Article 318 Spanish Criminal Code: labour offences: who answers

Article 318 of the Spanish Criminal Code determines who answers when offences against workers’ rights are attributed to a legal person: the directors or service managers responsible for them and those who, knowing of them and able to remedy them, failed to act. It also allows the measures of Article 129.

Wording of Article 318 of the Spanish Criminal Code

Attribution criteria

1. An offence under Title XV on workers’ rights, notably Article 316 in workplace accidents.
2. Attribution of the act to an employing legal person.
3. The status of director or service manager with actual responsibility over the breached area.
4. In the omission form, actual knowledge of the breach and real capacity to remedy it.

Defence strategy

Delimiting the duty position. Not every executive answers, only whoever held the specific safety or hiring remit breached. Organisation charts, documented delegations and allocated resources define individual liability.

Proving effective delegation. Delegation to competent prevention professionals with means and authority transfers the duty; the delegator answers only if aware of the breach and failing to remedy it.

Requiring real knowledge in omission. The omission form demands actual knowledge and capacity to remedy, not a merely formal position; charging by office alone can be defeated.

Coordinating with parallel proceedings. The criminal case coexists with the benefits surcharge and administrative fines; a joint strategy avoids admissions in one venue that damage the defence in another.

• Article 316: workplace safety
• Article 311: unlawful working conditions
• Article 31 bis: corporate criminal liability
• Corporate crime lawyer in Spain

This entry is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The application of any provision depends on the circumstances of the individual case and requires examination of the case file by a qualified lawyer.