Voting is a fundamental right recognized by law, so the answer to the question is affirmative: yes, I can be absent from my job to vote in these Catalan elections on May 12.
As established by Organic Law 5/1985, of the General Electoral Regime, workers can use up to 4 hours of their work day to go to the polling station to fill out the ballot boxes. If the worker works a part-time day on election day, those hours of leave will be proportional to that day.
Under no circumstances will this prerogative entail a salary reduction for the worker, who is simply making use of a recognized right.
The SATSE (Nursing Union of Catalonia) has prepared a table to see how many hours of leave correspond to workers according to the schedules:
In the case of polling station members and representatives, companies are obliged to give the entire day of paid leave. Furthermore, for the day following the elections – in this case it will be Monday, May 13 – the members of the polling stations (president and members) have been granted permission to be absent for the first 5 hours of the work day. In this case, this right is not recognized for the attorneys.
In the case of the 5-hour permit for polling station members the following day, it can be enjoyed regardless of whether the worker works on the Sunday of the elections or not.
