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Red weather warning in Spain: do I have to go to work?

Published 22 October 2026 · Climaviso

A red severe-weather warning is not, on its own, a day off. But since November 2024 Spanish law gives up to four days of paid leave when the authorities restrict travel or there is a serious and imminent risk, and under an orange or red warning employers must adapt outdoor work if they can't otherwise keep people safe. This is what each rule says, with the text of the law.

The short answer

This is general information about the rules, not legal advice. Your collective agreement may have its own protocol; for a specific question, ask your employer, your workers' representatives or the Labour Inspectorate.

Up to four days of paid leave

The so-called "climate leave" (permiso climático) came with Royal Decree-law 8/2024, passed after the Valencia DANA and in force since 30 November 2024. Article 37.3.g of the Workers' Statute lets a worker take paid time off (our translation):

"Up to four days when it is impossible to reach the workplace or travel on the roads needed to get there, as a result of travel recommendations, restrictions or bans set by the competent authorities, and also when there is a situation of serious and imminent risk, including those caused by a disaster or adverse weather."

So there are two routes: the authorities (civil protection, 112, an ES-Alert on your phone) advise against or ban travel and that stops you getting there, or there is a serious and imminent risk. Either way, the leave is paid.

Is a red warning enough?

Not automatically. The Labour Inspectorate's guide on adverse weather puts it this way: some warnings can on their own mean a serious and imminent risk for certain tasks, but "not every weather warning entails a serious and imminent risk in general", because it depends on the task, the place and the conditions of each job.

What the guide does settle is who comes first: in an emergency, the instructions of the authorities running it prevail over the employer's. If you get a civil-protection alert that only recommends not travelling, the guide advises telling your employer through the agreed channel.

In practice, a red warning is a serious signal: it's the top level, for exceptional danger, and it usually comes with advice from the authorities. But what triggers the leave is that advice or the real risk, not the colour itself.

If you're already at work

Article 21 of the 1995 Occupational Risk Prevention Act is unchanged: workers have the right to stop work and, if necessary, leave the workplace when they consider the activity puts their life or health at serious and imminent risk. They can't be penalised for it unless they acted in bad faith or with gross negligence. The employer must also let work stop and, if needed, let people leave at once.

Outdoor work: orange and red mean adapting

Since May 2023, Royal Decree 486/1997 (single additional provision) has required employers to protect outdoor workers from adverse weather, not only heat. Under an orange or red warning it is more specific (our translation):

"Where the State Meteorological Agency or, where applicable, the corresponding regional body […] issues an orange or red adverse-weather warning, and the preceding preventive measures do not guarantee workers' protection, working conditions must be adapted, including reducing or changing the scheduled working hours."

It also covers warnings from regional services such as Meteocat and Euskalmet.

Remote work, and after four days

If your job can be done remotely and communications are working, your employer may set up remote work for those days: it's the employer's option, not a worker's right.

After four days, the leave continues until the circumstances behind it are over, though the employer can then apply a contract suspension or reduced hours for force majeure (an ERTE, Workers' Statute article 47.6).

The reform added two more things: employers must tell workers' representatives what they plan to do when alerts for disasters or adverse weather are activated, and collective agreements must negotiate protocols for those situations.

How often is there a red warning?

Rarely. From 2019 to 2025, Spain had a red warning somewhere on about 23 days a year, but each zone on its own has very few: a typical zone, two in seven years, and 51 of the 182 zones had none at all in those seven years. Just over half of the red warnings were for heat, mostly in July and August; then come rain, snow and cold. The map of red warnings shows where they gather.

How to know if there's a red warning in your zone

Sources

Towns in this article

A warning is not damage; a zone is not a building.