Spain Psychosocial Risk Reform 2027: What Your Company Must Do Before January

A Date Most Companies Have Not Yet Marked on the Calendar

On 2 January 2027, psychosocial risk assessment stops being an optional exercise and becomes an enforceable obligation for every Spanish employer with staff on payroll. The reform reinforces what Law 31/1995 on Occupational Risk Prevention already required, but adds something new: the Spanish Labour Inspectorate will now check whether what is written on paper actually matches what happens on the office floor.

I have seen this pattern in several SMEs we work with at Harmony. They have a risk assessment on file. It was signed off by an external prevention service back in 2019, and nobody on the team remembers ever answering a questionnaire. That will no longer be enough.

What Exactly Changes on 2 January 2027

The legal basis is not new. Article 16 of Spain's Occupational Risk Prevention Act has required assessment of all risks, including psychosocial ones, for the past thirty years. What the reform introduces is a much more concrete level of enforcement across three areas: methodology, genuine worker participation and periodic updates.

In practice, the Inspectorate will ask for four things when they visit your company.

One, a recent assessment report using a methodology recognised by the National Institute of Safety and Health at Work, known by its Spanish acronym INSST. The standard reference remains the FPSICO 4.1 method, although CoPsoQ-istas21 and some other validated instruments are also accepted.

Two, the full list of assessed job roles. Evaluating "the office" as one block is not acceptable. A sales rep who travels three days a week carries a different psychosocial load than an accountant working from a fixed desk.

Three, evidence of participation by worker representatives or, where there are none, by the workers themselves. Signatures, minutes, emails. Something proving this was not just a questionnaire sent out on a Friday afternoon without explanation.

Four, an action plan with concrete deadlines and a named person responsible for each measure. Plus annual follow-up.

Why This Time They Will Actually Look

Spain's Labour Inspectorate has been training inspectors specifically on psychosocial risks since 2023. During the 2025 campaign, more than 1,400 infringement notices were issued for shortcomings in this area, according to the Inspectorate's own data. Fines for serious breaches under prevention law start at 2,451 euros and can exceed 50,000 euros when classified as very serious, following the sanctions framework set out in the LISOS.

And here is something companies tend to underestimate. If an employee is signed off with anxiety or depression linked to work and you do not have an up-to-date psychosocial assessment, Spanish social security can impose a "recargo de prestaciones" of up to 50 percent on benefits paid out. That surcharge comes straight from company funds, and it stretches over years.

The Most Common Mistake: Confusing Engagement Surveys with Psychosocial Assessment

Many companies think they are covered because they run an annual engagement survey. They are not the same thing. An engagement survey measures satisfaction and mood. A psychosocial assessment measures risk factors: workload, autonomy, social support, emotional demands, role conflict, job insecurity.

FPSICO evaluates nine specific dimensions and returns risk levels per role. It is a technical instrument, not a snapshot of team morale. If your prevention service has sent you a twenty-page PDF full of green and blue charts but you cannot see those nine dimensions broken down by role, you probably do not comply.

Checklist to Arrive Prepared by January 2027

These are the steps I am recommending to the companies I work with. None of them are optional if you want to pass an inspection calmly.

First, check the date of your last psychosocial assessment. If it is more than three years old, or if headcount has changed by 20 percent since then, it needs redoing.

Second, ask your prevention service which method they will use and request to see the questionnaire before it goes out. If it is not FPSICO 4.1 or CoPsoQ-istas21, ask why.

Third, convene the works council or prevention delegates before starting anything. Keep the minutes. If there is no formal representation, inform the whole staff in writing and archive the email.

Fourth, aim for at least 60 percent participation. Below that threshold, the Inspectorate can consider the assessment non-representative. Communicate properly, give people time, and do not launch it in August.

Fifth, when the report arrives, do not file it away. Read it with your prevention service and build a realistic action plan. Two or three well-executed measures per identified risk area. With owner, deadline and budget.

Sixth, set up continuous monitoring. This is where most companies fail. They assess once every three years and nothing happens in between. The reform pushes toward more frequent oversight, especially on factors like workload and emotional demands, which shift fast.

Seventh, document everything. Minutes, emails, plans, reviews. If it is not written down, as far as the Inspectorate is concerned it does not exist.

The Part the Reform Does Not Say but You Should Do Anyway

Complying with the law is the floor, not the ceiling. An assessment every three years detects structural problems, but it will not spot the sales team quietly falling apart after a reorganisation, nor the middle manager about to hand in a medical leave form. Those cases show up between assessments, and they are the ones that cost the most in sick leave, turnover and legal disputes.

The regulation forces you to have a thermometer. Reality demands that you know today's temperature in every team.

See how Harmony helps you catch burnout in time →

Natalia Cuadrado is the founder of Harmony.