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SPANISH LABOUR LAW: FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE REGULATION OF THE DIFFERENT LABOUR CONTRACT MODALITIES

María Pons Carmena Olga Lenzi

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SPANISH LABOUR LAW: FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE REGULATION OF THE DIFFERENT LABOUR CONTRACT MODALITIES

María Pons Carmena Olga Lenzi

CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................... 1 LESSON 1.- CONCEPTS AND HISTORY OF LABOUR LAW ............. 3 1.- Definition and scope of Labour Law .................................... 3 2.- Historical events.................................................................. 4 2.1.- Industrial Revolution (late 18th-early 19th centuries) .............. 5 2.2.- The 19th century .................................................................. 5 2.3.- The Spanish case: an historical overview ............................... 5 3.- The evolution of Spanish Labour Law ................................. 9 3.1.- The first labour laws (1873-1900).......................................... 9 3.2.- The progressive development of Labour Law (1900-1923) ......11 3.3.- Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship (1923-1930) ...........................14 3.4.- The Second Republic (1931-1939) ........................................15 3.5.- Franco’s Dictatorship (1939-1975) ........................................18 3.6.- Political Transition (1977-1978) ............................................21 3.7.- The Spanish Constitution of 1978 .........................................24 4.- Main Labour Laws: The Workers Statute (1980, actual 2015), the Organic Law of Trade Union Freedom (1985) and others 24 5.- Current situation and challenges ...................................... 25

LESSON 2.- SOURCES OF LABOUR LAW ..................................... 27 1.- Introduction: the nature of norms, the principle of the hierarchy of norms and art. 3.1 WS ........................................ 27 2.- The Spanish Constitution of 1978 ..................................... 28 2.1.- Labour rights in the Spanish Constitution ..............................30 3.- European Union Law ......................................................... 32 3.1.- EU Primary Law ..................................................................32 3.2.- The development of Social Europe (4 phases) .......................34 3.3.- EU Secondary Law (Regulations, Directives and Decisions) .....37 4.- International Law.............................................................. 39 4.1.- The International Labour Organization (ILO) .........................40 4.2.- Conventions and Recommendations of the ILO ......................42 4.3.- United Nations Instruments .................................................43 4.4-. The Council of Europe (1949) ..............................................43 5.- National Legislation .......................................................... 44 5.1.- Laws (Acts) ........................................................................44 5.2.- Executive rules and Regulations ...........................................45 6.- Collective Agreements....................................................... 45

6.1.- Statutory collective agreements............................................47 6.2.- Extra-statutory collective agreements ...................................47 6.3.- Company agreements and/or other types of agreements with the workers representatives. Company practice ..................................48 7.- Other sources .................................................................... 48 7.1.- Local and professional customs ............................................48 7.2.- General Principles of Law .....................................................49

LESSON 3.- APPLICATION OF THE SOURCES OF LABOUR LAW . 51 1.- The system of sources of Labour Law and its application . 51 1.1.- The nature of the norms ......................................................51 1.2.- Rules and principles governing the application of the sources .52 2.- Concurrence of norms: principle of hierarchy of norms and art. 3.3 WS .............................................................................. 53 3.- Succession of norms (lex posterior prior derogate) .......... 55 4.- The role of the employment contract ................................ 56 5.- Interpretation of Labour Law: criteria .............................. 57 6.- Case Law ........................................................................... 58

LESSON 4.- THE WORKER .......................................................... 59 1.- Paid work: main features .................................................. 59 1.1.- Personal work .....................................................................60 1.2.- Voluntariness ......................................................................60 1.3.- Remuneration .....................................................................61 1.4-. Subordination or legal dependence .......................................61 1.5.- “Ajenidad”/alienation ...........................................................62 2.- Qualifying criteria.............................................................. 63 3.- Excluded relationships ...................................................... 65 3.1.- Self-employed workers ........................................................65 3.2.- Employment relationships expressly excluded from the labour legislation...................................................................................67 4.- Special employment relationships .................................... 69 4.1.- Senior management personnel .............................................70 4.2.- Domestic workers ...............................................................70 4.3.- Convicts in penitentiary institutions.......................................71 4.4.- Professional sportsmen and sportswomen .............................71 4.5.- Artists in public spectacles ...................................................72 4.6.- Subordinate trade representatives ........................................73 4.7.- Disabled workers rendering services in special employment centers ......................................................................................73 4.8.- Training specialists in Health Sciences ..................................74

