
Spain will reduce its working day by half an hour a day. This is what the Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday, February 4, with the implementation of a draft bill that will modify the working week from the current maximum of 40 hours to 37.5 hours.
Now, the future law of the Ministry of Labor will have to be processed in the Congress of Deputies and may undergo modifications according to the amendments presented by the parliamentary groups. The Government will have to negotiate in order to obtain its approval before its definitive application.
The aim of this regulation, the first downward modification in 40 years, is a reduction in the working day without affecting the salary received and will apply to all workers in all sectors whose collective agreements do not already recognize 37.5 hours as the maximum working week.
The draft bill also regulates a salary increase for those who work part-time or with reduced working hours.
When will the new working day be applied?
The urgent processing of the bill may lead to its approval before next summer, although the executive will have to negotiate, among other issues, the transition period before the full application of the reduced working day for all workers in the country.
The text approved today may undergo some changes before its application. The government’s goal is to have the law in force by December 31, 2025.
The reduction of the working day will also bring with it a new digital and remotely accessible time control in companies by the Labor Inspectorate and the inalienable right of the worker to disconnect outside his working day.