FIRST.— What makes a change “substantial”?
It’s not up to the company to decide what to call it, or to tell you it’s just a minor adjustment. A change is substantial when it truly alters the basic structure of your employment relationship — your hours, your schedule, your pay, your way of working — not when it simply inconveniences you or requires a bit of adapting.
Courts don’t look at whether the change seems reasonable in the abstract. They look at whether it breaks the balance of the contract you signed.
SECOND.— The matters that count, according to the law
Article 41 of the Workers’ Statute lists, without closing the door to others, the matters considered substantial modifications: working hours, schedule and distribution of working time, shift patterns, pay structure and salary amount, work system and performance standards, job duties (when they exceed the limits of normal functional mobility), and voluntary benefits.
THIRD.— What the company can’t do
The company can’t strip you of rights you’ve already secured, or change your conditions on a whim without following proper procedure. They have to justify the change with real grounds — economic, technical, organizational, or production-related — and give you at least 15 days’ advance notice.
FOURTH.— Your options if you disagree
- Accept the change
- Challenge it before the Labor Court, if you believe there’s no real justification or the proper procedure wasn’t followed. You have 20 working days to do so
- If the change affects your hours, schedule, shift pattern, pay structure, or work system, and causes you harm, you can request termination of your contract with compensation of 20 days’ pay per year worked, without the harm needing to be especially severe
- If the change is more serious — it affects your professional development or undermines your dignity — the compensation increases to that of an unfair dismissal, instead of accepting the change
FIFTH.— Shall we talk?
If your conditions have been changed and you think it’s unfair, let’s review it.