Though some companies in Iberia are still having to make job cuts, employment lawyers in Spain and Portugal are increasingly handling matters concerned with improving the life of employees through measures such as flexible working

The Spanish court rulings that state employers must record their employees’ working hours are unworkable in practice, says Aurora Sanz, partner at Grant Thornton in Barcelona.

Law firms see an increase in instructions relating to human resources management and codes of conduct for employees as legal cases related to layoffs decline

The recent introduction of a new labour law increasing the scope of liability for companies using outsourced services in Portugal is creating significant work for employment lawyers, says Maria da Glória Leitão, partner

Lawyers seeing growth in demand from companies looking for in-house training in employment law in order to reduce their dependence on external legal advice

In the next year, businesses should be prepared for the introduction of new employment legislation aimed at enabling employees to work at home one day per week, while also ensuring the working day finishes at 18.00

While growth is returning to Portugal, businesses in some sectors are unable to restructure due to recent labour reforms related to employment protection legislation

Law firms in Portugal are seeing a substantial increase in employment-related work arising from the resurgence in mergers and acquisitions, though cost-efficiency will continue to be a major concern for companies, according to Benjamim Mendes,