The Constitutional Court admits three questions of unconstitutionality against public sector temporary employment

The Constitutional Court has admitted for processing three questions of unconstitutionality against the sixth and eighth additional provisions of Law 20/2021, of December 28, on urgent measures for the reduction of temporary employment in the public sector. The Plenary adopted the decision by order on September 22, 2026, and the edicts are published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 239, of Monday, September 28, 2026, in Section I (General Provisions), with official references BOE-A-2026-20001, BOE-A-2026-20002, and BOE-A-2026-20003. All three were raised by the 2nd Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha.

The judicial body considers that both provisions may violate articles 23.2 and 149.1.18 of the Constitution. In accordance with article 10.1 c) of the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court, the Plenary has reserved the knowledge of the three questions for itself, placing their resolution in the highest instance of the court of guarantees.

The three admitted questions

• Question of unconstitutionality no. 5551-2026, ordinary procedure no. 434-2022, published on page 126375 (BOE-A-2026-20001).
• Question of unconstitutionality no. 5552-2026, ordinary procedure no. 400-2022, published on page 126376 (BOE-A-2026-20002).
• Question of unconstitutionality no. 5959-2026, ordinary procedure no. 514-2022, published on page 126377 (BOE-A-2026-20003).

What is being questioned: the competition route

The sixth additional provision of Law 20/2021 orders public administrations to call, on an exceptional basis and in accordance with article 61.6 and 7 of the revised text of the Law of the Basic Statute of the Public Employee, via a competition system, those positions that had been occupied on a temporary basis uninterruptedly prior to January 1, 2016. These are one-time processes that can be negotiated in each territorial scope: State Administration, autonomous communities, and local entities.

The eighth additional provision expands this perimeter: the stabilization processes of the sixth additional provision must include in their calls the vacant positions of a structural nature occupied temporarily by personnel with a relationship of that nature prior to January 1, 2016. In other words, what is at stake is the stabilization model without a competitive examination that has governed thousands of calls throughout Spain.

Background: Castilla-La Mancha before the Plenary

This is not the first time that the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has brought these provisions before the Constitutional Court. Unconstitutionality question no. 2796-2024, admitted for processing by order of May 21, 2024 (BOE-A-2024-10497, BOE no. 127, of May 25, 2024), was resolved by Judgment 27/2025, of January 29, 2025, which dismissed the question due to the incorrect formulation of the applicability assessment (BOE-A-2025-4080, BOE no. 51, of February 28, 2025). The State Attorney, the Government of the Regional Council of Castilla-La Mancha, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office appeared in that proceeding, and Magistrate Enrique Arnaldo Alcubilla served as the rapporteur.

More recently, the Plenary admitted question no. 4688-2026, also from the 2nd Section of the same court, by order of July 21, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-16545, BOE no. 185, of July 30, 2026). The three now-published edicts confirm a line of challenge maintained by the contentious-administrative courts of Castilla-La Mancha.

Deadlines and procedure

Those who are parties to the affected ordinary proceedings may appear before the Constitutional Court within fifteen days following the publication of each edict in the Official State Gazette. The edicts are signed in Madrid, on September 22, 2026, by the Justice Secretary of the Plenary of the Constitutional Court, Alfonso Pérez Camino.

Admission for processing does not anticipate the meaning of the future judgment, but it opens the door for the Plenary to rule for the first time on the substance of the regulation that has sustained the stabilization of temporary employment in Spain.

The outcome directly affects thousands of interim and long-term workers who have placed their expectation of permanent status in the competitive processes of Law 20/2021, as well as the administrations that have already called for or resolved those positions. An eventual declaration of unconstitutionality would force a review of the access system and could reopen stabilization files throughout the territory.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 239, of September 28, 2026, Section I (General provisions), pp. 126375-126377 (official references: BOE-A-2026-20001, BOE-A-2026-20002 and BOE-A-2026-20003).