For the first time in 30 years, the Government is seriously revising the Ley de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales (Spain's Occupational Risk Prevention Act). It is still a draft bill, but the direction is already set: individualised assessments, role-specific prevention information and climate-related risks. Here is what changes, and what does not.
The draft bill amends Ley 31/1995, the ET (Workers' Statute) and RD 39/1997. Three new fronts:
A 110-second analysis of the draft bill approved by the Council of Ministers on 28 April. The three points that will actually affect you, and the red line the Government has left untouched.
Did you know that the Occupational Risk Prevention Act has been changed? The first serious revision in 30 years. And yes, it affects you.
Note: it is not in force yet. It is a draft bill approved by the Council of Ministers on 28 April 2026 that amends Ley 31/1995, the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers' Statute) and the Reglamento de los Servicios de Prevención (Prevention Services Regulation, RD 39/1997). It must go through Parliament before it applies. But it shows very clearly where prevention is heading.
Ley 31/1995 remains the framework law. The reform does not replace it; it updates it. And it tackles head-on the gaps we have been dragging along for 30 years: generic paperwork, copy-and-paste assessments, and risks that did not even exist in 1995.
The direction is clear: more individualised prevention, less paperwork, and a framework that recognises risks that were not part of the conversation in 1995.
Draft bill · Council of Ministers · 28/04/2026Each amended article brings dozens of fine-print details, but there are three structural changes that every H&S technician or HR manager should have on their desk this week. We break them down one by one.
Until now, one assessment per role, copied and pasted for the whole team, was enough. The reform also requires taking into account gender, age and type of work.
In other words: a 25-year-old and a 55-year-old can no longer have the same plan. Same chair, same posture, same load, but a different body, a different life stage and different risks.
Prevention information can no longer be a mass email listing the company's general risks. Each worker must receive information on the specific risks of their role and on the specific measures that apply to them.
In short: if someone types for eight hours, they need to know what to do about their neck. Not what to do with a forklift they never use.
Heatwaves, extreme cold, torrential rain… Climate change and extreme weather events become part of the risk assessment.
If you have outdoor staff (construction, logistics, agriculture, maintenance), this changes your prevention plan for this summer. And if your staff work indoors, it also affects occupancy, ventilation and working hours during heatwaves.
With three structural changes on the table, sometimes the most interesting part is what lawmakers chose not to touch. And there is one article that remains exactly as it was in November 1995.
«In fulfilling the duty of protection, the employer must guarantee the safety and health of the workers in their service in all aspects related to work.»
Not documented. Not certified. Not «compliant on paper». Effective. That word holds up the whole structure of occupational risk prevention in Spain, and it is what the Labour Inspectorate still looks at when there is an accident.
We explore it in depth in another episode of the series, but the idea is this: three new changes to assessment, yes. But the underlying bar (genuinely protecting people, not filing paperwork) has not moved an inch.
This will take months to get through Parliament. But the direction is already set: more individualised prevention, less paperwork. If your company wants to get ahead, this is the minimum you can already do without waiting for the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette):
Here is a 3-minute self-assessment so you know where your company stands: closer to the model of 30 years ago or already aligned with the reform. No sales follow-up call.
Start self-assessmentTo wrap up: is your company already adapting its risk assessment to this update, or are you still using the 30-year-old model? Tell us in the video comments. We read every reply and will bring the most interesting cases to Episode 2.
A summary of the questions we have been receiving most in recent weeks about the draft bill approved on 28 April 2026: entry into force, scope, immediate obligations and timelines.
No. On 28 April 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill. This means it still has to go through public consultation, opinions from advisory bodies, approval as a bill and parliamentary procedure. Ley 31/1995 remains in force as it stands until the reform is published in the BOE.
Legally, you are not required to apply the reform today. But there are two reasons not to wait: (1) the technical criteria of the Labour Inspectorate and prevention services are already aligning with the new direction, and (2) the risks the reform recognises (psychosocial, ergonomic, climate-related) are already contingencies today if they materialise. Getting ahead reduces exposure and reduces absenteeism.
It means the assessment must recognise that the same role can generate different risks depending on the profile of the person doing it. For example: musculoskeletal loads, ergonomic risks, exposure to chemicals during pregnancy, or adapting breaks and pace to life stage. It is not a new assessment; it is an additional layer on top of the one you already have.
The reform expressly extends the scope of coordination of business activities to self-employed workers coordinated with principal companies. If you subcontract or coordinate with self-employed workers in your activity, you will have additional obligations regarding role-specific prevention information. The finer detail will depend on the final text.
Psychosocial risk assessment has been mandatory since 1997 under RD 39/1997; the problem is that hardly anyone did it properly. The reform explicitly reinforces psychosocial risks and broadens the definition of occupational harm to include mental, cognitive, behavioural, social and emotional harm. In other words: it is no longer «optional in practice» and becomes enforceable with the same rigour as a physical risk.
Realistic timeline: between 8 and 18 months from approval of the draft bill, depending on the pace of the parliamentary process. It is likely to be published during 2027, with a transitional adaptation period of 6 to 12 months. We will keep you posted in upcoming episodes of the series.
Yes. Episode 5 («When the pain "isn't work-related"») dives into the boundary between common and occupational contingency, where many mental health sick leaves fall. You can sign up to the newsletter to receive it by email.
This is Episode 1 of the series on Ley 31/1995. The full journey, from the illusion of paperwork to measuring the real effectiveness of your H&S plan, is on the series home page.
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