LGBTI Law 2026: Real obligations for companies with more than 50 employees

Key data

If you have more than 50 employees, your equality plan is no longer sufficient as it stands. Law 13/2025 adds a layer of specific obligations for the LGBTI community that directly affects how you manage human resources, internal protocols and service delivery. And it has been in force since January 1, 2026.

It is not a voluntary compliance standard or best practice guideline. It establishes concrete obligations, creates new supervisory bodies and sets administrative sanctions for companies that engage in discriminatory or LGBTI-phobic conduct.

What does this regulation establish?

Law 13/2025 creates a comprehensive framework for protecting the rights of LGBTI persons in Spain. Its scope goes beyond the labor sphere: it expressly prohibits discrimination in five differentiated areas.

In the labor sphere, the regulation introduces two differentiated obligations:

• Protocol against harassment: all employers must develop a specific protocol that covers harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Equality plan with LGBTI measures: mandatory for companies with more than 50 employees. The existing plan must be expanded to include specific measures aimed at this community.

Additionally, the law creates new supervisory bodies and strengthens complaint and remediation mechanisms for victims of discrimination.

Economic and operational impact

The impact is not only reputational. There are direct operational and economic consequences that HR managers and CFOs must take into account.

• Cost of adapting the equality plan: companies with more than 50 employees that already have an equality plan will need to review and expand it to incorporate specific LGBTI measures. This involves advisory time, negotiation with worker representatives and document updates.
• Development of anti-harassment protocol: if the company does not have a specific protocol covering sexual orientation and gender identity, it must create one. Generic workplace harassment protocols are not sufficient if they do not expressly address these cases.
• Sanction risk: the law establishes administrative sanctions for natural and legal persons. Although the available summary does not detail the exact amounts of sanctions, the existence of new supervisory bodies and strengthened complaint mechanisms increases the likelihood of inspection and proceedings.
• Service providers: companies that provide services to the public (hospitality, retail, transport, private healthcare, etc.) are also required to adopt equality and non-discrimination measures, which may require staff training and updates to customer service protocols.

Who does it affect?

• Companies with more than 50 employees: obligation to have an equality plan with specific LGBTI measures.
• All employers (without payroll threshold): obligation to develop a protocol against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Private service providers: hospitality, retail, transport, financial services, private healthcare, private education, among others.
• Public administrations: are also subject to the obligations of the regulation in all areas.
• LGBTI persons: are the holders of the recognized rights and strengthened complaint and remediation mechanisms.

Practical example

A logistics distribution company with 80 employees has an equality plan in force negotiated in 2023. With the entry into force of Law 13/2025 on January 1, 2026, that plan no longer meets legal requirements if it does not include specific measures for the LGBTI community.

The company must:

1. Review the existing equality plan and identify whether it includes measures for LGBTI persons. If it does not, a negotiation process must be opened with worker representatives to incorporate them.
2. Verify whether the workplace harassment protocol expressly covers harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. If it only covers sexual harassment or generic moral harassment, it must be updated.
3. Train the HR team and team leaders on the new regulatory framework and internal complaint procedures.

If the company does not act and a complaint is filed with the new supervisory bodies created by the law, it is exposed to administrative sanction proceedings.

What should companies do now?

1. Audit the current equality plan: if you have more than 50 employees, review whether your plan includes specific measures for the LGBTI community. If it does not, you must initiate the modification process with worker representatives.
2. Review the harassment protocol: all employers must verify that their protocol expressly covers harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. If it does not, update it.
3. Train HR managers and middle managers: personnel managing teams must understand the new obligations, internal complaint procedures and consequences of non-compliance.
4. Review customer or user service procedures: if you are a service provider, ensure that your service protocols do not allow discriminatory conduct based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
5. Document all measures adopted: in the event of a possible inspection or complaint, documentation is the main defense tool. Keep evidence of implemented measures, training conducted and protocol updates.