This report examines how overtime practices are affecting workers and employers in Spain, highlighting a significant focus on unpaid overtime and its broader economic impact. Recent figures show that 9.1 million euros were involved in penalties across more than 20,000 companies, based on data obtained by EL PERIÓDICO from the Prensa Ibérica group and the Ministry of Labor. Unpaid overtime remains a central concern within the labor administration’s priorities, underscoring the ongoing drive to enforce fair work hours and prevent abuse of working time.
Monthly activity reveals an immense volume of overtime in Spain, totaling around 24.1 million hours. Official statistics indicate that about 42 percent of this overtime is not remunerated. The labor police have intensified their enforcement this year, increasing actions by roughly one-fifth relative to the previous year and doubling the number of sanctions. The department led by Yolanda Díaz emphasizes that ensuring compliance with labor legislation is a top priority for protecting workers and maintaining a fair market.
Historically, during periods of GDP growth, companies sometimes rely on longer working hours to push orders forward or accelerate momentum. The EPA workforce survey for the second quarter of 2023 noted a 1.8 percent year-on-year rise in GDP, alongside a trend toward fewer unpaid overtime hours. Specifically, unpaid overtime hours worked without compensation have decreased by about 21 percent versus the previous year.
Women have shown a notable year-on-year decrease in unpaid overtime, with a reduction near 30 percent. This group has long been more vulnerable to overwork pressures, often due to concentration in sectors with higher demands or more precarious working conditions that push them to stay late. The reduction signals important shifts in workplace practices, though many questions remain about persistent disparities across industries.
Spain mandates that all businesses maintain time records and track how many hours employees work each day. Yet recent audits reveal meaningful gaps in these regulations. Half of the inspected companies failed to meet the standard, a finding aligned with the fourth anniversary of the law’s enactment. Penalties have ranged from small fines to more substantial sanctions, underscoring that enforcement remains uneven and that incentives to comply may not be strong enough for all firms.
To improve outcomes, the labor department introduced a formal algorithm initiative last year named MAX, which stands for More Algorithms for Less OT. This tool is designed to help compute permissible overtime based on the number of active employment contracts, thereby narrowing the window for excessive overtime. Trabajo describes MAX as a way to detect overtime more accurately while ensuring that total hours stay within lawful limits.