4.9.- Lawyers in law firms............................................................74 5.- Employment relationships with special regulation ........... 75 5.1.- Religion teachers in public schools ........................................75 5.2.- Civilian personnel at military establishments ..........................75 5.3.- Personnel at the service of Public Administrations ..................76 5.4.- Teaching and research staff at the service of universities and research centers .........................................................................76

LESSON 5.- THE EMPLOYER ....................................................... 79 1.- The employer..................................................................... 79 1.1.- The concept of employer from the labour perspective ............79 1.2.- The concept of the employer in Labour law vs the concept of the entrepreneur in Commercial law ...................................................80 1.3. Who can be an employer?.....................................................80 2.- Company, workplace and autonomous productive unit .... 82 2.1.- The concept of company (empresa)......................................82 2.2.- The concept of workplace (centro de trabajo) .......................82 2.3.- The concept of autonomous productive unit ..........................83 3.- Business groups (grupos de empresa) .............................. 83 3.1-. Definition of business groups ...............................................83 3.2.- Legal relevance or irrelevance of business relationships? ........84 4.- Contract and subcontract of works and services .............. 85 4.1.- Legal measures of art. 42 WS ..............................................85 4.2.- Article 42 WS: contracts and subcontracts for works and services corresponding to the principals’ “main activity”..............................87 4.3.- The co-responsibility guarantees of the principals, the contractors and subcontractors .....................................................................88 4.4.- The principals’ obligation to check that the contractor or subcontractor is up to date with the payment of Social Security contributions: scope of application and consequences ....................90 4.5.- Joint and several liability: legal exclusions .............................91 4.6.- Applicable collective agreement to the contractor company ....91 4.7.- Information and representation rights ...................................91 5.- Illegal transfer of workers ................................................ 92 5.1.- The prohibition established in art. 43 WS ..............................92 5.2.- Consequences and sanctions of the illegal transfer of workers 94 6.- Temporary Work Agencies (TWA) ..................................... 95 6.1.- Legal regulation of Temporary Work Agencies .......................95 6.2.- Supply contract (contrato de puesta a disposición) ................98 6.3.- Relationship between the worker and the TWA .................... 100 6.4.- Relationship between the worker and the user company ...... 101 7.- Transfer of an undertaking (transmission de empresa) .. 103

7.1.- Concept and causes .......................................................... 103 7.2.- The effects of the transfer ................................................. 105 7. 3.- Obligations and liabilities arising from the transfer .............. 106

LESSON 6.- CONCEPT AND FUNCTIONS OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT ............................................................................... 109 1.- The labour contract: concept .......................................... 109 2.- Constitutive function of the labour relationship ............. 109 3.- Regulatory function of the labour relationship: most beneficial contractual condition ........................................... 109 3.1.- The principle of respect of the most beneficial contractual condition .................................................................................. 109 3.2.- Origin of most beneficial contractual conditions ................... 110 3.3.- Content of most beneficial contractual condition .................. 111 3.4.- Modification and suppression of most beneficial contractual conditions ................................................................................ 112 4.- Applicative function of the labour relationship: the inalienability principle .......................................................... 113 4.1.- The inalienability principle of labour rights .......................... 113 4.2.- Limitation and expiration of labour rights ............................ 114

LESSON 7.- THE UNBOARDING OF THE WORKER IN THE COMPANY ................................................................................ 117 1.- The workers’ capacity to enter into a contract and capacity to work: age and nationality ................................................ 117 1.1.- The workers’ capacity to contract ....................................... 117 1.2.- Limitations to the capacity to work ..................................... 118 2.- The employers’ capacity to contract ............................... 125 3.- The form of the contract ................................................. 126 3.1.- ¿Freedom of form? ............................................................ 126 3.2.- Employer obligations linked to the formalization of the employment contract ................................................................ 127 4.- The ineffectiveness of the employment contract ............ 129 5.- Freedom of contract and its limitation ............................ 129 5.1.- The enterprises’ freedom to set and modify the employee workforce ................................................................................. 129 5.2.- The recruitment of workers ................................................ 132 6.- The trial period ................................................................ 135 6.1.- Concept and duration ........................................................ 135 6.2.- The right of withdrawal ..................................................... 137

