ACT inspections in November 2025

What is happening?

The Authority for Working Conditions (“ACT”) has announced priority inspections for November 2025, directed at three critical areas:

• Equality and non-discrimination
• Equal pay for men and women
• Health and safety in high-risk activities

Below, we summarize what is involved and how companies can ensure they are complying with their obligations in these areas.

Equality and non-discrimination

A national inspection campaign directed at equality and non-discrimination in the workplace is underway until the end of November 2025. This initiative aims to ensure compliance with legal obligations regarding the prohibition of discrimination based on factors such as ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family situation, financial situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs, and trade union membership.

How to be prepared

• Check if the company has the mandatory information about equality and non-discrimination rights and duties on display in an appropriate place at the company’s premises.
• Review job advertisements and selection processes, establishing only objective and non-discriminatory criteria.
• Check the procedure and criteria for job promotions, awarding raises and bonuses. Specifically, it is important to check that these do not indirectly discriminate against women – for example, due to the exercise of parental’ rights.
• Provide regular training on equality and non-discrimination.
• Comply with gender quotas in listed companies and in the state business sector, as well as with quotas for individuals with disabilities in private companies.
• Create an internal procedure for reporting and handling discrimination complaints.

A breach of the principle prohibiting discrimination is a very serious labor infraction, subject to the application of fines that, depending on turnover and the type of behavior, could amount to €122,400, if multiple employees are affected.

Equal pay for men and women

The current inspection campaign is running between 2025 and 2026. The ACT has been notifying employers, in all sectors, with more than 50 employees and a gender pay gap of over 5%, to submit and implement a plan to assess the pay gap and, if necessary, an action plan aimed at eliminating the detected pay inequalities.

How to be prepared

• Identify all job positions in the company and assess their functional content, based on common and comparable criteria, to ensure that equal work or work of equal value is remunerated equally.
• Prepare an action plan to eliminate pay inequalities, if detected and not justified.
• Prepare or review (as appropriate) the remuneration policy, which must be clear and transparent, clarifying the existing job categories and the requirements for access to them, as well as the requirements for career advancement, linked to performance assessment systems with clear and objective criteria, common to both men and women.
• Review remuneration and career-advancement structures.
• Review the information provided in recruitment and selection processes to ensure compliance with the principle of equal pay for men and women.

Remuneration differences that are not justified are presumed to be discriminatory, and employees may claim these amounts for up to one year from the day after termination of the employment contract. As explained above, a breach of the principle of the prohibition of discrimination is a very serious labor infraction, subject to the application of fines that, depending on turnover and the type of behavior, could amount to €122,400, if multiple employees are affected.

Health and safety in high-risk activities

An inspection campaign is underway until the end of November 2025, focused on verifying compliance with health and safety standards in workplaces where high-risk activities are performed, with a focus on the construction and extractive sectors, where there are higher occupational accident rates.

The ACT will check compliance with the (i) legal risk assessment obligations; (ii) implementation of prevention and protection measures, such as the provision of adequate personal protective equipment (“PPE”); (iii) legally mandatory health examinations; (iv) safety organization; and (v) employee training.

How to be prepared

• Check if the occupational risk identification and assessment document is up to date.
• Confirm the existence and suitability of PPE and of proof that employees have received it.
• Ensure that employees are trained in occupational health and safety and occupational risk prevention, with attendance records.
• Confirm the existence of emergency procedures, signs, and safety plans.
• Check that employees have their mandatory medical examinations up to date.

Employers are responsible for ensuring health and safety conditions for employees in all work-related matters. Therefore, without prejudice to the responsibility assigned to external occupational health and safety services, any failure to comply with most of the obligations in this area by the employer constitutes a very serious labor infraction, subject to the application of fines that, depending on turnover and the type of behavior, could amount to €122,400, if multiple employees are affected.

Conclusion

As the year-end approaches, companies must adopt a strategic approach to address the increasing intensity of ACT inspections. For this reason, we recommend that all companies conduct internal audits to identify any potential areas of non-compliance and ensure adherence to legal obligations.