The Council of Ministers of Spain has approved a law on “climate leave”. Employees can get it during extreme weather conditions.
Euronews reports on this innovation.
The law on paid leave protects the rights of employees not to go to work in the event of disasters or climate-related weather warnings that are life-threatening when people are on their way to work. It can last up to 4 days.
At the end of October, the “climate leave” was tested in the areas affected by the catastrophic weather event DANA and is now being introduced across the country.
“Climate leave will be granted on the basis of warnings of climate or meteorological disasters from the authorities.
Euronews recalled that an unprecedented downpour in the Valencia region this fall killed more than 200 people and left many more without access to basic necessities such as clean running water and food.
At the time, some companies were criticized for forcing their employees to continue working during the disaster. In their defense, they said that the warnings from the authorities came too late and they did not have enough information to properly assess the risk.
Along with the introduction of the “climate vacation,” the authorities also gave companies 1 year to develop protocols for employees in the event of natural disasters and extreme weather conditions.
Recently, EcoPolitics published a list of food products that are at risk of disappearing due to climate change and causing the decline of gastronomic culture in a number of countries.
