Workers in Spain now have access to "paid climate leave." The new measure, put in a place a month after deadly floods ravaged the Valencia region, allows workers to take up to four days of paid time off during weather emergencies rather than have to commute. The measure was passed by the Council of Ministers on Thursday and was reportedly inspired by a similar one in Canada, reports the Independent, which notes the paid leave will be tied to alerts about climate or meteorological disasters. If emergency authorities issue one, "the worker must refrain from going to work," says labour minister Yolanda Diaz.
Minister of Economy Carlos Cuerpo specified that the paid leave will be available when civil protection agencies instruct people to stay home and when they cannot work remotely. Euro News adds that under the new rules, companies will also need to have risk prevention measures in place for extreme weather. "The climate risks are not the same for a worker who works in a construction company or outdoors as they are for a worker who, for example, works in an infirmary or a library," Ms Díaz said in an interview. "So we are giving Spanish companies the mandate that within 12 months they must have protocols for action." The Guardian reports a number of companies took flak for instructing employees to report to work during the Oct. 29 floods though the national weather agency had a red alert in place. (More Spain stories.)
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