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Law 45/2015, Of October 14, Volunteer.

Original Language Title: Ley 45/2015, de 14 de octubre, de Voluntariado.

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TEXT

FELIPE VI

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law:

PREAMBLE

I

Law 6/1996, of 15 January, of the Volunteering, regulated for the first time, in the state field, the volunteering in our country, which was an important milestone in its recognition and promotion. Almost twenty years later, this Law has been overwhelmed by the reality of voluntary action and a new legal framework is needed that adequately responds to the configuration and dimensions of volunteering at the beginning of the century. XXI.

It is justice to recognize that the situation of volunteering today is the result of continued action, delivered and responsible for people, which for a long time, both in Spain and abroad, and with different motivations or from different beliefs, as, singularly, it is the case of the missionaries, they have invested their effort, their dedication and their capabilities to consolidate the voluntary action.

In this context, this Law is based on an open, participatory and intergenerational volunteer that combines, with the necessary balance, the dimensions of aid and participation, without giving up its aspiration to the transformation of society and focused more on quality than quantity.

This Law provides cover for voluntary action without adjectives, without excluding, no scope of action in which in these years its presence has been consolidated and favors that it can be promoted not only in the Third Sector, but in others more novel areas such as companies, universities or public administrations themselves.

Likewise, new forms of volunteering are valued and recognized that have emerged in recent years with force, such as those that translate into the realization of concrete actions and for a given period of time, without integrating in global or long-term programmes or those carried out by volunteers through information and communication technologies and which do not require the physical presence of volunteers in voluntary organisations.

The norm especially takes into account that among the motivations that lead people to be voluntary influences personal interests, beliefs, desires and the satisfaction of their expectations and promotes, in addition, the Voluntary work throughout life; specific forecasts for minors and older people are two clear examples of this.

It is intended, in sum, that the new legal framework is useful and that in it all types of organizations, whatever their origin, size and scope of action and all the volunteers, feel welcomed, regardless of what their motivation and the extent of their commitment.

II

Law 6/1996, of 15 January, of the Volunteering and the different rules of volunteering of the Autonomous Communities largely coincide in the configurative notes and in the principles that inspire the voluntary action: solidarity, voluntariness and freedom, gratuitousness and linkage to the voluntary organisation and a volunteer programme.

These principles have also been included in the various international reports on volunteering, such as the opinion of 13 December 2006 of the European Economic and Social Committee " Voluntary activities, their role in European society and its impact "or the Study on Volunteering in the European Union" Study on Volunteering in the European Union. Final Report ", prepared by the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency presented on 17 February 2010, which incorporates new perspectives for action in voluntary action. In addition, as conclusions of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, different documents, such as the European Commission Communication of 20 September 2011, on "EU policies and voluntary work: Recognition and promotion of voluntary work" were approved. cross-border voluntary activities "or the Resolutions of the European Parliament of 12 June 2012 on the" Recognition and promotion of cross-border voluntary activities in the EU "and 10 December 2013 on" The voluntary activities and voluntary activities. " Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the requirements for the entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of research, studies, exchange of pupils, remunerated and unpaid practices, volunteer services and placement "au pair" of 2013 " must also be taken into account.

Most recently, Regulation (EU) No. Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps ('EU Aid Volunteers Initiative ') and its Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1244/2014, of the Commission of 20 November 2014, has designed a new European framework for the development of humanitarian volunteering during the 2014-2020 period.

This Law not only does not deviate from this essential core of voluntary action, but reinforces it and adapts it to the needs of a 21st century volunteer.

III

After delimiting in the Preliminary Title its object and scope, and taking into account the competencies of the General Administration of the State, the autonomous communities, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Local entities, in Title I, voluntary work is defined and their requirements are set. In order to supplement this definition, the exclusions already referred to in Law 6/1996 of 15 January 1996, that of the social partnership works, the grants with or without the provision of services or any other similar activity whose main objective is is training, non-working practices in companies or business groups and external academic practices.

The general interest as a central element of the concept of volunteering and the principal point of reference for the development of voluntary action is one of the fundamental pillars of the Law. As a reference to the improvement of the quality of life of persons receiving voluntary action and of society in general or the environment, the framework for voluntary action is supplemented by the enumeration of values, principles and dimensions. of the voluntary action and the description of the various policy areas.

Moreover, the law prevents organised voluntary action from being a justification for the extinction of employment contracts for employees in both the public and private sectors, irrespective of the way in which they are based. contract used, or which may replace public administrations with functions or public services to which they are required by law.

IV

Later, the Law incorporates the legal system of voluntary work designed for voluntary organisations and volunteers, although voluntary activity would be meaningless if the rights of voluntary workers were not protected. the persons to whom the voluntary action is addressed, and a number of forecasts are also included.

First, in Title II, the requirements to be met by the volunteer to have such a condition are addressed, making a special reference to minors and accessibility measures for people with disabilities. disability and older people.

In relation to minors, particular account has been taken of the ratification by Spain of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Children against Exploitation and Sexual Abuse made in Lanzarote in 2010. on 25 October 2007 and Directive 2011 /92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the fight against sexual abuse and the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography replacing the Council Framework Decision 2004 /68/JHA of 22 December 2003.

Thus, for certain volunteer programs, volunteers are required to have not been convicted of a firm sentence for crimes against freedom and sexual indemnity, trafficking and exploitation of minors, and in other cases, States that persons who have committed particularly serious crimes cannot have the status of volunteers.

The regime of incompatibilities, both in the private and in the public, and the rights and duties of the voluntary person are regulated.

Special importance is attached to the incorporation agreement, which is the main instrument for defining and regulating the relations between the volunteer and the volunteer entity, both at the time of incorporation of the latter, such as the further development of their voluntary action, which will make it possible to differentiate volunteering from other forms of related service provision.

The voluntary entities are then regulated in Title III and their requirements are set. As a novelty, it is established that in any case the federations, confederations or unions of voluntary entities will have such consideration.

