Royal Decree 723/2026: new obligation to inform each employee in writing

On 15 September 2026, Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) published Royal Decree 723/2026, which transposes the European Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. The rule came into force on 5 October 2026 and replaces the previous Royal Decree 1659/1998.

Its main implication for companies is clear: before a person starts working, the employer must give them written information on the essential elements of their contract and working conditions. It applies to all employment relationships lasting more than four weeks.

What information must be provided?

Among other things, the employee must be informed in writing of:

• The identity of the parties, the start date and, for fixed-term contracts, their duration, legal ground and the specific circumstances that justify it.
• The company’s registered office and the workplace, including the assigned centre for remote workers.
• The job, its duties and professional group.
• The base salary and each supplement separately, how it is paid and, if there is variable pay, how it is calculated.
• Working hours and schedule, overtime, holidays and the probationary period.
• The applicable collective agreement (with its code and publication date), training, the termination procedure and notice periods.
• The mutual insurer and other Social Security matters, the equality plan, the harassment protocol and, where applicable, LGBTI measures.
• As a new requirement, whether the company uses algorithms or automated systems to make decisions affecting working conditions.

If the signed contract already includes all this information, the obligation is met. If it only includes part of it, the rest must be provided in writing.

How and when must it be delivered?

• Before the person starts working, on paper or by email, in a format they can store and print.
• The company must keep proof of delivery. In our template, both the company and the employee sign every page.
• If any condition changes later, it must be communicated in writing no later than the day the change takes effect.
• Existing employees may request this information, and the company must provide it within 30 working days.

Our information document template

To make this easier, INCOFIS has prepared an information document template to be completed and given to every new employee. Click here to download it (in Spanish).

You can also download our information note on Royal Decree 723/2026 (PDF, in Spanish), with full details of what changes.

The document has two parts:

• Part 1: completed by the company. It covers the employee’s details and the conditions agreed for that specific contract: start date, probationary period, job and duties, contract type, workplace, salary, working hours and schedule.
• Part 2: if you are an INCOFIS client, we complete it with the company, collective agreement and Social Security details already on file.

Some tips:

• Once Part 1 is completed, send it to us together with the registration notice for the new hire. We will complete Part 2 and return the document ready to be signed and delivered.
• We recommend opening it with Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader (free). Some fields appear greyed out and are enabled when the relevant box is ticked; for example, fixed-term contract details when ticking “Temporal” and remote work details when ticking “Sí”. These fields cannot be unlocked from a web browser or from Mac Preview.
• Boxes are ticked with a single click. Leave blank anything that does not apply.
• For fixed-term contracts, it is important to explain clearly the legal ground, the specific circumstances that justify it and why they require that duration.

If you have any questions about applying this new obligation in your company, contact us and we will help you.