15 Feb 2011 4:33 PM:
I can´t say that this is the gospel truth, but I have opened a few restaurants here in Spain and the advice given to me by my lawyers is that there is no legal obligation to provide menu´s in any other language other than Spanish.
The reason for this is quite simple..... We are in Spain! It has absolutely nothing to do with Facism or nationalism and more to do with any allergies that a guest in your restaurant may have. It really covers the restaurants interests more than anyone elses.
For example, if someone with a nut allergy eats nuts in this restaurant and is rushed to hospital then if they are Spanish or a legal resident of Spain then they will have their medical bills paid by the government. However, if a menu is not available in the local dialect (i.e. Spanish) then the local resident would not have any way to positively identify what he or she was eating, therefore the restaurant would be liable for any medical bills incurred by this individual which can run up to tens of thousands of euros.
A simple 20 minute translation would stop this from happening.
Any tourists traveling from another country should be covered by their own personal travel insurance and therefore eat at their own risk, however a resident in this country has the right to not be at risk outside of their own home.
With regards to the staff not speaking Spanish, it is a shame that so many expats seem to be ignorant to the fact that they are in a different country, however there is no law against what language you speak, this is a democratic country after all. There are language classes for forign residents which are subsidized by the government, however these are hard to find now a days as they were very unpopular and have mostly been replaced by English classes for Spanish residents.
How we love our special ways eh!
Thread:
Legal Situation -Menus in Spanish???
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