Martos approves the remote work regulations for its municipal public employees

The Martos City Council has made the Teleworking Regulations for Municipal Public Employees definitive after the period for claims and suggestions closed without any being submitted. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Jaén number 183, dated September 21, 2026, with reference 2026/4172, within the Local Administration section. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement within two months starting from the day following publication.

The text was initially approved by the Plenary in an ordinary session on June 25, 2026, and the agreement was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Jaén number 134, dated July 14, 2026. Having passed the legal period without claims or suggestions, the agreement is now definitive. The announcement is signed by Francisco José Miranda Maldonado, acting mayor by Resolution 2823/2026 of August 20, in Martos on September 4, 2026.

The regulation responds to an objective of the Multi-annual Human Resources Planning Plan for the reduction of temporary employment and reorganization of resources 2025-2027, approved by agreement on March 27, 2025, which scheduled the development of teleworking for 2027. The high number of requests registered last year forced its processing to be brought forward. The regulation is based on Article 47 bis of Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, introduced by Royal Decree-Law 29/2020, and on Law 7/1985 regulating the Bases of the Local Regime.

Requirements and authorization procedure

The regulation applies to the civil service and contractual staff of the Martos City Council. To apply, one must be in active service with at least six consecutive months of seniority in the position and perform tasks capable of being carried out remotely, such as the preparation of reports, legal and technical advice, electronic processing of files, management of information systems, or telephone and telematic citizen services. Registry functions, in-person assistance, and those requiring physical presence are excluded.

• The application is addressed to the Mayor’s Office and processed by the Personnel Service, with prior verification by the IT Service.
• The proposed resolution must be issued within ten business days, and the reasoned resolution within one month from the application.
• Silence has dismissive effects; a motion for reconsideration may be filed within one month, to be resolved within another month.
• For contractual staff, the authorization is formalized through an annex to the employment contract.

Two days at home and three in the office

The working day will be distributed with a maximum of two non-face-to-face days per week and three face-to-face days. The mandatory schedule from 09:00 to 14:00 hours must be met, completing the remainder within the flexible window and clocking in via remote access. Authorization is voluntary and reversible, with a maximum duration of six months, renewable for equal periods.

The organization of each unit must ensure that physical presence is never less than half of the staff. Due to justified service needs, presence at the center may be required with 72 hours’ notice, a period that is reduced to 24 hours in exceptional cases. Teleworking personnel maintain the right to digital disconnection provided for in Article 88 of Organic Law 3/2018.

Priorities, means, and monitoring

When requests from the same unit exceed those that can be authorized, preferential criteria are applied by groups: female employees who are victims of gender-based violence, personnel recovering from very serious illness or oncological treatments, and pregnant women; care of children aged 0 to 3, family members with disabilities or dependency, and single-parent families; care of children aged 3 to 14; and the rest of the employees. Between spouses or stable partners, only one of them may be authorized.

• The Martos City Council provides the computer equipment and corporate software tools, subject to budget availability.
• The internet connection, printing devices, consumables, and the telephone, if there is no corporate one, are the responsibility of the employee.
• A Technical Commission for Teleworking Monitoring will be established, attached to the personnel department, chaired by the Mayor’s Office or the delegated councilor, with three members from Personnel, Occupational Risk Prevention, and IT, and one representative per union section of the General Negotiation Table.
• Those who are already teleworking have a maximum of three months from the date of entry into force to submit a new application.

The relevance of the regulation is twofold: it turns a practice already widespread among the municipal staff into a regulation and establishes, for the first time, homogeneous limits, guarantees, and controls for all personnel. Public employees of Martos now know how many days they can work outside the office, with what means, and under what priority criteria, while the City Council reserves the power to suspend or revoke the authorization due to service needs.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Jaén, no. 183, September 21, 2026, Local Administration, p. 13964 (official reference: 2026/4172).