The legal status of volunteering is closed with the regulation of the rights and duties of persons receiving voluntary action in Title IV.

V

Unlike other legislative models, Law 6/1996, of 15 January, of the Volunteering, did not have the character of basic legislation but it came to add, according to its competences, to the panorama of the existing regulations in the autonomous communities defined by its Statute of Autonomy and by its specific legislation. This Law is not intended to alter in any way this distribution of competence, but it calls for a framework of cooperation between the different public administrations that is especially prone to the consolidation and development of the voluntary service. To this end, it is committed to establishing the means and systems of relations which enable reciprocal information and joint action in the exercise of its powers, in order to integrate the actions of all the Member States. Public administrations in those areas where their presence in the field of volunteering has been traditional.

To achieve this objective, and with the same vocation of cooperation, the Law lists in Title V the functions of the General Administration of the State. For its implementation, the regulatory regulation of two bodies is provided for in the second additional provision: an Inter-Ministerial Voluntary Commission whose role will be, always respecting the competences of the autonomous communities, entities local and autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, coordinate the action of the ministerial departments with competence on volunteering and a State Observatory of Volunteering, with functions of collection, analysis, dissemination and study of the information on volunteering in Spain.

The legal regime is supplemented by the reference, in Title VI, to traditional promotional activities, such as grant and collaboration agreements.

The increasing presence of the business and university environment in the field of volunteering has its recognition in the law. To this end, the conditions under which companies and universities may promote and participate in volunteer programs that meet the requirements set out in this Law are established.

In addition, and as a novelty, the call to companies and public administrations to promote, in accordance with labor and public employment legislation and with full respect for the agreements in collective bargaining, mechanisms of adaptation of working time to allow employees or public employees to participate in voluntary work. In this respect, collective bargaining is presented as the most appropriate means of establishing and regulating, within the above limits, these mechanisms that will make it easier for citizens to reconcile and reconcile their work obligations with their voluntary activity. Similarly, the introduction of a target system for the recognition of skills acquired by the volunteer is also novel.

Finally, the law concludes with three additional provisions, one transitional, one repeal and seven endings. First of all, an additional provision is made for the legal system of voluntary service in the field of civil protection, the regulation of which refers to the specific rules; a second provision provides for the regulation of a voluntary service. The Inter-Ministerial Commission on Volunteering and a State Volunteer Observatory and the third, the participation of National Health System personnel in humanitarian emergencies.

The single transitional provision refers to the adaptation of existing voluntary entities to the new situation arising from the law.

For its part, the only derogation provision leaves no effect Law 6/1996, of 15 January, of the Volunteering, the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science, of 11 October 1994, for which the activity of volunteering is regulated in the public institutions which provide the teaching of general arrangements and the Order of the Ministry of Culture, of 9 October 1995, for which cultural volunteering is regulated.

Finally, seven final provisions are included. The first relates to the amendment of Article 31.4 of Law 55/2003 of 16 December 2003 of the Staff Regulations of the Staff Regulations of Health Services as regards the homogeneity of merit scales, the second to the necessary respect for the powers of the Autonomous Communities in the field of this Law; the third is within the scope of the reference made in Article 4.1 of Royal Decree Law 7/2013 of 28 June of urgent measures of a tax nature, The Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Research, Development and Innovation, and the Committee on Innovation, Research and Fifth, to the absence of an increase in public expenditure; the sixth to the enabling for regulatory development and the seventh, and last, to the entry into force of this law.

PRELIMINARY TITLE

Object and Scope

Article 1. Object.

This law aims to:

a) Promote and facilitate the solidarity participation of the citizenry in volunteer actions carried out through voluntary organizations, inside and outside the territory of the State and in accordance with the values and principles of volunteering.

(b) Set out the requirements to be met by volunteers and the legal status of their relations with voluntary organisations and with the target persons of voluntary actions.

c) Describe the cooperation that, in the field of their respective competences, can be carried out by the public administrations, within the framework of the Constitution and the Statutes of Autonomy in the field of volunteering.

d) Determine the functions of the General Administration of the State in the field of its competence in the field of volunteering.

Article 2. Scope.

1. This law will apply to volunteers, recipients and voluntary organizations that participate, benefit or carry out voluntary programs at the state or supra-regional level, whether they are developed in Spain or abroad. It shall also apply in respect of those programmes in which the State is constitutionally recognised as having jurisdiction, without prejudice to the powers conferred on the autonomous communities in the field of voluntary service by its Statute of Autonomy as well as in its specific legislation.

2. The voluntary programs to which this Law applies will be those developed in those areas in which the State has a constitutionally recognized intervention, whether they are carried out inside or outside the Spanish territory. It shall also apply to those whose execution exceeds the territory of an autonomous community.

TITLE I

Volunteering

Article 3. Concept of volunteering.

1. For the purposes of this Law, voluntary means shall be the set of activities of general interest developed by natural persons, provided that they meet the following requirements:

a) That are in solidarity.

b) That their realization be free, without their cause in a personal obligation or legal duty and be assumed voluntarily.

(c) To be carried out without economic or material consideration, without prejudice to the payment of reimbursable expenses that the performance of the voluntary action will cause to the volunteers in accordance with the provisions of the article 12.2.d).

(d) to be developed through voluntary entities under specific programmes and within or outside the Spanish territory without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 21 and 22.

2. It is understood by activities of general interest, those that contribute in each of the areas of activity of the volunteer referred to in Article 6 to improve the quality of life of the people and of the society in general and to protect and preserve the environment.

3. The following shall not be considered as voluntary activities:

(a) The isolated or sporadic, periodic or non-periodic, provided to the margin of voluntary entities.

b) Those executed for family, friendship or good-neighborly reasons.

(c) Those that are carried out under a labor, civil, commercial or any other relationship through economic or material consideration.

