A total of 41 companies with 503 employees submitted requests to join a four‑day work week pilot, reported by EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALLUNYA, part of the Prensa Ibérica group. The government has a 10 million euro fund to grant up to 200,000 euros per applicant. Because the requested aid totals 2.8 million euros, the program will use at most 28 percent of the available budget.
The 503 workers come from Catalonia, which leads participation in the pilot, with 11 Catalan applications, followed by Andalusia with six, Galicia and the Basque Country with four each, and several other regions contributing smaller numbers. In total, 41 industrial SMEs and related consulting firms from 13 autonomous communities expressed interest. Examples include Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country, Asturias, Navarra, the Canary Islands, Madrid, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and the Balearic Islands.
Eligibility focused on SMEs in the industrial sector or related consulting firms. Applicants must commit to reducing ordinary daily workforce by less than 10 percent without lowering any staff salaries. Submissions had to include a viability plan, and for many firms this meant hiring an advisor. Some faced uncertainty about receiving aid, prompting delays. The Ministry of Industry reported that 165 samples showed interest last month, but only about a quarter of those progressed to the next stage.
The pilot traces back to Más País’s 2021 General Budget negotiations, which included funding to test a four‑day week for companies. The Ministry of Industry now reviews the 41 applications through a competitive process and will distribute the 2.8 million euros if the applicants meet the requirements. If all qualifying firms participate, they would gain access to the first real-world test of a 32-hour workweek or a closely related model. The United Kingdom has recently begun its own pilots at reduced hours as a regional reference point.
From now through a maximum period of five months, the Ministry of Industry will decide and notify the selected companies through the Industrial Enterprise School (EOI). The firms that begin pilot implementation will likely start toward the end of the year. A Catalan graphic arts company, PublisherOne, which has been a pioneer in applying for the 32‑hour weekly pilot, confirmed its participation in the public program for EL PERIÓDICO.
The industry minister, Hector Gómez, commented that the first pilot demonstrates openness to new methods of regulating working hours. Reducing hours while preserving wages can benefit both SMEs and workers, according to the minister. The allocation of funds depends on a competitive outcome, and the former minister led the initial preparations for the pilot. The political context mentions other figures tied to the broader governance of the project without altering the main message.
How will the industry decide who participates and who does not?
The call’s framework, issued by the Ministry of Industry a month earlier, outlines criteria to determine participation. The program blends the company’s economic viability with the anticipated impact on workers’ quality of life. Even with fewer applicants than the available budget, if all 41 meet the formal requirements they will join the pilot.
Applicant firms were required to submit a plan detailing measures they intended to implement. The plan includes how compensation remains stable even as hours are reduced, and it envisions continuing reduced hours after the public subsidy ends, provided productivity remains favorable. Some firms worry about potential challenges in maintaining performance without wage reductions or further staffing changes.
Companies relying on consultants to monitor a defined set of indicators must also present a plan showing how work‑life balance will improve. Each institution’s plan addresses potential disruptions and stress, along with the feasibility of reducing hours across the workforce. The scoring favors lower disruption and stronger demonstrated benefits, while allowing for variance in how many employees can see shortened hours at any given time. The result will determine access to public support in the pilot phase, with higher scoring firms more likely to be selected.