Although they bear some resemblance to the French civil service’s special absence authorisations, the Spanish “moscosos” – due to their origins and the manner in which they are allocated – are unique in labour law applying to government departments.

These days off for “special reasons”, which emerged from talks with the unions and were introduced by Javier Moscoso,¹ former Minister of the Presidency, to “offset the financial loss brought about by the difference between pay raises and increases in the consumer price index”, are subject to highly specific conditions:

• They are limited to six per year, then eight for employees with between 18 and 24 years’ service, plus one day for each additional three-year period

 • They may not be combined with annual leave. Civil servants can use them as they see fit, with prior authorisation from their line mangers, which takes account of departmental imperatives and which must be forwarded to the HR department.

 • They cannot be taken for family events (births, marriages, deaths), moving house or taking part in competitive or professional exams

In 2012, when Spain was faced with serious economic problems, the government chose to cut the annual entitlement from six to three days. The number of days was progressively restored in 2013 and 2014.

In early 2019, the “moscosos” again made headlines. Last December, the Ministry for Regional Policy and the Civil Service  tabled a new circular on working days and hours for general government administration employees. It introduced a proportionality requirement related to the hours worked (part-time) or to taking up/leaving a position (retirement).

CSIF, the main union, filed an application for judicial review.

In early March, with an eye to clarifying a highly sensitive topic, the Ministry published a new version of the legislation which specifies that the annual pro-rata basis only applies to new recruits.


¹ This word has been added to the official Spanish language dictionary.