(d) The social partnership works referred to in Royal Decree 1445/1982 of 25 June on the various measures for the promotion of employment.

e) Grants with or without the provision of services or any other similar activity whose main purpose is training.

f) Non-working practices in companies or business groups and external academic practices.

4. They will have the consideration of voluntary activities, those that translate into the realization of specific and specific actions, without integrating into global or long-term programs, provided that they are carried out through a volunteering. They will also have such consideration, those that are carried out through the information and communication technologies and that do not require the physical presence of the volunteers in the voluntary entities.

Article 4. Limits to voluntary action.

1. The performance of voluntary activities may not be the reason for the termination of the contract of employment.

2. The carrying out of voluntary activities will also not be able to replace public administrations in the development of functions or in the provision of public services to which they are required by law.

Article 5. Values, principles and dimensions of voluntary action.

1. Voluntary action shall be based on and shall be carried out in accordance with the following values:

(a) Those who inspire coexistence in a democratic, participatory, just, plural and committed society with equality, freedom and solidarity.

b) Those who promote the defense of the common good and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, interpreted in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention of the Rights of the Child of the United Nations and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Social Charter.

c) Those that contribute to equity, justice and social cohesion.

d) Those that support the solidarity and participatory deployment of human capabilities.

2. The principles of voluntary action are considered to be:

a) Freedom as a personal choice of the commitment of both volunteers and the target persons of voluntary action.

b) Participation as a democratic principle of direct and active intervention in the public space and in the common responsibilities and as a generator of active citizenship and community dimension.

c) Solidarity with global awareness that demands congruence between everyday attitudes and commitments and the elimination of injustices and inequalities.

d) Complementarity with regard to the actions of public administrations, non-profit entities or professionals involved in each of the areas of voluntary activity.

e) Autonomy and independence in management and decision making.

f) The gratuitousness of the service that it provides, not seeking economic or material benefit.

g) Efficiency that seeks the optimization of resources by thinking both of the target people of voluntary action, and of voluntary action as a whole, in the interests of the social function to be fulfilled.

(h) Equal opportunities for women and men in all areas of voluntary activity.

i) Non-discrimination of volunteers on grounds of nationality, racial or ethnic origin, religion, ideological or trade union convictions, disease, disability, age, sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation or any other personal or social condition or circumstance.

j) The accessibility of people with disabilities, older people and those in a situation of dependency.

3. Without prejudice to the particularities of each field of action, they are considered to be their own dimensions of volunteering, inter alia:

a) Commitment, gratuity and selfless delivery of time, skills and knowledge of volunteers.

b) Complementary action in the different fields of activity of volunteering.

c) Critical awareness that contributes to improving the person's relationship with society.

d) The transformation in the social aspect, in order to find new bases for social relations; as in the individual, in order to improve personal attitudes.

e) The pedagogical and social awareness dimension that recalls, educates, and awareness in the values that inspire voluntary action.

f) Research and reflection on the actions, methods, work approaches and practices of volunteering.

Article 6. Areas of activity of volunteering.

1. The following are considered to be areas of activity for volunteering:

a) Social volunteering, which is developed through intervention with people and social reality, in the face of situations of vulnerability, deprivation or lack of rights or opportunities to achieve a better quality of life and greater cohesion and social justice.

b) International voluntary development cooperation, linked both to education for development and part of the educational and transformation process, and to the promotion of development as regards action humanitarian and international solidarity, be it in our country, in countries or territories receiving development cooperation or in any country where a situation of humanitarian need is declared, without prejudice to the activities of the carried out in this field by the cooperating companies, which will be governed by Royal Decree 519/2006, 28 of April, by which the Staff Regulations of the Cooperants are established.

c) Environmental Volunteering, which aims to reduce the negative impact of the human being on the environment and to value the existing natural heritage, animal and plant species, ecosystems and natural resources carrying out, inter alia, actions for the protection and recovery of flora and fauna, the natural biodiversity of the various habitats, and the protection of the forest environment; conservation and improvement of water, rivers and other elements of the water environment; coastal, mountain and other elements of the natural landscape; education and awareness environmental protection; animal protection; and any other that contribute to the protection, conservation and improvement of the environment.

d) Cultural Volunteering, which promotes and defends the right of access to culture and, in particular, the cultural integration of all people, the promotion and protection of cultural identity, the defense and safeguarding of cultural heritage and participation in the cultural life of the community.

(e) Sports volunteering, which contributes to social and civic cohesion, by adding the values of voluntary service to those inherent in sport, with a strong commitment to promoting the Community dimension in the development of sports practice in any of its manifestations, including volunteering in sport practiced by people with disabilities, with particular attention to the Paralympian, and for promoting a greater and determined commitment of those who they play sport in the associative life, as an effective way to promote their education and social inclusion.

(f) Educational volunteering, which as a planned and integrated solidarity action in the system and the educational community improves the possibilities of carrying out extra-school and complementary activities, contributing in particular to to compensate for inequalities that may exist between students for social, personal or economic differences, through the use, among others, of learning-service programs.

(g) Socio-sanitary voluntary service in which they are combined, the promotion of health, the prevention of disease, health care, rehabilitation and social care which is directed at the whole of society or the In a situation of vulnerability, through a comprehensive and specialized intervention in the physical, psychological and social aspects, it offers support and guidance to families and the closest environment, improving living conditions.

h) Volunteering leisure and leisure time, which forms and sensibilities in the principles and values of voluntary action through the development of activities in the field of non-formal education, which foster development, growth personnel and group in a comprehensive way, promoting skills, competencies, skills and attitudes in people, that promote solidarity and inclusion, and achieve commitment, participation and social involvement.

i) Community Volunteering, which favors the improvement of the community, and promotes participation with greater decision-making power and initiative to solve problems and demand greater quality of life in the most vital spaces where the volunteers are involved, by setting up a society of solidarity, active, critical, committed and responsible.

j) Voluntary civil protection, which regularly collaborates in the management of emergencies, in the actions to be determined by the National System of Civil Protection without prejudice to the duty of the citizens in the cases of serious risk, disaster or public calamity, as an expression and effective means of citizen participation in the social response to these phenomena, in terms of the applicable rules.

