What obligations will companies have to comply with the reduction of working hours to 37.5 hours per week?
The reduction of the maximum working week of 40 hours per week in annual calculation, which is currently included in article 34 of the Workers’ Statute, is one of the commitments included in the government pact signed at the time between PSOE and SUMAR, which established a reduction of the maximum working week to 37.5 hours per week, without a reduction in salary.
Since the signing of this commitment, the social partners have held various meetings to try to reach an agreement that would materialise the commitment to reduce working hours, but to date no agreement has been reached and the parties accuse each other of not making adequate proposals to try to bring the parties closer together.
The employers propose to delay the effectiveness of the measure until 2026, request incentives to compensate for the loss of working hours, and ask for an increase in the maximum number of overtime hours allowed, proposals that have not been accepted by the government, which has decided to go ahead without the intervention of the employers, leaking the document that aims to regulate this reduction in working hours.
Obligations introduced by the draft bill to reduce working hours to 37.5 hours a week.
It should be noted that it is still only a draft bill that has yet to be finalised and drafted in a definitive manner before beginning the parliamentary process for its definitive approval, during which modifications can be introduced through the amendments proposed by the different political groups.
In this article we would like to give a brief summary of the obligations included in this document, which will have to be complied with if the law is finally approved in the terms in which it is drafted.
Obviously, the most important obligation will be the reduction of the maximum working week to 38.5 hours per week on an annual basis by 2024, and to 37.5 hours as of 1 January 2025, with salary maintenance.
In any case, I sincerely doubt that this will materialise, as the legislative approval process may take longer and the entry into force of these new maximum working time limits may be somewhat delayed.
How the reduction of maximum working hours will affect part-time and short-time contracts
It is also important to note the effect that this modification would have on part-time contracts, which will depend on the percentage of working time agreed in such contracts. Thus, for those employment contracts with a duration equal to or greater than the new maximum working day, they will automatically become full-time employment contracts, while in all other cases, part-time workers will have the right to choose to continue working the same number of hours as they did before the entry into force of the rule regulating the reduction in working hours. However, with a proportional increase in their salary, or by applying the percentage of working hours for which they were contracted to the new maximum working hours, while maintaining their salary. This would also affect those who have any kind of reduction in working hours.
However, requests made by employees to maintain the same working day with an increase in salary or the application of the percentage of part-time work in their contract to the new maximum working day will be assessed by the company and may be rejected in writing and with reasons.
How the reduction of maximum working hours will affect cases where collective agreements already provide for annual working hours shorter than the maximum legal working hours
In any case, it should be borne in mind that many collective agreements already establish annual working hours below the legal maximum, so that the workers to whom these agreements apply would not be subject to this reform, although it is clear that during the negotiations for the approval of the new collective agreements, the social partners will try to introduce the same proportional reduction in working hours, or will demand compensations for maintaining the same working hours or for not reducing them in the same proportion as the general maximum working hours, the social partners will try to introduce the same proportional reduction in working hours, or will demand compensations for maintaining the same working hours or for the reduction of working hours not to be carried out in the same proportion as the general maximum working hours that are to be modified.
Changes to the working time register with the draft bill to reduce working hours to 37.5 hours a week
However, this draft bill also introduces changes in relation to time recording that are intended to ensure that it is truly effective.
Thus, the unions demanded that companies with up to 50 employees implement an official system that records the actual working hours of the workforce with reliable and non-manipulable means, and that the labour inspectorate has access to the data of this register in real time, in order to prevent falsification of the records and to ensure that companies really comply with the new legal limits on working hours.
It is therefore proposed that the working day register should be digital and automatically accessible to each worker, their legal representatives and the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate, even remotely.
For the development of these new legal requirements regarding the recording of working hours, it is foreseen that a regulation will be approved within a period of 6 months, which will specify how it will work, allowing for certain issues to be specified by collective bargaining or company agreement or, failing that, by decision of the employer after information and consultation with trade union representatives.
Furthermore, it is emphasised that the entire period between the start and end of the working day recorded in the register will be considered effective working time, with no exceptions being accepted for the alleged failure of workers to record breaks or interruptions in the working day, unless the company can prove the worker’s non-compliance with the recording obligations.
Penalties for non-compliance with the working hours introduced by the draft bill on the reduction of the maximum legal working hours.
Another of the issues that has been contentious within the negotiation process is the significant toughening of sanctions for non-compliance with the working day, not only by raising the amount of financial fines from a minimum of 751 and a maximum of 7,500 euros to between 1,000 and 10,000 euros, but also by establishing that these fines will be imposed for each worker in respect of whom these obligations are not met, and not for the company as a whole.
Review of the special working time regulations introduced by the draft bill on maximum working time reduction
Finally, it should be noted that a review of the regulations on special working hours is also planned to bring them into line with the new legal maximum working hours within 18 months of the approval of the new legal regulation.
It is also planned to set up a social dialogue roundtable to evaluate the results of the reduction in working hours and to continue to make progress in reducing the maximum length of the ordinary legal working day, taking into account the characteristics of the different sectors of activity, the evolution of productivity and economic circumstances.
However, given the limited success of the negotiations to date and the employers’ refusal to accept the proposals made by the government, I very much doubt that this roundtable can be properly constituted, or serve to reach substantial consensus among all the social partners.
Do you need advice? Access our areas related to the reduction of maximum working hours: