The Ministry of Labor already has the Verde light to end the 40-hour work week. Although the general purpose of the Government was already known, yesterday during the Labor Day demonstration, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz confirmed that the objective is to accelerate the process to reach 38.5 hours by 2024.
The intention is for this reduction to be a halfway point to reach 37.5 hours by 2025. The Minister of Labor assured that this reduction will take place without a salary cut, i.e., workers will continue to receive the same salary they received during the 40-hour workday.
when will it come into effect?
The change is expected to be implemented in a few months, before the end of the year. Yolanda Díaz herself assures that she hopes to have it ready before the summer, when the new 8-week parental leave for child care should also come into force, a measure that is also planned.
As we said, 38.5 hours is an intermediate stage to reach 37.5 hours in 2025. It is expected that the workday will be gradually reduced in order to ensure a work-life balance.
The measure highlights the importance of having more time to care for loved ones without resorting to outsourcing care. It also emphasizes the need for co-responsibility and the need to halt the loss of purchasing power that families have experienced in recent years.
what is known about the new 38.5-hour workday?
At the moment it is not known how the execution will be carried out. The fact that the limits are applied on an annual rather than a weekly basis has led to negotiations with unions and employers to find out how much the annual computation is equivalent to.
A round table with social partners evaluates the results of the reduction with the aim of making progress in the reduction of the legal working day, taking into account the different sectors of activity and the evolution of productivity in relation to economic circumstances.
Another body that is analyzing the measure is the Bank of Spain, which for the time being has warned that the reduction of the working day in question could increase the income gap between Spain and the rest of Europe. Another fear on the part of companies, especially in the secondary sector, is the loss of productivity that reduced working hours could bring.