Here is the ergonomics legislation from
Spain
The information here was collated from official online sources by Ergo Global ergonomists. All information is for general purposes and cannot be considered 1-to-1 legal advice. Ergo Global disclaim any liability relating to the information provided on this page.
To Note
Spain does not have a single “ergonomics act,” but ergonomics regulation is integrated into its Royal Decree 488/1997, of April 14, on minimum health and safety provisions relating to work with equipment including display screens.
Page last updated: 22/01/2026
The Duties of
The Employer
- Minimum provisions - The employer shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the use of display screen equipment by workers does not pose risks to their safety or health or, if this is not possible, to ensure that such risks are reduced to a minimum. In any case, the jobs referred to in Royal Decree 488/1997 must comply with the minimum provisions established in the annex to this Decree.
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Assessment - For the purposes of the provisions of the first paragraph of the preceding section, the employer must assess the risks to the safety and health of workers, taking into account in particular potential risks to eyesight and physical and mental strain problems, as well as their possible combined or aggregated effects. The evaluation will be carried out taking into consideration the characteristics of the job and the requirements of the task, including, among others, the following:
a) The average daily usage time of the equipment.
b) The maximum time of continuous attention to the screen required by the usual task.
c) The degree of attention required by the task. - Eliminate or reduce risk - If the assessment reveals that workers' use of display screen equipment poses or may pose a risk to their safety or health, the employer shall adopt the necessary technical or organizational measures to eliminate or reduce the risk to the minimum possible. In particular, the employer must reduce the maximum duration of continuous work on the screen, organizing daily activities so that this task alternates with other tasks, or establishing necessary breaks when alternating tasks is not possible or is not sufficient to sufficiently reduce the risk.
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Healthcare monitoring - The employer shall guarantee the right of workers to adequate health monitoring, taking into account in particular risks to vision and physical and mental health problems, their possible combined or additive effects, and any concomitant pathologies. Such monitoring shall be carried out by competent healthcare personnel and as determined by the health authorities in the guidelines and protocols developed, in accordance with the provisions of Article 37, section 3, of Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17, approving the Regulations on prevention services. Such monitoring must be offered to workers on the following occasions:
a) Before starting to work with a display screen.
b) Subsequently, with a frequency adjusted to the level of risk in the opinion of the responsible physician.
c) When disorders appear that could be due to this type of work. - Ophthalmological examination - When the results of the health surveillance referred to in paragraph 1 make it necessary, workers shall have the right to an ophthalmological examination.
- Corrective devices - The employer shall provide workers free of charge with special corrective devices for eye protection suitable for work with the equipment in question, if the results of the health monitoring referred to in the preceding paragraphs demonstrate their need and normal corrective devices cannot be used.
- Training and information - The employer must ensure that workers and workers' representatives receive adequate training and information on the risks arising from the use of equipment that includes display screens, as well as on the prevention and protection measures to be adopted in application of Royal Decree 488/1997.
- Safety and health measures - The employer must inform workers about all aspects related to safety and health in their workplace and about the measures taken in accordance with the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of Royal Decree 488/1997.
- DSE training - The employer must ensure that each worker receives adequate training on the use of display screen equipment before beginning this type of work and whenever the workplace organization changes significantly.
The Duties of
The Employer
🏠 for Remote Work
- The right to a professional career - The company must guarantee people who work remotely the necessary training for the proper development of their activity both at the time of formalizing the remote work agreement and when there are changes in the means or technologies used.
- The right to sufficient provision and maintenance of means, equipment and tools - Persons who work remotely shall have the right to the provision and adequate maintenance by the company of all the means, equipment and tools necessary for the development of the activity.
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The right to occupational risk prevention - The risk assessment and planning of the preventive activity of remote work must take into account the risks characteristic of this type of work, paying special attention to the psychosocial, ergonomic and organisational factors and accessibility of the effective work environment. In particular, the distribution of the working day, the availability times and the guarantee of breaks and disconnections during the working day must be taken into account.
The risk assessment must only reach the area enabled for the provision of services, not extending to the rest of the areas of the home or the place chosen for the development of remote work.
The company must obtain all the information about the risks to which the person working remotely is exposed through a methodology that offers confidence regarding its results, and provide the most appropriate protection measures in each case.
The Duties of
The Employee
Each worker is responsible for ensuring, to the best of their ability and by complying with the preventive measures adopted in each case, their own safety and health at work and that of other persons who may be affected by their professional activity due to their acts and omissions at work, in accordance with their training and the employer's instructions.
What's next?
Step 1
Run an ergonomics audit following these regulations.
Step 2
List out the gaps in your ergonomics policy.
Step 4
Contact Ergo Global for more support where needed.
