Psychosocial risks, harassment protocols and legal responsibility
Mental health has become one of the main concerns in the workplace. The increase in absences due to stress, anxiety and burnout, combined with greater activity by the Labour Inspectorate, has placed psychosocial risks at the centre of corporate obligations.
The Prevention of Occupational Hazards Act (LPRL) requires companies to protect the safety and health of workers in all aspects related to work, including those that may affect their psychological well-being. Managing these risks is no longer a best practice: it is a legal requirement.
What are psychosocial risks?
These are work conditions that can negatively affect the physical or mental health of employees. The most common include:
- Excessive workload.
- Lack of autonomy or role clarity.
- Poor internal communication.
- Lack of support from managers or colleagues.
- Workplace harassment, sexual harassment or harassment based on gender.
- Conflicts between work and personal life.
- Hyperconnectivity and difficulty exercising digital disconnection.
Companies must identify and evaluate these risks, even if there are no previous complaints or medical absences.
The legal obligation: clear and enforceable
Article 14.2 of the LPRL establishes that the employer must guarantee the safety and health of workers in all aspects of work. This unquestionably includes psychosocial risks in the workplace. Case law, the INSST and the Labour Inspectorate have confirmed this repeatedly.
Labour Inspectorate criteria
Technical Criterion 104/2021 of the Labour Inspectorate and Social Security expressly establishes the obligation to evaluate and manage psychosocial risks, setting out the guidelines for inspectorate action. In this area, the Inspectorate will check not only the existence of an evaluation, but also that the company has implemented appropriate preventive measures and carries out effective monitoring of them.
The absence of adequate management of these risks can constitute an infraction in preventive matters. The Inspectorate also pays growing attention to factors such as work overload, harassment situations, digital disconnection or risks associated with remote work.
In addition, there is a growing trend among courts to recognise corporate civil liability when psychological damage derives from documented work conditions that have not been corrected.
Specific protocols: where prevention becomes concrete
Managing psychosocial risks is not limited to carrying out an evaluation. The regulations also require the implementation of concrete measures to prevent, detect and act on certain risk situations.
Protocol for prevention and action against harassment
All companies, regardless of size, are required to have a protocol for prevention and action against sexual harassment and harassment based on gender. This is established by Article 48 of the Organic Law 3/2007 on effective equality, reinforced by Organic Law 10/2022 on comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom. Simply having the document is not enough. The company must ensure that employees know the protocol and that there is an effective procedure for reporting, investigating and managing complaints.
Companies required to have an Equality Plan must integrate these measures within that instrument. Additionally, it is advisable for internal procedures to also contemplate situations of workplace harassment or mobbing as part of comprehensive management of psychosocial risks.
Equality Plan
In general, companies with 50 or more employees must have an Equality Plan.
Within its diagnosis, it is especially important to identify those organisational factors that may generate situations of inequality or affect women and men differently, including certain psychosocial risk factors.
What does the company risk if it does not act?
- Administrative sanctions for breach of occupational hazard prevention and equality regulations.
- Claims for psychological damage resulting from inadequate work conditions.
- Increased absenteeism and workplace conflicts.
- Loss of talent and increased turnover.
- Reputational damage to clients, candidates and investors.
- Difficulties in demonstrating regulatory compliance in certain procurement or public tender processes.
Beyond possible sanctions, inadequate management of psychosocial risks usually results in higher levels of absenteeism, internal conflict and loss of productivity.
Key points for the company
| Aspect | Recommended action |
| Evaluation | Periodically review psychosocial risk factors. |
| Harassment | Implement and disseminate effective protocols. |
| Training | Raise awareness among employees and middle management. |
| Digital disconnection | Control availability outside working hours. |
| Inspection | Keep evidence of measures taken. |
Psychosocial risks have evolved from being a preventive matter to becoming a subject of special attention for the Labour Inspectorate. The question is no longer whether the company has a protocol or evaluation, but whether it can demonstrate that it has identified existing risks and has adopted effective measures to prevent them.
At Baker Tilly Spain, we advise companies on the review of harassment protocols, equality plans and management of psychosocial risks, offering practical solutions tailored to each organisation.
The real risk exposure is not in lacking a protocol, but in thinking that a protocol alone is sufficient.
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