LESSON 8.- THE LABOUR HIRING: THE DIFFERENT CONTRACTUAL MODALITIES ............................................................................ 139 1.- General overview of labour hiring: the labour reform of 2021 (RDL 32/2021) and its impact on the different labour modalities .............................................................................................. 139 2.- The ordinary indefinite contract...................................... 141 3.- Temporary structural hiring ............................................ 142 3.1.- Temporary contract grounded on production overload (long and short modalities) ....................................................................... 142 3.2.- Substitution contract ......................................................... 145 4.- Common rules for temporary structural contracts (art. 15 WS) ....................................................................................... 146 5.- Temporary contracts for the promotion of employment . 149 6.- Contracts with training purposes .................................... 150 6.1.- Alternative training contract ............................................... 150 6.2.- Contract to obtain professional practice .............................. 152 6.3.- Common rules to training contracts .................................... 153 7. Part-time Contracts .......................................................... 153 7.1.- Part-time contract (common) ............................................. 154 7.2.- Partial retirement and relay contract (“contrato de relevo”) .. 156 8.- Permanent seasonal contracts (“contrato fijo-discontinuo”) .............................................................................................. 157 9.- Other types of employment contracts: remote work and teleworking .............................................................................. 158

ABBREVIATIONS AD: Additional Disposition CC: Civil Code CCo: Code of Commerce EBEP: Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of 30th October, approving the revised text of the Law on the Basic Statute of the Public Employee GSST: General Social Security Treasury LGSS: Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of 30th October, approving the revised text of the General Social Security Law ILO: International Labour Organization LE: Law 3/2023 of 28th February on Employment LETA: Law 20/2007, of 11 July, on the Statute for Self-Employed Workers LETT: Law 14/1994 of 1 June 1994 regulating temporary work agencies LGDPD: Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, of 29th November, approving the Consolidated Text of the General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion LISOS: Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000, of 4th August, approving the revised text of the Law on Offences and Penalties in the Social Order LOSU: Organic Law 2/2023 of 22nd March on the University System LPRL: Law 31/1995, of 8 November 1995, on the Prevention of Occupational Risks LRW: Law 10/2021 of 9th July on remote work RETT: Royal Decree 417/2015, of 29 May, approving the Regulation on temporary work agencies SC: Spanish Constitution

SJL: Law 36/2011, of 10th October, regulating the social jurisdiction STS: Judgment of the Supreme Court TWA: Temporary Work Agency WS: Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of 23rd October, approving the revised text of the Workers' Statute Law UC: User Company

LESSON 1.- CONCEPTS AND HISTORY OF LABOUR LAW María Pons Carmena 1.- Definition and scope of Labour Law Labour Law is the branch of the Law that covers all the principles, rules and provisions regulating industrial relations. More precisely, Labour law is a body of Law whose main concern is the employment contract and the legal institutions that surround it; it is the foundation of a multidisciplinary subject called “industrial relations”, to which economics, sociology, political science and law contribute. Labour Law is usually divided into two branches: individual and collective Labour Law. On the one hand, individual Labour Law, regulates the individual relationship between a worker and an employer (employee-employer), being its basic institution the employment contract. This branch of Labour Law (individual Labour Law) includes the regulation of the basic working conditions (pay, working time, working conditions, leaves of absence, suspension of the employment contract, dismissal, etc.). On the other hand, collective Labour Law regulates collective relationships between workers representatives and employers and/or employers’ associations. In this sense, collective Labour Law deals with such major issues as employee information and consultation, collective bargaining, workers representation, trade unions, industrial/collective disputes and actions (strikes, lockouts, etc.). Sometimes this branch of Labour Law it is simply labelled Trade Unions Law. It should be considered that Labour Law refers as well to other blocks or types of provisions, related to social and labour matters. In this respect, we can refer to Employment Law, which includes the labour market and the placement of workers within it; Administrative Labour Law, which refers to the State intervention on Industrial Relations and, specifically, to the administrative sanctioning process; Procedural Labour Law; Social security Law; amongst others. As it might be known, Spanish Labour Law is subject to a specific jurisdiction (labour Law matters are handled by social or labour courts whose mission is to resolve individual and collective legal disputes between employers and employees) and to a specific government body (the Labour Inspectorate), whose mission is to secure the enforcement of legal provisions relating to the conditions of work. The objective or main purpose of Labour Law is to protect the workers because they are the weaker party of the employment contract. Also, it can be said that Labour Law is there to confirm the legitimacy of the subjects 3

