Vitoria adapts partial retirement for its municipal contractual staff

The Local Government Board of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council approved, in an ordinary session on September 25, 2026, the modification of point 2 of the 2024 working conditions agreement for municipal contractual staff, regarding partial retirement associated with the relief contract. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) no. 114, dated October 5, 2026, section II of Local Administration, with the official reference 2026-02779.

The current agreement for the contractual staff of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council was approved by agreement of the Local Government Board on June 28, 2024 (BOTHA no. 77) and referred partial retirement linked to the relief contract to “the conditions established by the city council in accordance with applicable legislation.” Two subsequent state regulations necessitated the specification of those conditions: Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, of December 23, for the improvement of the compatibility of the retirement pension with work, published in the BOE on December 24, 2024, and validated by a resolution of the Congress of Deputies on January 22, 2025, and Royal Decree-Law 19/2026, of June 29, on urgent measures regarding the early partial retirement of contractual staff in public administrations.

The new text of point 2

The approved wording entirely replaces point 2 of the agreement and establishes the following conditions:

• Partial retirees shall sign a part-time employment contract with a relief contract, at most, three years before the ordinary retirement date, according to Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, of December 23.
• The reduction in working hours for the partial retiree shall be 75 percent.
• In cases where access to partial retirement is anticipated by more than two years relative to the ordinary age, the reduction in working hours during the first year is set at 33 percent.
• The validity of the agreement extends from its signing until its legal repeal or the new legal adaptation that may apply.

The text is supported by article 8.2 b) of Organic Law 11/1985, of August 2, on Trade Union Freedom, Title III of the consolidated text of the Workers’ Statute Law, articles 31 and following of the consolidated text of the Basic Statute of Public Employees Law, and articles 191.1 b) and 195 of Law 11/2022, of December 1, on Basque Public Employment.

Negotiation with the Works Council

The agreement was reached during the negotiation table session held on July 28, 2026, with the Works Council, to modify the regulation of the access conditions for municipal contractual staff to partial retirement associated with a relief contract. The proposal was submitted to the Local Government Board by the delegated councilor for Public Service, exercising the powers under Article 127 of Law 7/1985, regulating the Bases of Local Regime, and the delegation granted on June 22, 2023.

By virtue of Article 82.4 of the Workers’ Statute, point 2 of the agreement approved on June 28, 2024 (BOTHA no. 77), is exclusively rendered null and void, as are any instructions, partial agreements, and collective or individual provisions of equal or lower rank that oppose or contradict the new text. The agreement is signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz, on September 18, 2026, by the delegated councilor of the Department of Public Service, Jon Armentia Fructuoso.

Deadlines and appeals process

The agreement exhausts the administrative route. The following may be filed against it:

• A contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Contentious-Administrative section of the Court of First Instance of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
• Optionally, a request for reversal (recurso de reposición) before the same body that issued the agreement, within one month, in accordance with Article 46.1 of Law 29/1998, of July 13, and Articles 123 and 124 of Law 39/2015, of October 1.

The deadlines are calculated starting from the day following the publication in the BOTHA.

The modification affects all contractual staff of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council who wish to apply for partial retirement with a relief contract and establishes, for the first time, concrete figures for working hour reductions, which until now were referred to general legislation. The change seeks to make generational replacement within the municipal workforce compatible with the criteria of equality, capacity, merit, and transparency required in the selection of relief personnel.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA), no. 114, of October 5, 2026, section II - Local Administration, pág. 1-3 (official reference: 2026-02779).