2. The conditions under which international voluntary development cooperation activities will be carried out shall be regulated, as well as in those other areas of action which, either by the place in which they are carried out, or by the specialty of the activities, either by the time of their development or by the combination of some of the above circumstances, they require a differentiated treatment.

Article 7. Of the volunteer programs.

1. Each volunteer programme shall have the following minimum content:

a) Denomination.

b) Identification of the program manager.

c) Purposes and objectives that you propose.

d) Description of the activities that you understand.

e) Territorial scope that spans.

f) Expected duration for execution.

g) Number of volunteers required, the appropriate profile for the tasks to be developed and the qualification or training required.

h) Criteria for determining, where appropriate, the profile of the target persons of the programme.

i) Accurate resources and resources to carry it out.

j) Mechanisms for control, monitoring and evaluation.

2. Where the General Administration of the State finances voluntary programmes, it may require additional content in accordance with the implementing rules.

TITLE II

Of the volunteers

Article 8. Of the volunteers.

1. The condition of volunteers shall be the natural persons who decide freely and voluntarily to dedicate, all or part of their time, to the performance of the activities defined in Article 3.2.

2. Minors may have the status of volunteers provided that their higher interest is respected in accordance with the provisions of the implementing legislation and meet the following requirements:

(a) Those over 16 and under 18 years of age must have the consent of their parents, guardians or legal representatives.

(b) Children under 16 years of age and over 12 years of age may carry out voluntary actions if they have the express consent of their parents, guardians or legal representatives in which they will be assessed whether or not they harm their integral development and training.

3. Voluntary organisations should ensure the right to equal opportunities and the universal accessibility of older volunteers, with disabilities or in a situation of dependency, in a way that they can exercise on an equal footing. with respect to the other volunteers, the rights and duties that correspond to them in accordance with this Law, eradicating any possible form of discrimination.

In these cases, the consent for their incorporation to the voluntary entity, the information and training and the activities entrusted to them, must be carried out in appropriate formats and according to their capabilities and personal circumstances, following the guidelines established by the principles of universal accessibility and design for all, so that they are accessible, usable and understandable.

4. It shall be a requirement to have the status of volunteers in voluntary organisations or programmes the exercise of which involves regular contact with minors, not having been convicted of a firm sentence for offences against freedom and sexual indemnity, treats and exploitation of minors. To this end, they must prove this by providing a negative certification from the Central Register of Penados for these crimes.

5. Persons who have a criminal record not cancelled for crimes of domestic or gender violence may not be voluntary for violating the life, physical integrity, liberty, moral integrity or freedom and sexual indemnity of the another spouse or children, or for offences of illegal trafficking or illegal immigration of persons, or for terrorist offences in programmes whose recipients have been or may be victims of such offences. This circumstance will be credited by a statement responsible for not having a criminal record for these crimes.

Article 9. Compatibility of voluntary action.

1. Employees and public employees may only carry out voluntary activities outside the working day, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 20 (2

.

2. The status of an employed person is compatible with that of volunteering in the same volunteering entity under the conditions laid down in the incorporation agreement, with the same limit as in the previous assumption.

3. Volunteers may have the status of partner or partner in the volunteer entity in which they are integrated and participate in the governing bodies of the volunteer entity in accordance with their statutes.

Article 10. Rights of volunteers.

1. Volunteers have the following rights:

(a) Receiving regularly during the provision of their activity, information, guidance and support, as well as the material means necessary for the exercise of the functions entrusted to them.

b) To receive at all times, in charge of the volunteer entity, and adapted to their personal conditions, the necessary training for the correct development of the activities assigned to them.

(c) Be treated on an equal basis, without discrimination, respecting their freedom, identity, dignity and other fundamental rights recognized in the conventions, international treaties and in the Constitution.

d) To participate actively in the organization in which they are inserted, collaborating in the elaboration, design, execution and evaluation of the programs or projects, in accordance with their statutes or implementing rules and, to the extent that they permit, in the government and administration of the volunteer entity.

(e) Being covered, by the voluntary organisation, of the risks of accident and disease arising directly from the exercise of voluntary action and civil liability in cases where the legislation This is required by industry, through insurance or other financial collateral.

f) to be reimbursed by the voluntary entity for the expenditure incurred in carrying out its activities, in accordance with the provisions of the incorporation agreement and taking into account the scope of voluntary action which develop.

g) Dispose of an identification accreditation of his or her voluntary status, in addition to the voluntary entity in which he/she participates.

h) Perform their activity according to the principle of universal accessibility adapted to the activity they develop.

i) Getting recognition from the volunteer entity, by the social value of their contribution and by the skills, skills and skills acquired as a result of the exercise of their volunteer work.

j) That your personal data be processed and protected in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law 15/1999 of 13 December on the Protection of Personal Data.

k) Caesar in performing his/her activities as a volunteer on the terms set out in the incorporation agreement.

2. The exercise of voluntary action shall not prejudice or restrict any rights recognised by law to the volunteers.

Article 11. Volunteer duties.

Volunteers are required to:

(a) Meet the commitments acquired with the voluntary entities in which they are integrated, reflected in the incorporation agreement, respecting the aims and statutes of the same.

b) Save the due confidentiality of the information received and known in the development of your voluntary action.

c) Reject any material or economic consideration that might receive well from the persons receiving the voluntary action, or from other persons related to their voluntary action.

(d) Respect the rights of the persons to whom the voluntary action is addressed in accordance with Article 16.

e) Act with due diligence and in solidarity.

f) to participate in the training tasks provided for by the voluntary organisation for the activities and tasks entrusted to it, as well as those which, on a permanent basis, are required to maintain the quality of services which lend.

g) Follow the instructions of the volunteer entity that are related to the development of the activities entrusted to them.

h) Use properly the personal accreditation and the flags of the volunteer entity.

i) Respect and care for the material resources made available by the volunteer entity.

j) Fulfill existing health and safety measures in the volunteer entity.

k) Observe the rules on the protection and processing of personal data in accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law 15/1999 of 13 December, and other implementing rules.

