An equality plan (plan de igualdad) is an ordered set of measures that an employer adopts, after analysing its situation, to achieve equality between women and men and eliminate discrimination on grounds of sex. This lesson explains who must have one and how it is made.
Basic rules
- Ley Orgánica 3/2007, articles 45 and 46.
- Real Decreto 901/2020, which regulates equality plans and their registration.
Who must have a plan?
- Employers with 50 or more workers must draw up and apply an equality plan (article 45.2 of the Equality Act and article 2 of Real Decreto 901/2020).
- Other employers may do so voluntarily.
- A collective agreement or a decision of the labour authority can also require a plan.
- Every employer, however small, must respect equal treatment and adopt measures to prevent discrimination.
How the workforce is counted
The total workforce of all workplaces is counted, whatever the type of contract. Each part-time contract counts as one person. Temporary contracts that ended in the previous six months are also taken into account (one more for every 100 days worked). The check is made at least on the last day of June and the last day of December.
If the workforce falls below 50 afterwards, the obligation continues once the negotiating committee has been set up, until the plan's term ends or, where applicable, for four years (article 3.3 of Real Decreto 901/2020).
How it is drawn up
- Negotiating committee: it is formed within three months of the employer reaching 50 people. It is joint (paritaria): half the employer, half the workers' representatives (the works council, staff delegates or trade unions). A balanced composition of women and men is encouraged.
- Diagnosis: an analysis of the real situation of women and men. At a minimum it must cover recruitment and selection, job classification, training, promotion, working conditions, the shared exercise of work-life balance rights, under-representation of women, pay and the prevention of sexual harassment and harassment based on sex.
- Plan: specific objectives, measures, deadlines, people responsible, resources and indicators. The measures must respond to what the diagnosis has found.
- Approval and registration: the plan is agreed in the committee and entered in the register of equality plans. The application is submitted electronically within fifteen days of signing. The register is open to the public.
The whole process (negotiating, approving and applying for registration) must be completed within a maximum of one year, counted from the end of the three-month period for setting up the committee (article 4 of Real Decreto 901/2020).
Term and monitoring
- The maximum term is four years.
- A joint monitoring committee oversees its application. There is an interim evaluation and a final one.
- It is reviewed when circumstances change, for example after a merger or a conviction for discrimination.
Content on harassment
The diagnosis must analyse how the employer prevents sexual harassment and harassment based on sex. Many employers include their anti-harassment protocol in the plan.
What happens if it is not complied with
Failing to draw up or apply the plan, or breaching the obligations on equality plans and measures, is an infringement penalised by the Labour Inspectorate (LISOS, among others article 7.13).
What falls to you
An equality plan is an obligation of the employer. What may fall to you is to know about it (it is public in the register and the employer must make it known), to use its measures and, if you hold a representative post, to negotiate it.
This course does not replace your employer's diagnosis or plan.