The Ministry of Economy has rolled out support for businesses in the Community of Valencia that adopt a four-day workweek. The subsidy goes up to 9,611 euros per employee, provided the reduction is 20 percent or 32 hours weekly and wages remain unchanged. This initiative follows an earlier announcement by Enric Nomdedéu, the regional secretary for employment, who spoke about this concept months ago during an international congress where the plan was examined in depth.
The subsidies, issued by the General Directorate of Labor, appeared in the Official Journal of the Generalitat Valenciana on Wednesday. The measure aims to ease rising wage costs that arise when companies rationalize their working days.
To qualify for funding, the change to the standard workweek must affect a minimum share of the workforce. For small firms with up to 49 employees, at least 30 percent of staff must be covered by the time reduction. In larger workplaces with 50 or more workers, the threshold drops to 20 percent.
The program also seeks gender-balanced participation, aligning with the existing gender distribution in the company for full-time workers. A deviation of up to 10 percent is allowed to maintain balance.
Participants must present a concrete plan for reducing the workday while boosting productivity. The plan should specify organizational or training measures designed to optimize uptime and include a set of indicators that track labor productivity over time. The hourly reduction will be synchronized with the company’s workforce agreement and overseen by the designated staff representative for workers.
Regarding funding details, the ministry will provide 5,492.19 euros per employee for the first year of the program, 2,746.10 euros for the second year, and 1,373.05 euros for the third year. The total aid that a beneficiary company can claim may reach 9,611.34 euros per employee enrolled in the plan, depending on implementation and adherence to the outlined criteria.