Article 12. Of the relationships between volunteers and the volunteer entity.

1. The relationship between the volunteer and the volunteering entity will always be established through the subscription of an incorporation agreement that constitutes the main instrument of its definition and regulation.

2. The incorporation agreement will have the following minimum content:

(a) The set of rights and duties that correspond to both parties, which shall comply with the provisions of this Law.

b) The description of the functions, activities, and time of dedication that the volunteer undertakes to perform.

(c) Where appropriate, the scheme whereby the intervention of salaried workers or members participating in the voluntary actions within the institution itself shall be regulated.

(d) The scheme of reimbursable expenses to be paid to volunteers, in accordance with the voluntary action to be undertaken.

e) The training required for the performance of the tasks assigned to the volunteers and, where appropriate, the itinerary to be followed to obtain them.

(f) The duration of the commitment, as well as the causes and forms of disengagement by both parties, which will have to respect the rights of the persons receiving the voluntary action and the best development of the programmes of volunteering.

g) The regime for settling disputes between volunteers and the volunteer entity.

(h) The change of membership to the volunteer program or any other circumstance that changes the initially agreed performance regime.

3. The incorporation agreement must be formalised in writing, in duplicate, and accompanied, where appropriate, by the negative certification of the Central Register of Penados or the responsible declaration to which they refer, respectively, to the paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 8.

4. Disputes arising between volunteers and voluntary entities in the exercise of their own voluntary activities shall be addressed by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Law 60/2003 of 23 December of Arbitration, if this has been agreed upon in the incorporation agreement and, in the absence of a pact, by the competent jurisdiction, in accordance with the rules laid down in the procedural rules.

TITLE III

From volunteering entities

Article 13. Of the voluntary entities.

1. Legal persons who meet the following requirements shall be considered to be voluntary entities:

(a) Be legally constituted and registered in the competent Registers, in accordance with the State, regional or other rules of the European Union of application.

b) Profit for profit.

c) Being integrated or having volunteers, without prejudice to the staff of the employee structure necessary for the stable functioning of the entity or for the development of actions requiring a degree of specialisation concrete.

d) To develop part or all of its actions through voluntary programmes designed and managed in the framework of activities of general interest, which respect the values, principles and dimensions established in the Article 5 and shall be implemented in one of the areas referred to in Article 6.

2. In any event, the federations, confederations or unions of voluntary entities legally constituted at the state or regional level or the European Union shall be considered to be voluntary entities.

Article 14. Legal status of voluntary entities.

1.It is the rights of voluntary organisations:

(a) Select volunteers, without any discrimination on grounds of sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation, nationality, racial or ethnic origin, religion, ideological or trade union convictions, disability, age, or any other personal or social condition or circumstance, in accordance with the purposes or objectives of the entity, the nature and characteristics of the task to be developed and the rules laid down in its internal operating status.

b) Suspend the activity of the volunteers when the quality or the purposes of the entity's programs are severely impaired by their cause, or seriously infringe the incorporation agreement.

(c) Concurating measures to promote voluntary action established by public administrations or private entities and to receive material and technical support measures aimed at the proper development of their actions.

d) Participate through the federations, confederations or unions of voluntary entities in the design and implementation of public policies of the General Administration of the State.

e) Any other rights recognised by the rest of the legal order relating to voluntary action.

2. Voluntary organisations are obliged to:

(a) Develop its own internal operating rules in accordance with this Law and with its implementing legislation, taking into account democratic, participatory and transparent principles.

b) Formalize the incorporation agreement with the volunteers and fulfill the commitments they have made.

(c) Subscribe to an insurance policy or other financial guarantee, appropriate to the characteristics and circumstances of the activity developed by the volunteers, to cover the risks of accident and disease directly derived from them of the voluntary activity.

(d) to cover the costs incurred in the provision of the service and, where appropriate, to reimburse the volunteers, the costs incurred by the development of their activity, under the conditions agreed in the incorporation agreement; and adapted to the field of voluntary activity they develop, as well as providing them with the material means necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks.

(e) Establishing appropriate internal information and guidance systems for the purposes, the operating system of the voluntary action entity, the carrying out of the tasks entrusted to the volunteers and the delimitation of those tasks with the functions of the professionals of the entities.

f) Provide volunteers, on a regular basis and in accordance with their personal conditions, with the necessary training, both basic and specific, for the proper development of their activities.

g) Facilitate the participation of volunteers in the elaboration, design, execution and evaluation of the programmes in which they are involved and, as far as the rules of implementation allow, in the processes of management and decisions of the voluntary organisation.

h) To monitor and evaluate the activities scheduled, ensuring that the objectives are met in accordance with the principles of effectiveness and social profitability.

i) Provide volunteers with an accreditation that enables and identifies them for the development of their activity, where the volunteer entity in which they perform the voluntary action is established.

j) Require the consent or in their case the express and written authorization of the parents, guardians or legal representatives of the underage volunteers under the conditions set out in Article 8.2.

k) Exasking volunteers for a certificate indicating the duration and activities of the programs in which they have participated.

l) Bring a record of incorporation and high-and low-volunteer agreements.

m) To comply with the Organic Law 15/1999 of 13 December, and other implementing regulations regarding the treatment and protection of personal data of the volunteers or persons to whom the activities of the volunteering.

n) Observe the remaining obligations arising from the provisions of the legal order of application.

3. Voluntary organisations shall be responsible to third parties for the damage caused by volunteers participating in their programmes, as a result of the performance of voluntary actions, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code and other implementing rules, with the possibility of subscribing to this effect an insurance policy, or other financial guarantee covering civil liability, which will be mandatory when the sector rules so require.

