Vice President of the Government, Yolanda Diazhas announced a measure that will completely change the nature of work in Spain: the reduce weekly working hours to 37.5 hours. This change will be promoted through a draft law and will be quickly prepared in the Parliament, which is a major step in the negotiations that have been going on for many months and boss y institutions.
After the last meeting of Council of MinistersThe Minister of Labor and Social Economy reaffirmed his commitment to the cause: “I will continue to negotiate and I will not leave the table and I believe that there is progress on the table,” said Díaz, indicating. all his confidence in a tripartite agreement between the Government, organizations and employers.
As we can expect, the road to the final approval of this measure is still difficult, mainly because of patience of employers’ organizations and the need for adequate support in parliament divided.
More than 12 million workers benefited
Díaz has clearly stated that more than 12 million workers will benefit from this reduction in working hours. Among them, a large group of part-time workersespecially women, they only see their wages increase, since their wages per hour will increase and the hours will be reduced. This is a very important thing that the Government has shown as a success of employment and gender equality.
One of the main obstacles to the implementation of this measure is the resistance of small and medium enterpriseswho are afraid of not being able to care increased productivity and limited working hours. In order to address these concerns, the Ministry of Labor has prepared a support and education systemits aim is to enable companies to improve and increase their productivity. In this way, training and advice will be provided so that companies can learn how to do it do more with less hoursa problem that Díaz considers very important for success to compete.
Time registration: say goodbye to paper and pen
In addition to the reduction in working hours, Labor has announced significant changes in employee time recordsestablished in 2019. The government wants scan it completely these methods, remove the opportunity for companies to do it on paper. This, too, will allow that Remote access to Labor Inspection to documents at any time, helping to detect fraud or irregularities in working hours.
This change, according to ministry sources, is necessary to prevent companies change the data y cover overtimesomething that was often difficult to identify with current practices, since managers had to appear at companies to review records.
When will the new work day go into effect?
The idea of correcting this measure through a billinstead of a royal decree, it means that It will not be approved until the end of 2024according to what is close to the Ministry of Labour. However, the Government’s commitment is firm: its aim is to December 31, 2025 All companies in Spain, without exception, reduce working hours to 37.5 hours per week.
This means that companies that work today are 40 hours they will not have a middle stepas originally proposed to reduce 38.5 hours. All the changes will be activated at the same time.
What’s next?
Negotiations are ongoing and, although Díaz has avoided setting a specific time frame, pressure on employers and the Government itself increases. Organizations, for their part, are ready to promote to encourage speeding up the process and ensuring that the measure takes effect as soon as possible.
The problem now is to find a balance point between the interests of both parties and the power of the Government get help from Congress so that the law will see the light. Meanwhile, millions of workers wait and hope that this change will be effective throughout their careers.
