Renfe will repeat on 25 July the verbal psychometric —or reading comprehension— test of its recruitment process for 600 commercial operators, originally held on 6 June, after detecting potential overlaps with external materials. The move follows guidance from the State Legal Service, which deems it the most robust measure to uphold the principles of equality, merit and capability.
The resit will affect 2,213 candidates —those who passed the knowledge test and the numerical psychometric— and will take place in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and León. The operator activated verification mechanisms after receiving complaints and referred the matter to the State Legal Service, whose report concludes that part of the content may have been previously circulated.
According to several sources, the test appears to have matched materials used by training academies, pointing to possible unauthorised reproduction. The process was administered with support from consultancy People Experts, which reportedly acknowledged the existence of similar content in circulation.
The decision is backed by SEMAF and responds to calls from the Alferro union. CCOO and UGT disagree, warning that a retake could create legal uncertainty and disadvantage candidates who acted in good faith. Renfe maintains the issue is external but accepts responsibility for ensuring the integrity of the process.
The impact is particularly significant for candidates who, believing they had secured a permanent position at Renfe, had already begun planning their new careers, in some cases resigning from existing jobs.