A Barcelona trial court has ordered Spain's National Institute of Social Security to recalculate a supermarket cashier's permanent disability pension using her full-time salary reference after she suffered a workplace accident on reduced hours.
The decision forces the social security agency, known as the INSS, to base her monthly payout on what she earned before cutting her schedule to care for her minor child. According to the court judgment consulted by news agency Europa Press, the recalculation will allow the worker to receive nearly double the amount she was initially awarded.
The employee had taken advantage of a statutory reduction in working hours under Article 37.6 of Spain's Workers' Statute. The legal provision serves as a key work-life balance mechanism in Spanish labor law, allowing parents to reduce their working time for childcare in exchange for a proportional pay cut.
Three-Year Guarantee Limit
Under Spain's General Law of Social Security, statutory protections guarantee that during the first three years of working reduced hours for childcare, social security contributions count at 100 percent of a full-time wage. This rule is designed to prevent temporary caregiving choices from diminishing long-term social benefit rights.
In this case, however, the cashier suffered her workplace injury after the initial three-year window had expired. The INSS consequently calculated her permanent disability pension using her actual reduced earnings at the time of the accident, significantly lowering her monthly benefit.
The Barcelona court overturned the agency's calculation and ordered that her pension be computed as if she had remained on a full-time contract throughout her employment. The tribunal ruled that applying the three-year limit strictly in her circumstances produced an unjust and discriminatory outcome.
Gender Equality and Social Benefits
In its reasoning, the tribunal highlighted that women in Spain predominantly assume childcare duties within families. The court stated that penalizing workers by calculating disability benefits from reduced caregiving salaries prolongs gender inequality and causes additional financial harm in social protection.
The resolution emphasized that social security regulations must be applied incorporating a gender perspective to guarantee real equality under the law. On that foundation, the judge determined that a worker's permanent disability pension cannot be reduced because of a work-life balance decision made to care for a child.
Appeal Status and Legal Scope
Details of the judgment were published by legal news outlet Tododisca following the initial report by Europa Press. The ruling is a first-instance decision from a trial court and does not establish firm, binding legal precedent across the Spanish judicial system.
The National Institute of Social Security retains the right to file an appeal against the court's decision. The verdict adds momentum to an ongoing legal debate in Spain over how maternity leave, childcare duties, and reduced working hours impact worker entitlements and permanent disability protection.
