Who must pay for the mandatory medical examination for domestic workers starting in 2026?

During 2024, the Royal Decree that regulates the protection, safety and health of domestic workers was approved. The objective of this standard is to correct the historical inequalities of the domestic care sector and ensure that labor relations there are fairer. Among the measures established in it, is the occupational risk assessment and the obligation to offer a medical examination from the same that guarantees the safety of the workers.

To facilitate these new rights to materialize, the platform has been developed Prevention10.eswhich allows the employer to complete a questionnaire to complete the risk assessment in the domestic work environment. This evaluation is mandatory and failure to comply may result in a fine of about 2,451 euros.

Who should be responsible for the payment?

According to the law, workers have right to monitoring your health statusso the employer must ensure that its functions are not harmful. This can be done through a medical examination, a fairly common measure in most companies, and this test must adapt to the risks to which employees are exposed and be done according to the evaluation that has been previously carried out.

Furthermore, the Royal Decree explains that the medical examination it’s voluntary and this allows workers to have the option of refusing to carry it out. Also, it is established that it may be unique for each worker, even when providing services on behalf of several employers.

Regarding the frequency with which the medical examination must be carried out, the law establishes that this must be from at least every three years. However, this may be lower or vary depending on whether the working conditions have been modified and the privacy of the employee must be guaranteed in the procedure.

There may be many doubts about who is responsible for paying for this medical examination, since it usually falls on companies and employers. Despite this, according to sources from the Ministry of Health, work is being done to make this assumed by public healthso it could be carried out at no cost.