ONCE Collective Agreement 2026-2030: What Changes for Employees

Key data

ONCE's employee personnel have been working since July 1, 2026 under a new framework of conditions agreed between the organization's management and UGT, with guaranteed validity until December 31, 2030. The Resolution of October 2, 2026 from the General Labor Directorate officially registers and publishes the XVIII Collective Agreement, which replaces the previous agreement and establishes the rules of the game for the next four and a half years.

What is relevant for those managing people at ONCE—or advising the organization—is that this agreement is not merely a formal renewal: it incorporates adjustment mechanisms linked to revenue evolution and establishes a system for absorbing improvements that affects any condition agreed outside the agreement.

What does this regulation establish?

The XVIII ONCE Collective Agreement structures the working conditions of the organization's employee personnel throughout Spanish territory. These are its most relevant elements:

The absorption clause is particularly relevant in practice: if ONCE had voluntarily improved any condition before signing the agreement—for example, a salary bonus or improved working hours—that improvement is absorbed by what was agreed in the XVIII Agreement, unless a future regulation establishes something superior on an annual basis.

Economic and operational impact

For ONCE's management, this agreement offers predictability until 2030: working conditions are fixed for more than four years, which facilitates personnel cost planning. The renegotiation clause acts as a safety valve: if sales revenue falls more than 5% below the General Council's target, the door opens to review what was agreed, protecting the organization's economic sustainability.

From an operational perspective, the most relevant aspects are:

• Absorption of previous improvements: any supplement or condition improved unilaterally before the agreement may be neutralized if the agreement already covers it or exceeds it on an annual basis. This requires a review of current individual contracts and agreements.
• Automatic renewal: if not denounced with two months' notice, the agreement extends year by year. This requires active calendar monitoring for those who want to renegotiate conditions in 2030.
• Joint Commission: with up to four members per party, this body will be the main channel for resolving interpretation questions and application conflicts of the agreement during its validity.

Who does it affect?

• ONCE's employee personnel at any point in national territory: they are the direct recipients of the agreed conditions.
• ONCE's management and HR departments: must apply the agreement, manage the Joint Commission and monitor compliance with the absorption clause.
• UGT union representatives at ONCE: signatories of the agreement and members of the Joint Commission.
• Labor advisors and firms providing services to ONCE: must know the new framework to provide correct advice on hiring, compensation and labor disputes.
• ONCE's non-employee collaborators: are expressly excluded from the scope of the agreement.

Practical example

Imagine that ONCE's HR department had granted in 2024 an additional transportation bonus unilaterally to a group of workers, without it being covered in the previous agreement. With the entry into force of the XVIII Agreement on July 1, 2026, that bonus is subject to the absorption clause: if the new agreement already regulates the transportation concept with an amount equal to or greater on an annual basis, the previous bonus is absorbed and does not accumulate. Only if the previous bonus exceeded on an annual basis what the agreement establishes would the worker maintain the difference.

Similarly, if at the end of 2029 management wanted to renegotiate the agreement for 2031, it would need to formally denounce it before October 31, 2030 (two months before expiration). If it does not, the agreement is automatically renewed for another calendar year, until December 31, 2031.

What should companies do now?

1. Review current individual contracts and agreements: identify any improvement granted unilaterally before July 1, 2026 and verify if it is absorbed by the new agreement on an annual basis.
2. Update payroll and HR systems: ensure that the conditions applied from July 1, 2026 are those of the XVIII Agreement and not those of the previous agreement.
3. Establish or update the Joint Commission: designate the up to four representatives per party that will form the body for interpretation and oversight of the agreement.
4. Monitor sales revenue: establish an alert mechanism that detects if revenue falls more than 5% below the General Council's target, to activate the renegotiation clause in time if necessary.
5. Mark the denunciation deadline on the calendar: if you want to renegotiate the agreement at expiration (December 31, 2030), the denunciation must be made before October 31, 2030. Without denunciation, the agreement is automatically renewed.
6. Inform the legal representation of workers: communicate the relevant changes of the new agreement compared to the previous one to avoid interpretation conflicts.

Official source

Consult 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-2026-21428