Spain Is Raising the Bar for Workplace Health

Spain’s National Occupational Safety and Health Strategy 2023–2027, developed through social dialogue between government, trade unions, and employer organisations, signals a clear turning point in how organisations must manage workforce health.

The strategy calls for companies to:
• Strengthen prevention and health and safety management systems across all operations.
• Address psychosocial risks and mental health as core prevention priorities.
• Support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in building internal health capability and applying OSH regulations effectively.
• Integrate the gender perspective into health and safety management.
• Protect the most at-risk and vulnerable worker populations.

In short: Spain is signalling that healthy, sustainable workplaces are now foundational to both productivity and organisational performance.

This evolution mirrors a broader European trend. Employee health is no longer viewed solely through a safety lens — it is central to ESG strategy and a material reporting area under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires transparent disclosure of workforce-health outcomes and social impact.

The evidence is clear.

HealthNext’s recent early-intervention and absence-management programmes have demonstrated what’s possible when health governance is prioritised:
• Long-term absence reduced by 28 % within 12 months.
• Average absence duration fell from 63 days to 44 days.
• Referral lag times shortened from approximately three months to just 2–3 weeks, enabling timely support and faster recovery.
• € 2.3 million in annual savings achieved through reduced absenteeism and overtime costs.

These outcomes highlight a simple truth: when organisations treat workforce health as a strategic investment, measurable business and human benefits follow.

As a new affiliate of Brokerslink , we HealthNEXT look forward to helping organisations across Spain and Europe strengthen compliance, governance, and risk-reduction frameworks, while collectively improving employee health, engagement, and resilience.

As expectations rise, one thing is clear — proactive workforce health is becoming a standard of good governance.