Congress validates the decree-law on protection against forest fires

The Congress of Deputies validated Royal Decree-Law 20/2026, of July 29, establishing urgent labor and social protection measures against forest fires. The agreement, adopted in a plenary session, is ordered to be published by means of the Resolution of September 9, 2026, signed by the President of the Chamber, Francina Armengol Socias, and appears in the Official State Gazette number 225, of September 11, 2026 (reference BOE-A-2026-18994).

The regulation, approved by the Government on July 29 and published in the BOE number 185, of July 30, 2026 (reference BOE-A-2026-16543), responds to the need to incorporate the labor dimension into the public response to a civil protection situation of extraordinary gravity. Its validation is processed in accordance with Article 86.2 of the Constitution, which requires decree-laws to be submitted for debate and voting by the plenary of the Congress within thirty days.

Labor measures and extraordinary benefit

The text creates an extraordinary benefit for extreme emergency, with the nature of a contributory unemployment benefit, for workers who cannot return to their position due to causes derived from the fires. The right to suspend the contract and request the benefit is recognized in several situations:

• Impossibility of accessing the habitual residence due to evacuation orders, access restrictions, or other measures by the competent authorities.
• Obligation to perform tasks of relocation, cleaning, or conditioning of the home or recovery of belongings, as well as in-person procedures to obtain official documents.
• Attention to care duties for a spouse, domestic partner, or relatives up to the second degree, including those derived from the closure of educational centers or the impossibility of the habitual caregiver.

Social Security and registry measures

Chapter II of the regulation contemplates measures for self-employed workers, who may request the cessation of activity benefit without proving a minimum contribution period or force majeure, as well as exemptions in Social Security contributions for affected companies. Chapter III includes measures regarding notary and registry matters, and the additional provisions regulate the suspension of procedural deadlines between July 27 and July 31, 2026, special rules on the duty to request insolvency proceedings, and the suspension of prescription and expiration periods.

Development and processing

The second final provision empowers the General Directorate of the State Public Employment Service to issue the resolutions necessary for the management of benefits. In exercise of this empowerment, the SEPE approved the Resolution of July 30, 2026, published in the BOE on August 1, which regulates the processing of the procedure for the recognition of unemployment benefits, including the submission of the company certificate through the Certific@2 application.

The validation of Royal Decree-Law 20/2026 consolidates a protection framework that guarantees economic coverage for workers and self-employed individuals affected by forest fires, preventing the consequences of the emergency, which are beyond their control, from negatively impacting their employment relationship. In doing so, the Congress reinforces the comprehensive response of public authorities to a catastrophe of extraordinary severity.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 225, September 11, 2026, Sec. I, page 121256 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18994).