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# Businesses seek clearer rules for severe rain
- URL: https://barna.news/businesses-seek-clearer-rules-for-severe-rain/
- Published: 2026-10-12T08:30:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-12T08:30:01.000Z
- Author: Barna.News
- Tags: Economy & Finance, Business

Businesses and trade unions are calling for clearer workplace measures during severe rain after Barcelona venues shut as a precaution on Saturday 3 October while bars and restaurants remained open, according to reporting published by El Periódico on Monday.

For hospitality staff and customers, the difference meant travelling home through heavy downpours after working or eating in premises on flooded streets. The report says theatres, municipal sports facilities and the Gran Teatre del Liceu closed that evening, and the Liceu cancelled its scheduled performance.

> “We lack a great deal of preparation. It is a new situation for everyone, and we need to improve protocols, company by company,” said Òscar Riu, secretary for union policy at UGT de Catalunya, the Catalan branch of the UGT trade union.

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## No fixed trigger for remote work or closures

The report says there is no set rainfall threshold that automatically requires remote working for jobs that can be done from home, or the closure of particular activities. Employers’ groups and unions said collective agreements could set sector-specific arrangements, although negotiations to renew them can be slow.

César Sánchez, director of Foment del Treball’s occupational-risk prevention office, said recent episodes had made organisations more aware of the risk, but that not every company had a specific protocol in place.

> “The challenge now is to consolidate this awareness into clear, proportionate and applicable internal protocols for each situation,” Foment said.

## Workers urged to check company procedures

Enrique Rodríguez, secretary for union action at CCOO de Catalunya, said workplaces were not prepared for extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and intense.

Workers who may have to travel during a severe-rain warning can ask their employer or workplace prevention service what procedure applies to remote work, travel and site closures. The employers’ association and unions also called for stronger coordination between public-sector departments and private workplaces.

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*Reported by El Periódico (CA).*