Plásticos Vanguardia sets paid leave for bereavement and marriage in its collective agreement

The Joint Committee of the XIV Company Collective Agreement of Plásticos Vanguardia, S.A. agreed on July 21, 2026, on the interpretation of article 14 of the agreement, which establishes the calculation of paid leave in working days and adds improvements over the Workers’ Statute regarding the death, marriage, and hospitalization of relatives. The text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara No. 204, dated October 26, 2026, with the approval of the Provincial Delegation of the Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha. The agreement affects the workforce of the Azuqueca de Henares plant, where the meeting took place.

Processing: from the regional registry to the provincial gazette

The minutes of the joint committee were signed in Azuqueca de Henares on July 21, 2026, and entered the Registry of Collective Labor Agreements and Accords on September 28, 2026, under agreement code 19100432012025; the file was corrected on October 19, 2026. The provincial delegate, Susana Blas Esteban, signed in Guadalajara on October 21, 2026, the resolution ordering the registration and providing for free publication in the gazette, in accordance with article 90 of the Workers’ Statute and Royal Decree 713/2010.

The agreement was adopted unanimously by the representatives present. On behalf of the social representation, Susana López Capilla, Óscar Monseco García, David Montiel Yebra, Francisco Javier Núñez Colorado, and Ángel Luis Sanz Hernando signed; on behalf of the company, Nerea Caballero Salcedo, who is authorized to carry out the registration procedures before the General Directorate of Labor of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.

Working days, with a safeguard clause

The parties agree that the paid leave regulated in article 37.3 b) of the Workers’ Statute shall be calculated in working days. This criterion is subject to the doctrine of the Supreme Court: if a cassation judgment for the unification of doctrine were to consider those days as calendar days, that criterion would also apply to the agreement, effective 30 days after the official publication of the resolution.

Improvements over the Statute

As an improvement to the legal leave, and without being cumulative with them, the workforce may be absent with the right to remuneration in the following cases:

• Death of spouse and children: 5 calendar days.
• Death of parents, biological or in-laws: 2 days, guaranteeing the effective enjoyment of at least 1 business day.
• Death of siblings, biological or in-laws: 2 days, with at least 1 effective business day.
• Marriage of parents, siblings, and children: 1 calendar day.
• Travel for death between 150 km and 200 km: 1 additional calendar day.
• Travel for death exceeding 200 km: 2 additional calendar days.

Bereavement leave may be taken on consecutive or non-consecutive days, provided the causing event persists and sufficient prior notice is given.

Hospitalization, accompaniment, and start rules

Hospitalization is understood only as a stay in a hospital center with an admission report of 24 hours or more; attendance at emergency services does not generate leave unless it exceeds that threshold. When the admission is less than 24 hours, the worker will have up to 8 annual hours to accompany a spouse or cohabiting children, provided it coincides with their workday; this provision does not cover medical consultations.

If the leave begins after the workday has already started, it is counted as a day of leave when the time worked is equal to or less than 50% of the ordinary workday, with effective hours being compensated; if it exceeds that percentage, the leave begins on the following business day. The remuneration per hour of leave will be that assigned to the corresponding group in the collective agreement salary and seniority annexes.

The agreement also orders the registry filing and the free publication of the text, and details the degrees of kinship—consanguinity, affinity, and domestic partnership—for guidance purposes regarding leaves.

The interpretation has direct effects on the workforce of the Azud factory: it clarifies how many business days are actually deducted from each leave and expands the paid scenarios beyond the legal minimum, with a clause that ties the calculation to the decision of the Supreme Court.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Guadalajara, No. 204, October 26, 2026, Section I (Administration of the Autonomous Community), pp. 1-5 (official reference: 2026_2794).