes other measures that the Ministry of Labor did not complete in time. In March, eight months ago, the limit that Yolanda Díaz’s department had set itself to develop a training platform on risk prevention for domestic workers expired. Furthermore, it does not meet the deadline set for the development of an action protocol against situations of harassment and violence suffered by these professionals and for completing a technical guide for risk prevention. Both documents should have been available in September and there is no trace of them.
The ministry recognizes the delay in the training platform, underlines that the Sepe resolution that will regulate it is ready and that the service will be operational at the beginning of the year. Regarding the protocol and the technical guide, it is also confirmed that they are not yet available, but it is highlighted that their publication is imminent and underlines their technical complexity and consensus.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Health undertakes to “promote” the provision of free medical visits for these professionals and to include this possibility in the portfolio of common services of the National Health System. This promise is not expected. The Ministry chaired by Mónica García claims that work is being done on the Presentation of Health at Work.