of industrial relations and their relationships (workers, employers’ organizations and the state). Labour Law has as an objective to establish a balance between the interests of these three actors and those of the rest of the community. Therefore, in this respect, it can be said that Labour Law regulates the scope and the boundaries of industrial conflict. The scope of application of Labour Law is determined by the rule established on article 1.1 of the Workers’ Statute (WS): “The present Law shall be applied to the workers that voluntarily rendering their services for compensation on behalf of another party, within the scope of organization and management of another, physical or legal person, called the employer or entrepreneur”. This art. 1.1 WS establishes too the main elements that must be satisfied within the individual employment relationship to be “covered” by Labour Law (1.- Subordination/dependence and 2.- Ajenidad/”alienation” (to be separated from the risks of the markets). These main elements of the employment relationship will be explained in depth on Lesson 4. In any case, at this point it is important to distinguish between the following: a.Employment relationships (under the protection of the WS and other Labour Laws; b.- Labour relationships excluded from Labour Law (art. 1.3 WS); c.- Special labour relationships (art. 2 WS). As we shall see, because of the relaxation of the typical elements defining the employment relationship and the interpretation of the courts, the scope of application of Labour Law has been extended, on the one hand, to labour relations that would be outside it and, in turn, on the other hand, it has been reduced because Labour Law does not regulate all subordinate employment relationships (the services of civil servants, art. 1.3.a WS). It is also important to note the difference between subordinate worker and self-employed worker, noting that, with respect to the latter, there is the figure of the "economically dependent self-employed worker" or TRADE, regulated by the LETA (art. 11 WS). Mention should also be made of workers on digital platforms, especially riders, but also other workers in the so-called GIG economy, and their consideration as “false selfemployed”. In this sense, the STS of September 25, 2020 (GLOVO), the approval of RDL 9/2021, subsequently Law 12/2021, of September 28, amending art. 64.4 WS and a new AD 23º (presumption of employment) is introduced. 2.- Historical events Labour Law as a specific regulation, different from Civil and Commercial regulations, is a recent phenomenon. This process of legal determination 4

or differentiation is in the whole a contemporary phenomenon which, at least in Spain, did not seriously began before the 20th. century. 2.1.- Industrial Revolution (late 18th-early 19th centuries) In Europe, Labour law arose in parallel with the Industrial Revolution as the relationship between worker and employer changed from small-scale production studios to large-scale factories. Workers sought better working conditions and the right to join a union, while employers sought a more predictable, more flexible and less costly workforce. The state of Labour law at any one time is therefore the product of and a component of struggles that might take place between various social forces. The main features of the Industrial Revolution in respect to industrial relations were the following: a.- generalization of paid labour; b.- change in the property of the means of production and separation between labour and capital; c.- changes in the way work is organized: from craftsman shop to factory work (the named division of labour, specialization and hierarchy); d.-alienation of individual workers and radical transformation in the structure of society: the working class; and e.- higher benefits for employers depended on lower labour costs. 2.2.- The 19th century Throughout the 19th century, the application of the liberal ideology individualism- to employment relationships led to the following: 1.- the predominance of basic liberal principles: the freedom of work and the autonomy of will; 2.- the use of the contract of lease of services (Civil Law), which implies free agreements of will without state intervention; and 3.the workers organizations were seen as interfering in the market’s freedom. The main effects of the liberal ideology in respect to the need of development of Labor Law was the urgency to withhold the exploitation and poverty of workers; in this respect, the last decades of the 19th., century were representatives, withing the area of the social sciences, as the decades in which it was necessary to attend the so called “social question”: social awareness, or awareness of the working class, as a social class. 2.3.- The Spanish case: an historical overview The “take-off” period of the Industrial Revolution in Spain did not appear until the 1860s, with textiles and railways transport as the leading industries. That being the case, Spain remained a basically agricultural country well into the 20th., century. In 1900, more than 50 per 100 of the 5

