Reducing

reducing the target bonus when you are on medical leave is not discriminatory

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Getting sick if you work at Mercadona it can be very expensive. Not because of the medical leave itself, which is covered by Social Security, but because the days you spend recovering can take money away from the annual milestone bonus that the company distributes among its employees. A recent sentence The Supreme Court has given approval for Mercadona to deduct the proportional part of the sick leave periods from this objective bonus, and has made it clear that doing so does not mean discriminating against the worker for being sick. What the Mercadona agreement says. He article 31 of the collective agreement of Mercadona, valid until 2028, regulates the annual bonus that the company pays to its workers. To receive this bonus you must meet individual annual objectives, pass an assessment interview and have worked in the company for at least three months during the evaluated year. Its amount is a monthly payment of the salary of the professional group corresponding to the month of January of the year valued, and the company pays it during the first week of March. The point that has generated controversy is the one described in section c, which establishes that, if an employee accumulates more than 30 calendar days on sick leave common throughout the year, all those days no longer count as time worked for premium purposes. If the loss does not exceed that threshold, the days do count. On the other hand, sick leave due to work accidents, birth permits, risk benefit during pregnancy and paid leave are always considered time worked. The unions said enough. The Galician Inter-Union Confederation (CIG), which represents 1.7% of Mercadona’s workforce, took this clause to court with the argument that treating differently those who fall ill for work reasons and those who fall ill for common causes amounts to discrimination based on illness. The union relied on the violation of articles 2.1 and 4.1 of the Law 15/2022 on equal treatment and non-discriminationwhich expressly prohibits discrimination based on illness or health condition, something that before that law neither the Supreme Court nor the Constitutional Court recognized as a cause of prohibited discrimination. The National Court already rejected in September 2024 the lawsuit presented by the main unions with representation in Mercadona. Being on sick leave does not count as work. The judges’ reasoning in their ruling is based on a principle of labor law that many are unaware of, but which is included in the article 45.c of the Workers’ Statute: When a worker begins a medical leave, his or her contract is suspended. This means that, during this time of convalescence, the company has no legal obligation to pay the salary or any remuneration concept linked to actual work. As the CCOO and UGT unions pointed out in their writings to the court, during the leave there is no guarantee of equal pay with respect to the periods of effective work, and the company is not even obliged to pay the base salary, so it is not obliged to maintain the supplements for objectives. The Supreme Court says it does not discriminate. Regarding the difference between sick leave (for maternity or paternity leave, for example) and sick leave, the Supreme Court considers it justified because anyone who falls ill due to work has lost their health precisely for the benefit of the company, which deserves more favorable treatment. Furthermore, the Supreme Court remembers that it is the Social Security legislation itself that in its articles 156 and 157historically establishes those differences between professional contingencies and common, in aspects as varied as the requirements to collect benefits or their duration and amount. A victory with nuances. However, despite ruling in favor of Juan Roig’s company in the bulk of the matter, the judges have detected a specific point in the agreement that does violate the rights of workers. While reducing the target bonus proportionally to the days of sick leave is legal, preventing the employee from accessing that bonus system due to that sick leave is not. The ruling declares void the section of article 31 in which the days of common illness were excluded from the minimum calculation of three months necessary to be able to collect the objective bonus, even if it were for a lower amount as the Supreme Court has recognized. The practical consequence of this nuance implies that, if a worker has only been contributing normally for two months to collect that premium and the third month he takes it offthose sick days must count towards reaching the minimum three-month stay required to access the bonus. However, this bonus will be lower than expected because the company may reduce it proportionally to the days that have actually been worked. That is, the withdrawal cannot be a reason for exclusion from the count, but it can reduce the final amount of the premium. In Xataka | A company fired the same employee twice in eight months. The court has annulled them and returns to work with 25,000 euros Image | Wikimedia Commons (Carlos), Unsplash (Owen Beard)

While Europe studies reintroducing military service, Mexico has taken the opposite path: reducing it