4. Without prejudice to Article 8 (4) and (5), voluntary organisations may develop voluntary programmes in which the objectives of reinsertion of persons with a non-expired criminal record are to be considered. through voluntary action. In this case, the entity shall reflect on the voluntary programme itself the special characteristics of the programme.

TITLE IV

From persons to whom voluntary action is addressed

Article 15. Of the persons to whom the voluntary action is addressed.

1. For the purposes of this Law, individuals and groups or communities in which they are integrated, both at national and international level, shall be considered to be the target persons of the voluntary action for which the development of a voluntary activity represents an improvement in its quality of life, either through the recognition or defence of its rights, the satisfaction of its needs, access to culture, the improvement of its environment or its promotion and social inclusion.

2. In determining the persons to whom the voluntary action is addressed, it shall not be discriminated against on grounds of nationality, racial or ethnic origin, religion, ideological or trade union convictions, disease, disability, age, sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation, or any other personal or social condition or circumstance.

3. Voluntary activities shall be carried out with full respect for the ideological, political, trade-union or religious freedom of persons receiving voluntary action.

Article 16. Rights and duties of persons receiving voluntary action.

1. The persons receiving the voluntary action have the following rights:

(a) to ensure that voluntary action is carried out in accordance with programmes which ensure the quality of the actions and to ensure that, as far as possible, they are carried out in their immediate environment, especially when personal services or services are derived.

b) To ensure their personal and family dignity and intimacy.

c) To receive sufficient and comprehensible information and guidance in accordance with their personal conditions, both at the beginning and during their execution, on the characteristics of the programs of which they benefit or are recipients, as well as collaborating in their assessment.

d) To apply for and obtain the replacement of the assigned volunteer, provided that there are reasons to justify it and the volunteer entity can attend to such request.

e) To do without or reject at any time the voluntary action, by means of written waiver or by any other procedure that would be consistent with its decision.

f) To request the intervention of the volunteer entity to solve the conflicts that have arisen with the volunteers.

g) That your personal data be processed and protected in accordance with Organic Law 15/1999 of 13 December.

h) Any other rights that may be recognized in accordance with this Law and the rest of the legal order.

2. These are the duties of persons receiving voluntary action:

a) Collaborate with volunteers and facilitate their work in the execution of programs from which they benefit or are targeted.

b) Do not offer any financial or material satisfaction to volunteers or volunteer entities.

c) Observe the technical and safety and health measures to be adopted and follow the instructions to be established in the implementation of the agreed activities.

d) Notify the volunteer entity in advance of their decision to dispense with the services of a given volunteer program.

e) Any other arising out of this Law or from the rules applicable to it.

TITLE V

From Public Administrations

Article 17. From public administrations.

1. Public administrations with competence in the field of voluntary service will provide the necessary means for establishing the means and systems of relations which enable reciprocal information, technical cooperation and joint action in the exercise of their activities. competence, in order to integrate their actions, thereby contributing to the improvement of voluntary action and the solidarity participation of the citizenry.

2. With full respect for the powers of the autonomous communities defined in their Statutes of Autonomy, local authorities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the freedom of action and autonomy of the voluntary organizations, consider as areas of cooperation in which the provisions set out in the preceding paragraph can be made effective:

a) Awareness of society about the value of voluntary action and the interest of its contribution to the construction of social capital.

b) The promotion and promotion of the social participation of the citizenry through voluntary organizations and, in particular, the elderly, in the context of active ageing strategies, and the cooperation of voluntary entities with other forms of social participation.

c) The design and development of volunteer plans and strategies to guide, plan and coordinate their actions in the field of their respective competencies.

d) The establishment of the instruments of advice, information, technical and material assistance to the voluntary organizations in all those aspects that allow an optimal performance of the voluntary action.

e) The determination of common criteria for the evaluation, inspection and monitoring of public funds allocated to voluntary entities, provided that the state and regional regulations of the application are permitted and with full respect for the competences of the Autonomous Communities.

f) Support for voluntary organisations in their training of volunteers to ensure that they are regular, quality and consistent with their personal conditions.

g) The impetus of networking and the creation of spaces and tools of collaboration in their respective territories, which allow a continuous and smooth relationship with social, business, and trade unions representatives and universities and any other public or private entities and institutions that may have an impact on volunteering.

(h) The promotion of public employees, participation in volunteer programs, in accordance with public employment legislation and with full respect for what has been agreed in collective bargaining.

i) The contribution to the effectiveness of voluntary action, through the simplification and streamlining of administrative procedures affecting voluntary entities.

j) The establishment of effective monitoring and control mechanisms for the development of voluntary activity.

Article 18. Functions of the General Administration of the State.

1. Without prejudice to the powers of the autonomous communities defined in their Statutes of Autonomy, local authorities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, it shall be the responsibility of the General Administration of the State:

(a) To set, within the scope of its powers, the general lines of public policies in the field of volunteering, in agreement with other public administrations with competence in the field, after consulting the entities voluntary or federations of more representative voluntary organisations in each of the areas of activity of volunteering.

b) Coordinate, through the Ministry that in its organic structure has an administrative unit with specific functions in the field of volunteering, the actions of the different organs of the General Administration of the State in the different areas of activity of volunteering.

c) Establish, in agreement with the other public administrations with competence in the field, the mechanisms of cooperation in the field of voluntary work.

(d) to establish, in agreement with the other public administrations with competence in the field, common criteria for the evaluation, inspection and monitoring of voluntary programmes supported by public administrations with in accordance with Article 17 (2) (e).

e) Cooperating with the relevant public administrations in the field and after consulting the voluntary organizations, federations, confederations or unions of more representative voluntary entities in each of the areas of activity of volunteering, in the improvement of the training of volunteers, in accordance with the criteria of regularity, quality and adaptation to the personal conditions of the volunteers set out in Article 17.2.f).

