Am I entitled to work remotely 100% of the time to care for an ill parent?

This right to remote working has already been recognised for an employee who requested it in order to care for her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease and a 65% disability. In this article, as expert employment lawyers, we analyse the issue, what the law says and the ruling handed down by the High Court of Justice of Navarre.

The basis of the right to work remotely: adapting working hours

The first thing we need to analyse is where the right to work remotely comes from. To do so, we need to look at the provisions of Article 34.8 of the Workers' Statute, which establishes that:

• Employees have the right to request adaptations to the duration and distribution of their working hours and to the way in which they perform their work, including remote working, in order to exercise their right to reconcile their family and working lives.
• Such adaptations must be reasonable and proportionate in relation to the needs of both the employee and the company.
• This right applies both to the care of children and to the care of the employee's relatives or other dependent persons who live with the employee.
• In order to exercise the right to remote working to care for a family member, there must be an agreement reached through collective bargaining that establishes the criteria and systems required to guarantee the absence of discrimination.
• If these criteria do not exist, the company must open a negotiation process with the employee, which must be conducted as quickly as possible within a maximum period of 15 days. If no express reasons are provided within that period, the employee's request will be presumed to have been accepted. The company may also put forward an alternative proposal that facilitates the employee's work-life balance, and any refusal of the request must always be justified on objective grounds.

Therefore:

• There must be conditions agreed through collective bargaining for requesting remote working.
• If these conditions have not been established through collective bargaining, a negotiation process must take place between the company and the employee.
• The company cannot reject the request without providing reasoned grounds.

The basis: reconciling family and professional life

As we have seen, the basis for requesting an adaptation of working hours is the need to reconcile family and professional life. In other words, this involves a series of measures that allow individuals to care for their children, dependent elderly people or family members with a disability, as well as to meet any other obligations that form part of the employee's life outside the workplace.

In Spain, there is no specific law governing work-life balance, but the Workers' Statute regulates several related rights, such as flexible working hours for family reasons, family-related leave and requests for relocation on family reconciliation grounds.

On the other hand, with regard to remote working we have the Remote Working Act, which regulates remote working to facilitate work-life balance when remote work exceeds 30% of the employee's working hours.

An employee succeeds in having her right to work remotely for 100% of her working hours recognised

In the case analysed by the High Court of Justice of Navarre, an employee had been working remotely alongside her colleagues since the COVID-19 pandemic, but from May 2025 the company required employees to work on-site twice a week.

The employee brought a claim against the company requesting to work remotely for 100% of her working hours and compensation for non-material damage and infringement of fundamental rights. Initially, the lower court dismissed the claim because it considered that the company had justified its organisational needs and that the employee already benefited from three days of remote working and flexible working hours. However, the employee appealed to the High Court of Justice of Navarre, arguing that the company had failed to comply with the negotiation process regulated by the Workers' Statute and that it had based its refusal to grant her remote working on a requirement that she live with her mother, which is not required by law.

The judgment of the High Court of Justice of Navarre recognises that there was no genuine negotiation process as required by the Workers' Statute and recognises the employee's right to work remotely for 100% of her working hours, but dismisses her claim for compensation for non-material damage. The judgment may be appealed before the Supreme Court by way of an appeal in cassation for the unification of doctrine.

How should remote working be requested?

If you need to work remotely, you must follow the procedure established by law and take the following steps:

• Submit a written request to your company clearly explaining your family circumstances and the care required by your family member. You should also describe the measures you would like to be implemented, for example, remote working several days a week.
• The company has a maximum period of 15 calendar days to begin a negotiation and may accept the proposal, offer you an alternative or reject the proposal, explaining the subjective reasons justifying its refusal. If it does not issue a response within that period, your request will be considered accepted.

What should you do if your company refuses your remote working request?

If you have followed the entire procedure described above and your company refuses your request to work remotely, you can take a number of steps, including the following:

• Analyse the reason for the company's refusal, as it must provide this in writing and justify the refusal on objective organisational or operational grounds. A generic refusal is not valid.
• Consult an employment lawyer who can analyse your case and the company's refusal. The lawyer will be able to assess whether it is viable to bring legal proceedings against the company to have your right to remote working recognised.

If your company has refused to allow you to work remotely for family reconciliation reasons, contact our team of employment lawyers for advice.