Spain's shorter work week could mean 12 extra holiday days for some workers

In early February 2025, the Spanish government approved a draft bill to reduce the number of hours in the working week in Spain from 40 to 37.5.

This equates to half an hour less per day.

More recently, Spain's Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz, who for the past few years has spearheaded the push for a shorter work week, announced that on April 29th the Spanish Cabinet will approve this legislation.

This represents one more step towards the official implementation of Spain's shorter work week.

Q&A: What you need to know about Spain's shorter working week

The reduction in working hours seeks to provide a healthier work-life balance and to allow workers for time leisure and family time.

Recent studies indicate that shorter workdays tend to be associated with more engaged and productive employees, but for some workers it will mean more holiday time instead of simply a reduction in hours.

This is because some workers in certain sectors will not be able to reduce their weekly hours to 37.5 hours due to the nature of their job.

This could be those who work in the hospitality sector for example where restaurants and hotels simply can’t close earlier just because the workers have shorter working weeks.

The same could apply to teachers and others in the educational sector, or healthcare workers, where the nature of their work wouldn't allow for shorter daily shifts.

In such cases, workers will continue to work 40-hour weeks, but in order to comply with the new regulations they will be given an additional 12 days of holiday per year instead.

This means more than two extra weeks off work, on top of the average 22 working days of paid leave.

This will balance working hours with the new rule, ensuring that no employee works more than they are legally permitted during the year.

Antonio Garamendi, the head of Spain's business association CEOE, opposes the shorter working week and "giving away, almost by decree, 12 days of company-paid vacation per year."

But if the legislation does make its way through the Congress and the Senate, it will be mandatory for companies to implement either the half an hour daily reduction, or provide the 12 extra days of leave in cases where the former isn't possible.

Companies could face significant financial penalties of €10,000 or more if they fail to comply and labour authorities will closely monitor this.

It's clear that such a measure may be complicated for some employers who will have to adapt to the new working conditions.

This may entail restructuring schedules and shifts to ensure they are operating the same without any workers exceeding 37.5 hours per week.

Contracts will also have to be re-issued or amended to reflect the new number of hours.

Pepe Álvarez, head of Spain's main trade union UGT, has even gone as far as saying that according to their calculations the 30-minute daily work reduction equates to 16 annual work days.

Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz's objective is for the shorter work week to be fully approved before the summer.