(f) to encourage, through programmes of learning-service, among others, training in the principles and values of volunteering in all stages, cycles, degrees, courses and levels of the educational system, without prejudice to the set out in Article 22.

g) Cooperating with the autonomous communities in the creation of a common information system that, as a shared tool between the General Administration of the State, the Autonomous Communities, local entities and the cities The Autonomous Community of Ceuta and Melilla makes it possible to establish common criteria for the diagnosis, monitoring and evaluation of voluntary aspects.

h) Promote research and study activities that contribute to the best knowledge of the needs, resources and actions in the field of voluntary action, through the implementation, among other initiatives, of a National Volunteer Research Award.

(i) To encourage the exchange of training and good practices with a scientific basis with volunteers, voluntary organizations, federations, confederations or unions of the same, non-profit entities at national level and to facilitate the achievement of common objectives in voluntary action.

(j) Promote volunteer actions in collaboration with voluntary organizations provided that they do not assume the substitution of public functions or services that the Administration is required to provide by law and subject to any case, to the needs of the service or function that you should run.

(k) Provide what is necessary to adapt the provisions of the regulations on safety and health at work to the volunteers, as well as to include them in the equality plans of the voluntary bodies and, where appropriate, in those of prevention of sexual harassment or by reason of sex.

2. The collaboration of the voluntary organizations or federations, confederations or unions of voluntary entities with the General Administration of the State and with the entities governed by public law with their own legal personality, dependent on that, will be in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the rest of the implementing regulations and preferably will be provided through agreements or agreements of collaboration between them.

Article 19. Collaboration of local entities.

Local authorities as public administrations closest to the persons receiving the voluntary actions, will promote, in the terms provided for in Law 7/1985, 2 April, Regulatory of the Bases of the Regime Local, and in collaboration with the rest of the Administrations and especially with the autonomous communities, the development of the volunteering in the areas referred to in article 6 of this Law, as an instrument to expand the knowledge of the (a) population in relation to Community resources and to link citizenship with its context nearest social, economic and cultural.

TITLE VI

The promotion and recognition of voluntary action

Article 20. Measures to promote voluntary work.

1. The General Administration of the State may grant grants or establish agreements with the voluntary entities provided that the requirements of both the general legislation on subsidies and this Law are met and are implemented the criteria for advertising, transparency, competition, objectivity, equality and non-discrimination.

2. Public administrations and private companies or institutions may promote and facilitate, in accordance with labour law or public employment law and with full respect for the agreement of collective bargaining, the adoption of measures of reduction or adjustment of working time, suspensions of the employment relationship with the reserve of work or interruptions of the benefit paid or not, so that employees or public employees may exercise their volunteer work.

The specific terms in which the reduction or adaptation measures of the working day referred to in the previous paragraph are to be developed shall be recorded in writing.

Article 21. From the promotion of volunteering from companies.

1. In order to promote greater visibility and promotion of voluntary work in society, companies may promote and participate in voluntary programmes, provided that the actions they carry out can be classified as being of general interest. include in one of the areas of voluntary action and respect the values and principles that inspire voluntary action, in accordance with the provisions of Title I.

2. The voluntary actions of the enterprises can be carried out by means of the incorporation of the workers who decide to participate freely and voluntarily as volunteers in programs promoted by voluntary organizations in collaboration with the company.

3. The relevant specialties will be regulated in order to encourage and facilitate SMEs to promote and participate in voluntary programmes.

Article 22. From the promotion of volunteering from universities.

1. Universities, which are responsible for the university education of young people and adults, will be able to promote voluntary work within their own areas of action, such as training, research and awareness-raising. Sectoral rules of application.

2. The voluntary activities of the universities will aim at the training and awareness of the university community in the voluntary service and can be promoted from the university itself or with the participation of voluntary entities. The participation of the members of the university community in these programs will be free and voluntary and will not entail the replacement of the Administration in the public functions or services that it is required to provide by law.

3. Universities will encourage teaching and research at all levels around volunteering. To this end, they will be able to subscribe to agreements with public administrations and other public or private institutions and bodies, which in turn will be able to ask the universities for courses, studies, analyses and research.

4. Universities will be able to establish formulas for academic recognition of voluntary actions carried out by their students, provided that they meet the academic requirements set out in the relevant implementing regulations in (a) university management, and respect the values and principles of volunteering established in this Law.

Article 23. Measures for the recognition and social assessment of volunteering.

Volunteers may enjoy, in the terms and with the scope to be regulated, the benefits that may be established with the exclusive object of the promotion, recognition and social assessment of the action voluntary.

Article 24. Accreditation and recognition of volunteer actions.

1. The accreditation of the provision of voluntary services shall be carried out by means of certification issued by the voluntary organisation in which it has been carried out, at any time when the volunteer requests it and, in any case, to the completion of the voluntary service. period of volunteering. It shall contain at least in addition to the personal and identifying data of the volunteer and the volunteer entity, the date of incorporation into the entity and the duration, description of the tasks performed or functions assumed and the where the activity was performed.

2. Recognition of the skills acquired by the volunteer shall be carried out in accordance with the general rules for the recognition of skills acquired by work experience or by non-formal training courses.

Additional disposition first. Volunteering in the field of civil protection.

The implementation of voluntary activities in the field of civil protection shall be governed by its specific rules, with the application of this Law as a supplementary.

Additional provision second. The Inter-Ministerial Commission on Volunteering and the State Voluntary Observatory.

1. Regulations will be regulated by an Inter-Ministerial Volunteer Commission whose role will be to coordinate the actions of the ministerial departments with competence on the voluntary service in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

2. A State Voluntary Observatory will be regulated as a collegiate body for the participation of the autonomous communities, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, and the Federations, Confederations and Unions of Voluntary Entities.

Additional provision third. Participation of National Health System personnel in humanitarian emergencies.

1. The activity of cooperation in humanitarian emergencies, in accordance with the concept referred to in paragraph 3, may be authorised under the parameters of the voluntary scheme in actions or projects to be promoted, either by non-governmental organisations or by non-governmental organisations. Government qualified by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) or International Organizations, provided they are endorsed by the AECID.

