A labor lawyer explains whether companies are obliged to provide a Christmas basket: “The Supreme Court stipulates…”

The content of Christmas baskets can vary, but they usually include typical products of Spanish gastronomy such as Iberian ham, sausages, cheeses, wines, cavas and different Christmas sweets such as nougat and Polvorones.

Although it is a deeply rooted custom in Spain, there are companies that do not give this gift to their workers. A question that may raise doubts as to whether they are really obligated to do it.

Is the company obliged to give a Christmas basket?

A labor lawyer wanted to resolve this doubt. In a video published on her TikTok account (@JuanmaLorente_Laboralista), Juanma Lorente points out that the Supreme Court has spoken out about the obligation for companies to give their workers a Christmas basket.

“I have bad news,” the labor lawyer begins, explaining: “If you have never received a Christmas basket, The company has no obligation to give it to you, so you can’t claim it.

In this way, everything will depend on whether the worker received the gift previously. «The Supreme Court has stipulated that the Christmas basket is an acquired rightTherefore, if you have been receiving the Christmas basket every year and this year suddenly they have not given it to you, you can claim it,” he points out.

Therefore, a worker cannot stop receiving the Christmas basket if the company does not notify him in advance and give him a legal reason. «The company cannot stop giving it to you without justification and if this justification does not exist, it must be given to you,” he points out.

Juanma offers advice to all workers who feel identified with this situation: “So now you know, claim it in your company.”

In a more recent video, the labor lawyer also explains that the Christmas basket is a payment in kind and, therefore, “the month in which you receive it must be included in the contribution base of your payroll.”