LGTBI measures at firms with more than 50 employees: what Law 4/2023 and RD 1026/2024 require
Law 4/2023 obliges companies with more than fifty employees to have a planned set of measures for the equality of LGTBI people, with a protocol against harassment and violence. Royal Decree 1026/2024 specifies how to negotiate it and what it must include.
Firms that have passed the equality plan threshold have another internal organisation obligation. Law 4/2023 of 28 February, for the real and effective equality of trans people and the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people, published in BOE no. 51 of 1 March 2023, requires certain companies to have a planned set of measures for the equality of LGTBI people. Royal Decree 1026/2024 of 8 October develops it.
The legal obligation
Under Article 15.1 of Law 4/2023, companies with more than fifty employees must have, within twelve months of the law's entry into force, a planned set of measures and resources to achieve the real and effective equality of LGTBI people, including an action protocol for dealing with harassment or violence against them.
The law adds that the measures will be agreed through collective bargaining and that their content and scope will be developed by regulation.
Note the threshold: more than fifty, not "fifty or more", which is the equality plan one. A firm with exactly fifty employees must have an equality plan, but is not bound by Article 15. We explain the equality plan in the guide to equality plans at firms.
Royal Decree 1026/2024
Published in BOE no. 244 of 9 October 2024, it entered into force on 10 October 2024. Its Article 2 confirms the scope, companies with more than fifty employees, and leaves negotiation voluntary for those with fifty or fewer.
Negotiation deadlines
| Case | Deadline under RD 1026/2024 |
|---|---|
| Companies with an applicable collective agreement or legal representation | Set up the negotiating committee within three months of entry into force (Art. 5.1) |
| Companies with no applicable agreement or legal representation | Six months from entry into force (Art. 5.2) |
| No agreement after three months of negotiation | The company applies the royal decree's measures until those agreed enter into force (Art. 5.3) |
These periods ran from the royal decree's entry into force, in October 2024. A firm that already exceeded the threshold then and does not have the measures should catch up.
Without legal representation
In companies with no applicable agreement or legal representation, the committee is formed by the company and the most representative unions in the sector, with a maximum of six members per side. According to the royal decree, if no union answers the call within the set period, the company may fix the measures unilaterally in accordance with the rule.
The minimum content
Annex I of the royal decree sets the areas the measures must include:
- Equal treatment and non-discrimination clauses, including sexual orientation, gender expression and sex characteristics.
- Hiring based on merit, with attention to trans people.
- Objective criteria for promotion and classification.
- Training of the whole workforce, also on the anti-harassment protocol.
- Diverse, inclusive and safe work environments.
- Leave and social benefits that take family diversity into account.
- Disciplinary regime for conduct that violates these rights.
The anti-harassment protocol
Annex II and Article 8.4 regulate the protocol, which must cover prevention, detection and action. It includes a statement of principles, a scope of application and safeguards such as confidentiality, protection against retaliation and interim measures. According to the royal decree, it may be integrated into a general anti-harassment protocol if it includes LGTBI people. We connect it with the Equality Act obligations we review in the guide to sexual harassment at firms.
Checklist
- Check headcount: whether it exceeds fifty employees.
- Set up the negotiating committee, with legal representatives or with the unions if there are none.
- Cover the seven areas in Annex I.
- Approve the protocol against harassment and violence, or integrate it into the general one.
- Train the workforce and review the disciplinary regime.
More analysis in Big law firms and lateral moves.
Fuentes
- Ley 4/2023, de 28 de febrero, para la igualdad real y efectiva de las personas trans y para la garantía de los derechos de las personas LGTBI (BOE-A-2023-5366, texto consolidado). Accessed 18 October 2026.
- Real Decreto 1026/2024, de 8 de octubre, por el que se desarrolla el conjunto planificado de las medidas para la igualdad y no discriminación de las personas LGTBI en las empresas (BOE-A-2024-20402). Accessed 18 October 2026.
The specific data in this article come from the official sources cited.