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the shift in international policies of the US have caused Europe to no longer trust NATO as a defensive shield, betting on improve your defense resources. Thus, while several European countries debate whether to return to introduce military service mandatory, Mexico decides to take the opposite path and shorten the mandatory military training of its citizens so that it fits better into the lives of young people and is more attractive to them. The change of Mexico. The Government of President Sheinbaum has applied the largest operational change in the conditions of the National Military Service (SMN) in Mexico since 1942. As stated in the article 5 of the Political Constitution of the Mexican States, the service of arms is mandatory for all Mexicans between 18 and 40 years old. This call-up is divided into two modalities: Framed and Available. The former remain quartered for about three months, while the latter remain at the disposal of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) for a year, during which time they are instructed in training sessions on Saturdays. However, with the last reform which has come into effect in January 2026, the training phase has gone from 44 weeks to just 13, with limited classes for those assigned as “On Availability” on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. so that the fulfillment of this duty does not interrupt the studies or work of recruits. New civil-military program. Colonel Juan Sandoval Muñoz, commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, explained to The Universal that the new “Availability” model prioritizes civil-military subjects to reinforce military values ​​and discipline. The dates for this training are divided into two periods: from February 14 to May 9, and from August 1 to October 24, adding a total of 13 sessions. Participants cover 10 subjects focused on basic training, discipline and support for the population, first aid, civil protection and DN-III-E Plan and knowledge of weapons. All subjects are taught by officers and sergeants of the Armed Forces so that recruits become familiar with the military hierarchy. 13 weeks in the barracks. For its part, the Framed option remains with 13 weeks of admission to barracks, with tailored training as if they were professional soldiers. According to Colonel Sandobal, many of these recruits requested this modality to release their SMN Identity Card in less time, which certifies that they have fulfilled their duty, but they ended up requesting entry into the army or military schools. For this reason, it was decided not to change this modality to keep this recruitment route open, despite being equal in time to the other alternative. European rearmament brings the military back. In Europecountries like Denmark accelerate compulsory military service from 2026 for womenwhich was previously only voluntary, and they extend it to eleven months in its basic version. For its part, Germany is discussing bringing back the voluntary military service before the end of the year, after abandoning it in 2011, and Croatia reactivates it on a mandatory basis with a duration of two months for men starting in January 2026. Other countries like france and Poland are starting ten-month voluntary programs for 18- to 19-year-olds, with the option of joining the reserve or the army if a military crisis arises. In Spain the Minister of Defense continue betting by a voluntary reservation instead of resume military servicebut that does not prevent the debate circulate in the army. At least on a theoretical level. In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Europe has realized an unimportant detail: it does not have enough bullets Image | Government of Mexico, Unsplash (JEsus Herrera)

“It’s not about reducing staff. It’s about working together”

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Microsoft has announced from a statement in your blog An important update in its flexible work policy, which will require employees return to the office At least three days a week. The statement is signed by Amy Coleman, Executive Vice President and Microsoft Human Resources Director and it ensures that the main reason for this change is not the Encourage resignationsbut optimize your organization. “It is important to note that this update is not about reducing staff. It is about working together to meet the needs of our clients,” says the writing. A progressive return. The change announced in the Microsoft statement will be gradually implemented. The first to apply will be the employees of the Seattle headquarters who live less than 80 kilometers from this office. These employees will begin to go to the office three days a week from the end of February 2026. Already without citing a specific date, the return to the office will expand to the rest of the offices in the United States, to finally apply to the other international headquarters of the company. A change of model. Microsoft champted the adoption of Flexible Work Model giving example of the versatility of the remote work tools they produced. In fact, until only a few months ago, while many technology companies began to implement their policies back to the office, Microsoft maintained their commitment to flexibility and teleworking ensuring that their employees could continue working from their homes whenever Productivity was not affected. From the address, it is underlined that the teams that They work face to face “They are more motivated, more empowered and reach better results” when working together. Flexibility does not disappear, but the face -to -face time becomes “intentionally and shocking”, being a fundamental part of Microsoft’s new work culture. Exceptions for some positions. In its statement, Coleman points out that, those employees who prove “unusually long or complex” displacements, for example, if it implies the use of various means of transport “, will be exempt from going to the offices and can continue to telework or with a less restrictive model. Similarly, those positions in the Sales, Accounts Management, Consulting and Marketing departments will also be exempt from this new policy because “they require flexibility to meet with customers or partners.” Such and as they highlight in The VergeThe letter also indicates that some employees could exceed those three days in the office with 100% face -to -face models. “Each company will do what best suits its team, which means that some groups will deviate from our general expectations,” said Coleman. Pandemia changed everything, AI returns it to its place. The Covid-19 pandemia sent the employees of the great technological ones To their homes. Now, the career to get hegemony In the Race for AI and the urgency to make profitable millionaire investments That Satya Nadella’s company is doing in it. With this turn to a more face -to -face labor model, Microsoft aligns with other technological giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta, who have already adopted similar schemes demanding their employees go to the office Between three and five days a week. In Xataka | Serguéi Brin asks for changes in the working day to improve AI: 12 hours a day and five days a week in the office Image | Unspash (Salah Darwish, Israel Andrade)

Google’s summaries are reducing clicks to half. And that only points in one address: the collapse

