The Government Delegation sets permits of up to four hours to vote on 29N

The Government Delegation in Extremadura has resolved how the working hours for Sunday, November 29, 2026—the election day for the Congress of Deputies and the Senate—will be applied, and has established paid leave of up to four hours for public employees of the General State Administration who do not enjoy their weekly rest on that day. The decision is published as announcement 4309/2026 in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz number 209, dated October 30, 2026, within the State Administration section, and bears the signature of the delegate María Teresa Macías Mateos.

The starting point: the dissolution of the Cortes

The resolution stems from Royal Decree 806/2026, of October 5, on the dissolution of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate and the calling of elections, published in the Official State Gazette number 248, dated October 6, 2026, which set the date for the polls for November 29.

The delegate acts by virtue of the powers attributed to her by article 73 of Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, and to comply with article 13 of Royal Decree 605/1999, of April 16. The scope of application includes public employees serving in the General State Administration in the autonomous community of Extremadura, including those stationed in the province of Badajoz.

Staggered leave from two to four hours

The first section of the resolution regulates the paid leave for those who go to vote and do not have the day off, calculated based on the hours during which the work schedule coincides with the polling hours, set from 9:00 to 20:00:

• No right to leave: when the work schedule does not coincide with the voting hours or coincides for less than two hours.
• Two hours of leave: when the coincidence is two or more hours and less than four.
• Three hours of leave: when the coincidence is four or more hours and less than six.
• Four hours of leave: when the coincidence is six or more hours.

The specific distribution of the period during which each employee may use the leave will be determined by the Personnel Unit of their assignment, based on the organization of work.

Mail-in voting and partial workdays

Those who vote by mail and provide services far from their habitual residence, or find themselves in conditions that hinder the exercise of suffrage, may substitute the leave for another of an identical nature intended to personally request the certification proving their registration in the Census—as provided for in article 72 of Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, on the General Electoral Regime—and to send the vote. Its duration is calculated using the same criteria, considering the opening hours of the Post Offices.

In the case of part-time employees with hours lower than the standard workday, the leave will be reduced in the same proportion as exists between their workday and that of a full-time employee.

Polling stations: full workday and five additional hours

The fifth section addresses those who are presidents, members, or scrutineers of polling stations, who will have paid leave for the entire workday on the day of voting if they do not have that day off and, additionally, a reduction of five hours from their workday on the immediately following day. Proxies will have leave for the full workday of November 29, without subsequent reduction. If any of them were assigned the night shift on the eve of the election, they may request a shift change to rest the night before the vote.

The relevance of the resolution is practical and immediate: the personnel services of the state delegations and offices in the province already have homogeneous criteria to coordinate schedules and on-call shifts for an election day that falls on a Sunday and requires balancing public service with the staff’s right to vote.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 209, October 30, 2026, State Administration, page 2 (official reference: 4309/2026).