From 50 employees onwards, your company is legally required to negotiate, implement and register an equality plan. Summum Consultoria guides you through the entire process: diagnosis, negotiation with worker representatives, drafting the plan, pay audit and registration in REGCON.
Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 established the obligation for all companies with 50 or more employees to have a negotiated and registered equality plan. This obligation has been fully in force since March 2022, and non-compliance can result in fines of up to €225,018 under the Law on Social Order Infringements and Sanctions (LISOS). Furthermore, companies without a registered plan cannot access public contracts or certain subsidies. This is not an HR task that can be postponed: it is a corporate obligation with direct consequences for the bottom line.
An equality plan is not drafted in the boardroom and signed off: regulations require that it be negotiated with the legal representatives of the workforce (works council, staff delegates or, in their absence, an ad hoc committee), and that it includes a situational diagnosis, measures with an implementation schedule, a monitoring system and, where required, a pay audit. RD 902/2020 sets out in detail how this audit must be carried out: job evaluation, detection of gender pay gaps exceeding 5% without objective justification, and a corrective action plan. The annual pay register is also mandatory for all companies, regardless of size.
Directive (EU) 2023/970, whose transposition deadline was 7 June 2026, introduces a new layer of requirements: companies with 250 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap report before June 2027; those with 150–249 employees by the same deadline on a triennial basis; and those with 100–149 employees before June 2031. Spain has begun the transposition process, so the regulatory framework will be strengthened in the coming months. Companies that already have their plan in order and their pay audit up to date will be well positioned to comply without urgency or additional cost.
We analyse gender-disaggregated data across all areas specified by RD 901/2020: access to employment, professional classification, training, promotion, working conditions, pay, work-life balance and harassment prevention. The result is the foundational document for negotiation.
We support both management and worker representatives throughout the entire negotiation process. We draft the plan with specific measures, measurable indicators, responsible parties and an implementation schedule, in line with the annex to RD 901/2020.
We carry out the job evaluation, identify gender pay gaps and produce the corrective action plan required by RD 902/2020. We also include the updated annual pay register with data for the current financial year.
We manage the filing of the plan in REGCON (the register of collective agreements) and establish the periodic monitoring system. Where applicable, we support adaptation to the new reporting requirements of Directive 2023/970.
The operational detail: what we deliver as part of the work and what we keep alive afterwards.
Documented situational diagnosis
Report with gender-disaggregated data covering all mandatory areas under RD 901/2020, ready to initiate negotiation with worker representatives.
Negotiated equality plan
Signed document with measures, indicators, responsible parties and schedule. Valid for registration in REGCON and for demonstrating compliance to the Labour Inspectorate.
Full pay audit
Job evaluation, gender pay gap analysis, identification of root causes and corrective action plan in accordance with RD 902/2020.
Annual pay register
Document with average pay values disaggregated by gender, professional category and contract type, updated with current-year data.
REGCON registration management
Full filing process with the competent labour authority and obtaining the registration certificate, essential for public procurement.
Monitoring and renewal system
Periodic review protocol for the plan, support in setting up the monitoring committee and guidance on adapting to Directive (EU) 2023/970.
Equality plans interconnect with people management and integrated regulatory compliance: protecting employee data requires coordination with our GDPR practice, and reporting potential discrimination ties directly into the internal whistleblowing channel.
The equality plan must include a harassment protocol; having a confidential whistleblowing channel reinforces its credibility and facilitates compliance with Law 2/2023.
View service → consultoríaThe diagnosis and pay audit process sensitive employee personal data; GDPR compliance ensures the process also meets privacy regulations.
View service → consultoríaCompanies with a robust criminal compliance programme reduce the risk of corporate liability for discrimination; both projects benefit from being implemented in a coordinated way.
View service →The obligation has been fully in force since 7 March 2022. Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 introduced a phased timeline: companies with 50 to 100 employees had a transitional period that expired on that date. Since then, any company with 50 or more employees that does not have a negotiated and registered plan may be sanctioned by the Labour Inspectorate.
A pay audit is a mandatory analysis that all companies required to have an equality plan (50 or more employees) must include. It consists of evaluating jobs, detecting gender pay gaps and, where the gap exceeds 5% without objective justification, drawing up a corrective action plan. It is regulated by Royal Decree 902/2020. In addition, all companies — regardless of size — must maintain an annual pay register.
Directive (EU) 2023/970, with a transposition deadline of 7 June 2026, strengthens pay transparency obligations: companies with 250 or more employees must publish a gender pay gap report before June 2027; those with 150–249 employees by the same deadline on a triennial basis; and those with 100–149 employees before June 2031. It also prohibits asking candidates about their previous salary and requires pay bands to be disclosed in job postings. Spain began the transposition process in 2026.
Yes. RD 901/2020 sets a maximum validity of four years, although it can be renewed earlier. The monitoring committee must also meet regularly to verify compliance with the measures. Summum Consultoria supports you both in the initial implementation and in renewals, as well as in any updates required by the transposition of Directive 2023/970.
Yes, in three situations: (1) if their collective agreement expressly requires it; (2) if the labour authority imposes it as an alternative to a sanction; (3) if the company chooses to do so voluntarily. In these cases, the plan is not mandatory by size but is required by agreement or administrative resolution, and must meet the same formal requirements.