Spain cuts working hours. Green light to the bill that brings the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours. A change, once approved by Parliament, which will bring benefits especially to part-time and women workers. But with a different impact in the various economic sectors. And the situation in Europe is the whole of the uniform: they range from 32.4 hours on average of the Netherlands to the over 42 of Türkiye, Montenegro and Serbia.
The cut of the time in Spain will affect, according to the estimates of the Minister of Labor Yolanda Diaz, 12 million workers. The part-time will earn more, because they will be the ones who can maintain the same number of hours worked, but these will represent a greater share of the total time, guaranteeing them a proportional wage increase. This benefit will mainly affect women, who are 75% of the two million part-time contracts involved in the reform.
Four sectors will be affected more than the reduction of the time. Certainly the hotel and catering where you will have an average reduction of almost two hours a week. Following information and communication (less 109 minutes per week), trade (98 minutes less per week) and finally agriculture, breeding and fishing (reduction of 97 minutes weekly). The new working hours will not be felt in the sectors where the average working hours are already less than 37.5 hours per week: education (today 34.3 hours), public administration (today 35.9 hours) and banking and insurance sector . And there will also be differences depending on where you live in Spain. For example, the workers of the Netherlands already have a contract with less than 37.5 hours per week, the impact will be felt above all in the southern and insular regions, where sectors such as tourism and catering are predominant and the average working hours are higher.
Less hours of work but untouched wages, say supporters of the Spanish project. The hours exceeding will be considered and extraordinary (maximum 80 hours per year) and paid as such. Existing contracts will not change automatically, but the reduction will be regulated by collective bargaining. A transition period for the adaptation of companies is expected after the approval of Parliament, with penalties of up to 10 thousand euros for violations.
And how does it work in Europe? According to the Eurostat data of 2022, the European average for workers between 20 and 64 years of age is 36.2 hours per week (41.3 hours if you take into account only full time workers). But the situation varies considerably between the different countries. Looking at the States where you “work less” on the podium there are countries with 32.4 hours a week, Austria 33.7 hours and Norway 34.1 hours. On the other side of the ranking there are Turkey with an average weekly time is 42.9 hours, followed by Montenegro with 42.8 hours, Serbia with 42.3 hours and Greece and Romania with 39.7 hours. Where does Italy place? Slightly below the European average, with 36.2 hours per week. Then there are gender differences: men work on average more than women (38.7 against 33.6 hours in Europe), with Italy in line with this trend (39 hours for men, 32.2 for women). In addition, 7.4%of European workers exceed 49 hours per week, with peaks in Greece (12.6%) and Turkey (28.1%).
Beyond the differences within the European Union, what emerges is a general trend in recent years to reduce working hours. Compared to the pre-plays, the average working hours in Europe has fallen by 24 minutes. The trend was influenced by the introduction of more flexible forms of work, such as smart working and four -day short working week. And in this context Madrid’s decision is inserted to reduce the 37.5 -hour weekly working hours. Decision that arrives just after the minimum increase in 4.4% for 2025, the recording of the unemployment rate of the lowest of recent years and an economic growth forecast of 2.6% for this year.