2. The staff providing services at the National Health System Centres and Institutions may be allowed to participate in humanitarian emergencies. This permit will have the status of unpaid or partially paid, as currently regulated for the statutory staff of the health services, by Article 61.4 of Law 55/2003 of 16 December of the Staff Regulations. Framework of the health services. This configuration of the permit is compatible with the usual professional and paid character of the activity of cooperation in humanitarian emergencies, in accordance with the conditions established in Royal Decree 519/2006, of April 28, by the the Statute of the Cooperants is established. The professional during the validity of the permit will maintain the reservation of the square and will be considered in active service situation.

Statutory staff and career civil servants will be entitled, during the term of the permit, to the computation of this period for triennial purposes. Statutory staff will also have, in addition, the right to their computation for professional career purposes.

The normal duration of the permit will be three months. This permit may be extended, on an extraordinary basis, to a maximum of six months, of a total duration, to be detected in such a way as to enable the presence of the professionals on missions to be extended. Emergency humanitarian aid to be carried out by specialized humanitarian organizations endorsed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). This permit, which shall be granted in an extraordinary manner, shall in any event be of a non-retributive nature.

3. For the purposes of this law, "humanitarian emergency" shall mean the definition established by the United Nations, through its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the General Secretariat and the International Committee of Red Cross. They will have the same consideration, so-called over-come emergencies, or prolonged humanitarian crises in time to be communicated jointly by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Ministry of Education. Health, Social Services and Equality. The cooperation programme shall be led either by a non-governmental organisation qualified by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and officially endorsed by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality or by an International Organization, in the terms that in each case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, through the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development.

4. In accordance with Article 10.1 (g) of Royal Decree 519/2006 of 28 April, the working time during the permit to participate in projects of Spanish Cooperation in humanitarian emergencies will be the subject of valuation as merit, as services provided to the administration of which they are dependent, both in the selective processes to access the condition of fixed statutory staff, and in the processes of provision of statutory staff, fixed and temporary, that is, in those of: selection, internal promotion, contest, free designation and mobility.

The permission for the temporary staff will be conditional on the validity of the place occupied by the professional and, in the event of termination of the appointment, will result in the termination of the permit. The Autonomous Communities shall review their rules or arrangements for the selection of temporary staff, in order to avoid any penalty for not attending to the offer addressed to them, from the temporary employment exchange of their category, when the latter occurs. in their absence, because they are enjoying this permission for cooperation in humanitarian emergencies.

5. The autonomous communities shall regulate the conditions and the procedure for granting permission to participate in humanitarian emergencies to the statutory staff, in accordance with the provisions of Article 61.4 of Law 55/2003, 16 of In December, the Staff Regulations of the Staff Regulations of the Health Services, or the staff of officials dependent on their health service, both in their ordinary period and in the extraordinary period. As far as possible such permission shall be granted by means of the urgency procedure.

It will also be regulated by the Autonomous Administrations, where appropriate, the recognition of similar rights and guarantees, for the professionals of health institutions, whose system of linkage is, both the labor and the of the career officer.

Single transient arrangement. Adaptation of voluntary organisations.

Voluntary entities that are integrated into or have volunteers for the entry into force of this Law must comply with the provisions of this Law within one year of their entry into force.

Repeal provision.

1. The Law 6/1996 of 15 January of the Volunteering is repealed.

2. The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of 11 October 1994, which regulates the activity of voluntary service in public institutions, which provides for the teaching of general arrangements and the Order of the Ministry of Culture, of 9 March 1994, is hereby repealed. October 1995, for which cultural volunteering is regulated.

Final disposition first. Amendment of Article 31.4 of Law 55/2003 of 16 December of the Staff Regulations of the Staff Regulations of Health Services as regards the homogeneity of merit scales.

Article 31 (4) of Law 55/2003, of 16 December 2003, of the Staff Regulations of the Staff Regulations of Health Services, is worded as follows:

" The merit scales in the selective tests for access to appointments of statutory staff will be directed to assess the professional competencies of the aspirants through the weighted valuation, among others aspects, of their professional and formative curriculum, of the most significant of their pre-graduated, specialized and continuing training, of the professional experience in healthcare facilities and of the scientific, teaching and research and development cooperation or humanitarian aid in the field of health. The principles and criteria which determine the common characteristics of the merits of application in the selective processes and the provision of places and posts that are applicable shall be regulated, on a basic basis. called for access to the status of statutory staff, both of a fixed and a temporary nature and, in the case of mobility procedures, as provided for in Article 37. "

Final disposition second. Respect for the competence of autonomous communities.

This Law shall apply without prejudice to the powers conferred on the Autonomous Communities in the field of voluntary service by their Statute of Autonomy as well as their specific legislation.

Final disposition third. Scope of the referral of Royal Decree-Law 7/2013 of 28 June 2013 of urgent measures of a tax, budgetary and promotion nature to research, development and innovation to activities of general interest to the volunteering.

As of the entry into force of this Law, the reference made by Royal Decree Law 7/2013 of 28 June, of urgent measures of a fiscal nature, budgetary and of promotion of research, development and innovation, to Law 6/1996, of 15 January of the Volunteering, shall be understood to be carried out to this Law.

Final disposition fourth. Competence title.

This Law is dictated by the article 149.1.1. of the Spanish Constitution, under which the State has exclusive competence to regulate the basic conditions that guarantee the equality of all Spaniards in the exercise of rights and in the performance of constitutional duties.

Final disposition fifth. No increase in public spending.

The measures included in this Law will not be able to increase public spending.

Final disposition sixth. Enabling regulatory development.

The Government is authorised to approve its Implementing Regulation within six months of the entry into force of this Law.

Final disposition seventh. Entry into force.

This Law will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, 14 October 2015.

FELIPE R.

The President of the Government,

MARIANO RAJOY BREY