population worked in the primary sector, mainly agriculture. The most industrialized areas were Cataluña and the Basque Country. In respect to the start of industry, the first basic industry to be industrialized in Spain was textiles, which concentrated in Cataluña and whose growth was obtained from the export trade in viticulture. The first modern cotton-textile-bleaching factory was open in Barcelona in 1737, followed by the spinning factories of 1765 and the introduction of new technologies (the spinning Jenny, the water frame and the Crompton’s mule). This modernization process utilized the steam engine in the manufacturing process. In the middle of 19th century, the Catalonianbased textile industry was the 4th. of the world. Lack of cheap coal was one of the reasons on the decline in the second half of the 19th. century. Spain had several soft-coal mines (Asturias, León, Ciudad Real…) but coal was of poor quality and expensive. After 1832, factories that used coal started to appear in Asturias, the Basque country (La Vizcaya, Altos Hornos, Fábricas de Hierro y Acero de Bilbao, la Iberia, etc.). These companies attracted other activities and services such as shipping, insurance, chemical and electricity companies, as well as banks and machinery producers. Spain had also other metals as cooper and lead. The dominants were Tharsis Sulfur and Cooper Mines Limited (1866) and the Rio Tinto Company Limited, both in Huelva (1880). Most of the production was exported. Trade evolved in similar terms as in the rest of Europe but, in 1891, a protection tariff was imposed. Transport situation was complicated due to the physical conditions of the country and the economic situation of public finances. The first railway track was established in 1848 (Barcelona-Mataró). In respect to the political situation of Spain during the XIX century, we should recall Napoleon’s invasion in 1808. Spain was an occupied country from 1808 to 1814 (Independence war). In 1812 the first Spanish Constitution was approved in Cadiz, named “La Pepa”. The independent government of Spain was able to abolish the Inquisition, and the absolute monarchy, and to establish the principles of universal male suffrage (women in 1933), and a constitutional monarchy, freedom of press, land reform and free enterprise. But in 1814, King Ferdinand VII abolished this first Constitution and re-established the “Old Regime” (1814-1820). The historical period named Trienio Liberal run from 1820 to 1823 and the Liberals, led by Rafael del Riego, demanded that the Constitution of 1812 be restored. Afterwards, during the “Ominous Decade” (1823-1833) the execution of Riego took place and the restoration of absolutism, ruling of Ferdinand VII, succeeded by his daughter Isabella in 1833. During this 6

period, from 1810 to 1833 the process of the Spanish America Independence took place. The arrival of Spanish forces in the American colonies began in 1814. In 1819 ended Spanish rule in Colombia, Argentina (1816), Chile (1817), Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Central America (1820), Venezuela (1821). During the years 1833 to 1843, the Carlist War and the Regencies took place. On the one hand, Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (Ferdinand VII´s wife) became regent for her daughter Isabella in 1833. She was a liberal and a reformer. On the other, the conservatives backed the rebel Infant Carlos, that pretended the Spanish throne. Carlos received considerable support from the Basque country, Aragón and Cataluña because he was in favor of the “Fueros” (pre-bourbon privileges for some regions). In 1835 the Carlist controlled all Spain north of Ebro River. France helped Maria Cristina’s cause. Having failed to take Madrid and having lost their popular general (Zumalacárregui), the Carlist armies began to weaken. Maria Cristina also received Uks’ support (equipment and manpower). In 1836 the so called – Desamortización de Mendizábal took place, and it meant the confiscation and sale of church property, mainly immense amounts of land that went to large landowners. A new Constitution in 1837 increased the power of the Spanish Parliament (las Cortes) but the Regent Maria Cristinatried to undo this Constitution of 1837. She finally had to resign the regency and Espartero was made President of the country (1841). He was an experienced commander but inexperience with politics and became unpopular because of his military ruling style. In 1843, the Cortes, exasperated by serial revolutions, coups and countercoups, decided not to name another regent and, instead, declared that 13 years old Isabella II was of age to become the new Queen. Her rule was chaotic and troubled. At this point, Olozaga was named President of the government (only for 15 days). Gonzalez-Bravo was the next President. He was a moderate. In 1844, a new government was led by Narváez and a new Constitution was approved in 1845. During this period a series of political reforms tried to stabilize the administration. But things were not easy as the electoral law of 1846 limited suffrage to wealthy people and established a property bar for voting. The Second Carlist war took place between 1846 and 1849 with the aim of establishing conservative ideas. In 1849 Narváez was succeeded by Bravo Murillo, a President that made serious efforts to advance Spanish industry and commerce. In 1852 he proposed to reduce the power of the Cortes and to increase the ability of the executive to legislate by decree in times of crisis. 12 days later, the Cortes convinced the Queen (Isabella II) to sack Bravo Murillo and to find

