Collective agreement for credit financial establishments 2026: what changes and what companies must do

Key data

Consumer financing, leasing and renting entities have had a new framework collective agreement since January 1, 2026 that sets the labor floor for the sector. The Resolution of September 7, 2026 from the General Directorate of Labor registers and publishes the agreement signed between ASNEF, AELR and CC.OO., with retroactive effects from the beginning of the year.

The agreement is not a minor development: it defines what can and cannot be modified in company agreements in the sector, and creates surveillance and conflict resolution structures that directly affect people management.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement acts as a minimum framework for the entire sector. This means two practical things: no company can agree to conditions below what it sets, and the more favorable conditions that already existed in each company are respected and maintained.

The matters that the agreement declares non-negotiable in lower-level scopes (that is, that cannot be modified downward in company agreements or lower-level collective agreements) are:

Additionally, the agreement creates two joint commissions with specific functions:

• Joint interpretation commission: responsible for monitoring the agreement and resolving conflicts over its application.
• Joint health and safety commission: with monitoring functions regarding occupational risk prevention.

A relevant fact for planning: the agreement is considered automatically terminated on December 31, 2026. This does not mean it ceases to apply immediately, as its normative content is maintained until a new agreement is reached, but it does require the parties to begin negotiating the next agreement before the year ends.

Economic and operational impact

The direct impact of the agreement does not come from new salary tables published in this resolution, but from the consolidation of a normative floor that limits companies' ability to make labor conditions more flexible below what was agreed at the sectoral level.

The main operational effects are:

• Review of company agreements: any collective company agreement in force in the sector must be audited to verify that it does not contradict non-negotiable matters. If it does, those clauses become void.
• Maintenance of more beneficial conditions: if a company was already applying conditions superior to those of the agreement (higher salaries, shorter working hours, more vacation days), it must maintain them. It cannot invoke the agreement to reduce them.
• Activation of joint commissions: any interpretation conflict must be channeled through the joint commission before resorting to other means. This adds a procedural step that HR departments must be aware of.
• Planning for 2027 negotiations: automatic termination on December 31, 2026 means that negotiations for the next agreement must start before the current year ends.

Who does it affect?

• Credit financial establishments associated with ASNEF (National Association of Credit Financial Establishments)
• Leasing and renting companies associated with AELR (Spanish Association of Leasing and Renting)
• Workers of all professional categories in these entities
• HR directors and labor relations managers of companies in the sector
• Labor advisors and law firms providing services to these entities

Expressly excluded from the scope of this agreement: banks, savings banks and credit cooperatives, which are governed by their own regulatory frameworks.

Practical example

A leasing company associated with AELR has a company collective agreement in force that sets a six-month trial period for risk technicians, and includes its own disciplinary regime with sanctions different from those of the sectoral agreement.

With the entry into force of this framework agreement, the HR department must review both clauses:

• If the trial period of the company agreement exceeds the maximum set in the sectoral agreement, that clause becomes void and the limit of the framework agreement applies.
• If the company disciplinary regime is more restrictive for the worker than the sectoral one, it is also displaced.
• On the other hand, if the company agreement recognizes more favorable conditions (for example, a higher base salary), those conditions are maintained in full: the framework agreement cannot be used to reduce them.

Any discrepancy regarding the interpretation of these matters must be taken to the joint interpretation commission before resorting to judicial or arbitral proceedings.

What should companies do now?

1. Audit the company agreement in force: review all clauses relating to professional classification, trial period, disciplinary regime, contracting modalities, maximum working hours and occupational risk prevention. Identify any point that falls below the sectoral agreement.
2. Verify more beneficial conditions: make an inventory of the conditions that the company already applies above the agreement. Document them to avoid future conflicts and ensure they are not reduced.
3. Understand how joint commissions work: inform the HR team that interpretation conflicts must be channeled through this route first before resorting to other instances.
4. Plan for 2027 agreement negotiations: given that the agreement is automatically terminated on December 31, 2026, it is advisable to initiate contacts with union representation in the last quarter of the year to avoid entering 2027 without a negotiated framework.
5. Communicate the impact to management: convey to the CFO and general management that non-negotiable matters limit the capacity for labor adjustment through company agreement, which must be taken into account in personnel cost planning.

Official source

View complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-19247