How does the reduction of working time affect workers and companies?

At the beginning of May 2025, the draft law to reduce the working week to 37.5 hours per week was approved by the Council of Ministers and sent to Congress for debate and possible approval. The bill has been sent to Congress for debate and possible approval. What will the reduction in working hours mean for workers and employers? We analyse the consequences in this article.

What does the reduction in working hours mean for companies and workers??

The statutory maximum working time will be reduced from 40 hours per week to 37.5 hours per week. This will have several consequences:

For workers:

• Workers will reduce their working hours and receive the same salary.
• The new regulation guarantees workers' right to digital disconnection, which is recognised in the Data Protection Act and the Telework Act. Digital disconnection is considered to be the limitation of the use of communication technologies outside working hours, so that rest time, leave, holidays or sick leave are guaranteed.
• Reducing working time is also important for workers' health and safety, as it helps to reduce physical and mental workload, stress and fatigue. This increases productivity and reduces the risk of accidents at work.

For employers:

• The working time record must be kept digitally and paper records may not be used. In addition, the means for recording the working day must be interoperable, so that the Labour Inspectorate can access them remotely and at any time.
• The regulation establishes several types of sanctions depending on the infringement:
  o Minor: a sanction of between 1,000 and 2,000 euros per worker is foreseen. These are cases in which the company does not inform the worker of the reduction in working hours.
  o Serious: between 2,001 and 5,000 euros. This penalty applies to cases where a digital record of the working day is not kept or is manipulated.
  o Very serious: up to 100,000 euros. This applies to cases where companies impose a 40-hour working week without compensation or justification.
• The deadline for implementing the reduction of working hours is 6 months from the entry into force of the law and it is expected to come into force at the end of 2025 or early 2026.

How to prepare for reduced working hours?

Both employers and employees will need to make changes in the way they work to prepare for reduced working hours.

Employers:

• They will have to adapt working shifts and reorganise tasks.
• They will have to communicate internally about the changes and how they will be implemented in the company in a clear and simple way.
• They will have to monitor the productivity and efficiency of internal processes. To do so, they will be able to use new technologies and new working methods.
• They will have to implement digital time recording to avoid penalties for non-compliance.

Workers:

• They will need to be aware of the regulations and their entitlement to the 37.5 hour working week and when it comes into force.
• They will need to organise their workload to avoid overloading it by working less time. This involves a number of actions such as: prioritising tasks, setting daily, weekly and monthly goals and using digital tools to support productivity.
• Communication with employers is also important for them to convey their concerns and doubts, to avoid task overload and to create a good working environment.
• They will also have to adapt their private lives to this new reality in order to make positive use of their free time.

What obstacles can there be to the implementation of reduced working time?

There are several obstacles or problems that can occur with the implementation of the new reduced working hours. Knowing about them can help to anticipate them and solve them before they appear. They can be the following.

• Increased business costs. This may be due to the implementation of digital tools for the recording of working hours in those companies that do not yet have them; it may also derive from the costs of reorganising tasks and adjusting timetables.
• Fear of a reduction in productivity. Employers fear a reduction in company productivity due to shorter working hours, but it is essential to be clear that working longer hours is not synonymous with higher productivity. In this sense, there must be a change of mentality and culture in companies and this is a good opportunity to redesign processes, automate tasks or eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Increased stress. Workers may feel that they are accumulating the same tasks in less time, which could increase their stress and affect their health. It is important that these consequences are studied before they appear and measures are taken for an equitable distribution of tasks.
• Problems with real digital disconnection. The working day may end earlier, but workers may receive orders and notifications by mail or WhatsApp. To avoid this and to ensure that digital disconnection is effective, clear company policies must be established.
• Obstacles to reconciling work and family life. Even if the working day is reduced, if the timetable is not adjusted to be compatible with the children's school timetables, there may be no real reconciliation.

In short, we have to be prepared for the coming change and both companies and workers will have to make a major effort to adapt in order to achieve the objectives: happiness at work, work-life balance and increased productivity.

Contact our team of labor lawyers in Madrid to resolve your doubts.