Legal consequences of the employer’s failure to comply with the negotiation procedure in cases of requests for working time adaptation under Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute: Supreme Court Judgment No. 825/2025, of 24 September 2025

Abstract

This commentary analyses Supreme Court Judgment No. 825/2025, of 24 September 2025 (Appeal No. 917/2024), which unifies the case law regarding the legal consequences arising from an employer’s failure to comply with the negotiation procedure which, pursuant to Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute, must be followed where an employee requests an adaptation of working time in the absence of applicable collective bargaining provisions. The Supreme Court, interpreting Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute, concludes that the initiation of the negotiation process constitutes a mandatory and imperative procedural requirement incumbent upon the employer. It further holds that, when the employer omits to initiate such negotiation process in response to a request for working time adaptation, and in the absence of collective bargaining regulation, the legal consequence must be to estimate the employee’s claim in their terms, unless it is established that the request is manifestly unreasonable or disproportionate.