Spain is considering reducing the legal maximum working hours from 40 to 37.5 hours per week, implementing changes in how working hours should be recorded, and strengthening the existing right to disconnect. These changes are intended to help employees achieve better work-life balance and improve overall wellbeing.
Background
The Council of Ministers recently approved a draft bill (the “Bill”) to introduce these changes. The Bill still needs to be considered and approved by parliament. At this point, the passage of the Bill is not certain, and the timeline for potential approval remains unclear.
Key details
The most relevant details for employers to note include the following:
Reduction of maximum working hours
The Bill proposes a reduction in the legal maximum duration of working hours from 40 to 37.5 hours per week.
This change is intended to be implemented without any reduction in salaries for both full-time and part-time employees. Part-time employees who are currently working 37.5 hours or more per week would be converted to full-time employees, while part-time employees working less than 37.5 hours per week would also be entitled to a salary increase proportional to the new maximum working hours.
Registration of working hours
Employers are currently required to maintain daily records of the start and end times of the working day for each employee, keep the records for four years, and ensure that they are accessible to employees, their legal representatives and the Labor Inspectorate.
Employers are not currently required to use any specific type of system – whether manual or digital – to record employees’ working hours.
The Bill introduces changes on how working hours should be registered or recorded. Key new requirements would include the following:
The register of working hours must be in digital form.
Employees must make entries in the register personally and directly, immediately at the beginning and end of each day, and record any workday interruptions and breaks.
The register must be immediately accessible at the workplace and remotely by employees, their legal representatives and the Labor Inspectorate at any time.
There would be no change in the duration for which employers must keep the records, which would remain at four years.
The Bill would also impose penalties for the absence of registration of working hours or the falsification of the data recorded. Any breaches that generate a serious risk to the safety and health of workers will be classified as a very serious infringement. The following fines would apply per affected worker, depending on the severity of the infringement:
Minimum level: from EUR 1,000 to EUR 2,000
Medium level: from EUR 2,001 to EUR 5,000
Maximum level: from EUR 5,001 to EUR 10,000
Right to disconnect
Currently, all employees have the right to disconnect from work-related digital communications outside of their regular working hours (see previous Lockton article here (opens a new window)).
The Bill reinforces that this right to disconnect is an inalienable right and explicitly sets out additional protection for employees under the right to disconnect that employees shall not face negative consequences, retaliation or less favorable treatment for rejecting or not responding to communications or request for work by digital means outside working hours.
Employer action: PREPARE TO ACT
The proposed reduction in the maximum working hours will have an impact on employers’ operational and manpower arrangements. However, for some sectors with collective agreements that already provide for maximum working hours below the current statutory maximum of 40 hours, the impact of the proposed reduction will be limited.
As the Bill has yet to be submitted to parliament, it remains subject to potential amendments and employers should monitor the legislative process. If the Bill changes materially or passes, the Lockton Global People Solutions Compliance Practice will update this article accordingly.
For additional insights on what the Bill means for working hours and the right to disconnect, Gisella Alvarado from Ius Laboris Spain explains how employers can prepare here (opens a new window).
In collaboration with Gisella Rocio Alvarado Caycho of Ius Laboris Spain
Further Information