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There is a runrún that runs through digital media writings around the world. The editors look at their traffic metrics with a face of concern while they see how Google, which has been being mainly mainly to attract readers between SEO and Discover, has now become its greatest rival. And now, A PEW Research Center study It puts figures to what many already intuited: Google’s summaries are sweeping with a good part of the web traffic. In addition, it is not a recoverable traffic, it is traffic that will never return. Why is it important. We are facing the balance that has been holding the Internet for decades. Google sent traffic to the websites … … that, in return, created content that fed the search engine. It was a symbiotic ecosystem: the search engine made sense by the websites, the websites received traffic from the search engine. Now only Google wins. When the Ai overViews26% of users directly leave their search session, compared to 16% in traditional searches. The AI becomes the final destination, not to the starting point. The result will be paradoxical: Many digital media and independent websites will close due to lack of traffic. That will leave Google with less content for Your AI summaries and to train future models. The golden egg chicken, dead to pecks. In figures. The numbers are devastating. Only 8% of searches with the summary of AI generate clicks to web pages, compared to 15% when Google shows only traditional results. And just 1% of users click on the sources cited within the AI summary itself. The study tracked the online activity of 900 American adults during March 2025. More than half (58%) ran into a search that produced an automatically generated summary. The context. The Ai overViews They appear in one in five Google searches. Long consultations, formulated as questions or written in complete phrases are more likely to activate these automatic summaries. The sources that most quote the AI remain the usual: Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit concentrate 15% of all appointments. Between the lines. Google faces an inevitable strategic dilemma. If it does not evolve towards smarter experiences, it runs the risk of losing relevance against PerplexityChatgpt and other competitors that give direct answers. But this evolution generates a paradox: the company feeds on the content that others create, while its tools of eliminating economic incentives to continue creating that content. Web editors report traffic falls from 15% to 35% since these summaries were generalized. So far there was a balance, but it is increasingly broken. The big question. How will the web content creation ecosystem support when traditional incentives disappear? The summaries of AI need updated information to work, but are eroding the business models that make that creation possible. Corrective measures are already beginning to appear: OpenAI has signed license agreements with various mediaand Google is valuing similar formulas. But the consequences of the problem come much faster than these solutions. A foreseeable scenario: formulas will end up balance the balance. But they cannot prevent the ecosystem from being reduced, with means closing or reducing their templates. It is the market, friend. Yes, but. Google doesn’t see it that way And ensures that AI Overviews “help understand complex topics faster” and continue “directing billions of daily clicks.” He has described PEW’s study as “methodologically defective.” However, the trend is unanimously perceived in the industry. Google is completing its transformation: to be the great web traffic distributor to become the final destination where the information is consumed without ever leaving its domains. It is the logical evolution of a search engine in 2025, but also the end of an era for the web ecosystem as we knew it. In Xataka | Google continues to redesign its search engine with AI. Your new function speaks by phone with business in your name Outstanding image | Xataka, Mockuuups Studio

Reducing weight loss carbohydrates seemed a perfect plan. We have just discovered that it comes with unforeseen risks

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Carbohydrates or carbohydrates are a fundamental macronutrient in our diet. They represent, together with the fats, the main energy contribution to our body. Carbohydrates are also protagonists in some diets destined for weight loss, diets based on the fact that, in the absence of these nutrients, our body will resort to the energy stored in their fatty tissue. A plan that is not infallible. DNA damage. A new study has found a mechanism that could link low carbohydrate diets with a Risk increase of suffering from colorectal cancer. The union link would be in the microorganisms that reside in our digestive system, our intestinal microbiome. In a study conducted with mice, the team responsible for the analysis observed that these types of diets could worsen the deterioration of DNA caused by some of the microbes that usually inhabit our digestive tract. This facilitates the appearance of polyps that in turn increase the risk of appearance of this type of tumors. “Colorectal cancer has always been seen as the consequence of a number of diverse factors, including diet, intestinal microbioma, environment and genetic,” explained in a press release Alberto Martin, co -author of the study. “Our question was, does the diet affect the ability of specific bacteria to cause cancer?” Three diets under study. In his study, the team tested three types of diet: a “normal”, a carbohydrates, and a “western” rich in fat and sugar. He did it by combining these diets with different types of usual bacteria between our intestinal microbiota and suspects of keeping some kind of relationship with the risk of colorectal cancer. They found a combination of diet and microorganism with potential to trigger adverse relationships, that of the low carbohydrate diet and a variety of bacteria of the species Escherichia coli (E. coli). They observed that this diet encouraged production by the bacterium of the colibactin, a compound with the ability to damage the DNA and with it of producing cancer. The key I could be in the fiberthe team points out. This type of diets facilitates inflammation, altering the microbial community of its interior, which in turn creates an ideal environment for the propagation of the E. coli. A fallen barrier. The team also observed that the mucous barrier that separates epithelia cells (the outermost cells of the intestine) of bacteria was reduced, which could also facilitate that colibactin reaches intestine cells. This would increase the harmful potential of the compound. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Nature Microbiology. And what about humans? Studies with mice have an obvious limitation, and it is that extrapolating what is observed in these rodents to our own species is not always possible. The team He stood out for it The need to confirm their findings in people, although they were also optimistic about the possibility that their study could be applied in cancer prevention. The microbioma in the spotlight. This is not the only recent study that has put in the spotlight to the bacteria of the species E. coli already the colibactin in regards to colorectal cancer. A few days ago We had the news of A study Made with patients from 11 countries who found exposure tests at an early age to this toxin could be linked to an increased risk of these types of tumors. In Xataka | During millennia, humanity has eaten what it played. Now he has started eating what he wants and that has consequences Image | Pixabay

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