The Ministry of Labor, together with employers and unions, will discuss possible sanctions for companies that fail to comply with working hours regulations. Led by vice president Yolanda Díaz, negotiations are set to begin at 9:30 this Thursday morning. The proposal would reduce the maximum weekly working time from 40 hours to 38.5 hours. One objective is to reinforce the rules that have been in force since 2019, which require all firms to accurately track their employees’ daily working hours. Despite these rules, not every company has complied, and the Labor Inspectorate continues to find irregularities in about half of the cases related to this issue.
Díaz has already urged employers and unions to start addressing what is regarded as a cornerstone regulation in the current legislative agenda, alongside reforms like unemployment benefits. There is no formal meeting scheduled with social representatives yet, but ongoing contact remains.
Reducing working hours is a central topic because of its broad impact. In Spain, many workers already accept less than 40 hours per week, yet in manufacturing and other sectors the trend often exceeds this figure. The complexity arises from workplaces where workloads drive hours upward during busy periods and where teams organize around an annual schedule, leading to weeks over 40 hours and other weeks with lighter workloads.
One negotiator notes that just as the government matched the retirement age to the evolving demographic reality, the working day should follow the same logic. Díaz has signaled an intention to reframe the current rules on time recording; after four years, the balance of the regulation remains in question due to widespread non-compliance by many companies.
According to the latest data from the Labor Inspectorate, about half of the companies inspected between May 2019, when the rule took effect, and May 2023 did not pass the checks. Over those four years, Labor has imposed a substantial set of requirements and penalties, totaling 6.1 million euros in fines.
Penalties that fail to deter
The ministry acknowledges gaps and unevenness in the regulation. Inspectors consulted for this report criticize loopholes that allow some firms to sidestep overtime penalties. The rules state that time registration must be accurate and trustworthy, but they stop there and do not establish universal standards for all companies.
This loophole lets many firms falsify records, complicating audits. Verbal complaints from workers carry less weight than documentary proof. Some companies still rely on manual paper-and-pencil records and can face penalties for repeated violations, even though the system can be manipulated by a few untrustworthy managers.
Another gap, previously highlighted by the trade unions and once condemned by Magdalena Valerio, the former Labor minister, concerns the 2019 rule on time tracking and fines. Based on the current regime, a business day record is not required for every company, and fines range from 751 to 7,500 euros, regardless of the company’s size or payroll. This setup has a weak deterrent effect for mid-size and large enterprises and may affect fair competition among firms.
Now Díaz plans to revisit the recent sanctions update that has lingered since the previous legislature. The electoral push paused this issue, which was included in the Labor Inspectorate’s strategic plan, and Díaz intends to return to it to strengthen the deterrent and proportional nature of the sanctions.
In this context, the Labor Inspectorate’s data are cited to illustrate ongoing challenges in enforcement and to consider how enhancements in monitoring and penalties could improve compliance across sectors.