Galicia regulates labor permits for voting and for polling stations

The Official Gazette of Galicia publishes this Friday, November 13, the Order of November 10, 2026, from the Ministry of Employment, Trade and Emigration, which regulates the exercise of the right to vote for employees in the general elections to the Congress of Deputies and the Senate on November 29. The regulation establishes paid leave of between two and four hours to go to the polls, a full day for those serving on electoral boards, and up to four free hours for postal voting. It appears in section III of the DOG number 218, pages 56854 to 56856, with the official reference CVE-DOG wd6sbg74-alg6-e8s3-2zg9-km1pobophea1.

The order is developed under article 37.3.d) of the consolidated text of the Workers’ Statute Law, approved by Legislative Royal Decree 2/2015, of October 23, and article 13 of Royal Decree 605/1999, on the complementary regulation of electoral processes. The call for elections derives from Royal Decree 806/2026, of October 5, on the dissolution of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate and the call for elections, published in the BOE number 248, of October 6. Since the voting falls on a Sunday, a large part of the staff does not enjoy the weekly rest period provided for in article 37.1 of the Statute on that day, hence the need to establish the possible situations in writing.

The text was issued following the agreement with the delegate of the Government in Galicia, bears the signature of the minister José González Vázquez, and enters into force the day following its publication, November 14.

Leave of two to four hours to go to the polls

The leave is calculated by comparing the working hours with the opening period of the polling stations:

• No leave when the overlap is less than two hours.
• Two hours when the overlap is two or more hours and less than four.
• Three hours when the overlap is four or more hours and less than six.
• Four hours when the working hours overlap for six or more hours with the opening of the polls.

For persons hired part-time with a workday shorter than the usual for the sector, the duration of the leave is reduced in proportion to the relationship between their workday and that of persons hired full-time in the same company. It is the responsibility of the employer to distribute, according to the organization of work, the period during which the staff will have the leave.

Up to four free hours for postal voting

Those who expect not to be in the locality where they are entitled to exercise their suffrage on the day of the vote, or those who cannot vote on that day, will have up to four free hours within their working schedule. This time serves to personally submit the request for the census registration certificate and to carry out the submission of the postal vote.

Full day for boards, scrutineers, and proxies

• Presidents, members, and scrutineers accredited: paid full-day leave on voting day if they do not have their weekly rest on that date, and in any case, the right to a five-hour reduction of the working day on the immediately following day, according to articles 28.1 and 78.4 of the Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, of the general electoral regime.
• Night shift: if the person must work the night shift on the eve of the vote, the company will change the shift so that they can rest that night.
• Proxies accredited according to article 76.4 of the same organic law: paid leave during the day of the vote if they do not have their weekly rest.

Companies may request a certificate of voting or, if applicable, accreditation from the polling station to justify the exercise of these rights.

Sectors with shifts, the most affected

The coincidence of the electoral appointment with a Sunday means that the order has a direct effect on activities that work in shifts or on weekends, such as commerce, hospitality, healthcare, or transport. The regulation does not create a universal permit: it only applies to those who do not rest on that day and to those who prove their electoral status or their participation on the board.

For readers, the text is the reference for claiming leave or for organizing shifts in companies before November 29. It is advisable to review one’s own schedule and communicate in advance the status of board member, scrutineer, or proxy, as the company may demand supporting documentation and it is the company that decides the distribution of the leave time within the working day.

Source: Official Gazette of Galicia (DOG), no. 218, November 13, 2026, section III. Other provisions, pp. 56854-56856 (official reference: CVE-DOG wd6sbg74-alg6-e8s3-2zg9-km1pobophea1).