a new President of the Government: Roncali; who was replaced a few months later by Lersundi; after by Sartorius. In 1854 a major rebellion broke out and Espartero was named President of the government and formed a coalition government (Unión Liberal) with O’Donnell, who had taken the lead in the revolution. The Unión Liberal party tried to progress in industry, infrastructures, public works and a national compromise on constitutional and social issues. Esparteros’ coalition with O’Donnell collapsed and the Queen named Espartero as President of the government. But again in 1856 Narváez returned to politics and was named President of the government by Queen Isabella II. In 1858 again O’Donnell came back to government and was able to restore stability for 5 years, until 1863. The Queen replaced him with Narváez. The period between 1868 and 1873 was named “la Gloriosa”. Queen Isabella II was sent to exile in 1868. Her continual vacillation between liberal and conservative quarters had made, even on her supporters, to prefer a more effective regimen. General Prim was the architect of the 1868 revolution against Queen Isabella II. A coalition of liberals, moderates and republicans were faced now with the task of finding a government. The President of the government was Serrano (1868) and, after him, Prim (1869), who wanted to find a democratic King for Spain: an Italian prince, Amadeo de Saboya I (1870). He had no experience although his father was the King of Italy. A quite liberal new Constitution was approved in 1869. Amadeo de Saboya abdicated in 1873. He declared that the people of Spain were ungovernable. Rebel republicans and carlists were there to battle over the country. The first Republic (1873-1874) was declared by Parliament majority made up of radicals, republicans and democrats. This first Republic was a short experience and was characterized by profound political and social instability. It was governed by 4 Presidents (Figueras, Pi y Maragall, Salmerón and Emilio Castelar). The period was marked by 3 civil wars (Third Carlist war, the Cantonal Revolution and the Petroleum revolution in Alcoy) and by a 10 years’ war in Cuba. An Spanish writer, Benito Pérez Galdós, aged 21 at the time, wrote about the parliamentary atmosphere of the First Republic: “The sessions of the Constituent (Cortes) attracted me, and most afternoons I spent in the press box, enjoying the spectacle of indescribable confusion cast by the fathers of the country. An endless individualism, the coming and going of opinions, from the most thoughtout to the most extravagant, and the deadly spontaneity of most speakers, drove the spectator crazy and rendered the historic functions impossible. Days and nights went by without the Cortes deciding how the ministers should be appointed: if they would individually elect by a vote of each 8

representative, or if it would be better to authorize Figueras or Pi to come up with a list of the new government. Each and every system was agreed on and later scrapped. It was a puerile game, which would have caused laughter if it had not been deeply sad”. The first Republic ended in 1874 when Captain General of Madrid, Manuel Pavia, pronounced against the federal governments. General Francisco Serrano was appointed President of the Republic, but it was just a formality because the Cortes had been dissolved. The Republic finally ended when Brigadier Martinez Campos pronounced himself in favor of Alfonso (the son Queen Isabella II), as well as some other monarchists (“Alfonsists”). The historic period known as the “Restoration”, restoration of the Bourbon monarchy with the proclamation of Alfonso XII as King of Spain, began in 1875. After almost a century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the “Restoration” was to create a new political system which ensured stability by the practice of “turnismo” (the deliberate rotation of the Liberal and the Conservative parties in the government). Opposition to the system came from republicans, socialist, anarchist, basque and catalan nationalist and carlists. In any case, the new Constitution of 1876 established Spain as a Constitutional Monarchy with Cortes Generales (Congress and Senate). This Constitution gave the King (Alfonso XII) the power to name senators and to revoke laws if he wanted to and he was also named Commander-in-Chief of the Army. These years (1874-1898) were marked by some economic prosperity because the modernization of the country took place on a large scale. Domestic production increased, supported by extreme protectionist measures. In 1898 Spain lost its last major overseas colonies (Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines) in the Spanish-American war. The rapid collapsed was seen as a disaster in Spain, undermining the credibility of the government and its associated ideas, almost leading to a coup d’etat led by Polavieja. This was the start of the system decline. 3.- The evolution of Spanish Labour Law 3.1.- The first labour laws (1873-1900) The first labour law that was approved in Spain was the Act of July 24th., of 1873, called Ley Benot. This law regulated hours and conditions of work of minors: work was prohibited for children under 10 years old and, also, working hours were limited for teenagers (15 years old). In similar terms, the Act of July 26th., of 1878 prohibited work of minors in some dangerous activities; and the Act of March 13th., 1900 sat new rules for the 9