Decree 67/2026 subsidizes equality plans for Cantabrian SMEs

The Governing Council of Cantabria approved Decree 67/2026, of September 17, which regulates the procedure for the direct granting of subsidies aimed at supporting the implementation of equality plans in SMEs. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC no. 184, of September 24, 2026, section 6. Subsidies and Grants) and enters into force the day following its publication. The text replaces Decree 76/2017, of October 13, which was subject to the now-expired Cantabria Operational Program of the European Social Fund 2014-2020.

The new regulation develops the mandate of Organic Law 3/2007, of March 22, and Royal Decree-Law 6/2019, of March 1, which extended the obligation to develop and apply an equality plan to all companies with fifty or more employees. It is based on Royal Decree 901/2020, of October 13, and Royal Decree 902/2020, of October 13, on pay equity, and is executed through the Cantabrian Employment Service, under the Ministry of Industry, Employment, Innovation, and Trade. The decree is signed by President María José Sáenz de Buruaga Gómez and Councilor Eduardo C. Arasti Barca.

The preamble justifies the measure with data from the Cantabrian Institute of Statistics (ICANE) and the National Statistics Institute (INE): in the first quarter of 2026, the male employment rate was 77.24% compared to 69.40% for females; part-time work affected 21.47% of women and 8.14% of men; and in 2024, the average female salary in Cantabria stood at 23,863.21 euros compared to 30,052.78 euros for males. 99.13% of Cantabrian companies have fewer than fifty employees.

Amounts by workforce brackets

• From 4 to 10 employees: 2,000 euros.
• From 11 to 20 employees: 3,600 euros.
• From 21 to 30 employees: 4,500 euros.
• From 31 to 40 employees: 5,200 euros.
• From 41 to 49 employees: 6,000 euros.

The amount is increased by 1,000 euros if the company proves a planned set of measures for the real and effective equality of LGBTI people and a general protocol against harassment and violence, in accordance with Royal Decree 1026/2024, of October 8. The grants are de minimis and are compatible with other subsidies, without in any case exceeding the cost of the subsidized activity.

Requirements and exclusions

Beneficiaries may be SMEs with a workforce of more than three and fewer than fifty employees, with all their workplaces located in Cantabria and with the equality plan already registered in the Registry of Collective Agreements, Collective Labor Agreements, and Equality Plans. The following are excluded:

• SMEs that, as of the application date, have a legal obligation to develop and implement an equality plan.
• Those that have already been beneficiaries under this decree.
• Beneficiaries of Decree 76/2017 in the four years prior to its entry into force.
• Those that cannot receive de minimis aid or fall under the prohibitions of Law 38/2003, of November 17, and Cantabria Law 10/2006, of July 17.

Deadlines, processing, and control

The application must be submitted within a maximum period of three months from the resolution communicating the registration of the equality plan, electronically and using the official form available on the Servicio Cántabro de Empleo website. The Unidad de Igualdad de Oportunidades instructs the procedure and the head of the Servicio Cántabro de Empleo resolves it within a maximum period of three months; if this period passes without notification, the application may be understood as rejected. Payment is made in a single installment after the grant is awarded and without the need to provide guarantees.

The regulation seeks to simplify access for small and medium-sized Cantabrian enterprises to the financing of their equality plans, eliminating administrative burdens and linking the aid to the registry filing of the plan. For the workforce, the incentive translates into more tools to correct the wage gap and labor segregation detected by ICANE and the INE.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 184, of September 24, 2026, section 6. Grants and Aid, pages 46590-46608 (official reference: CVE-2026-7364).