We live in a constant state of deja vu, or at least that’s what many of us feel after hearing the government announce this Tuesday the approval of the reduction of the standard working day to 37.5 hours per week. This isn’t the first time this measure has been presented as if it were already in effect. In fact, this is at least the third time Sumar has presented it as “approved,” when in reality it hasn’t even passed the first or second step of the legislative process.
The first announcement came in January 2025, when Sumar announced that the Council of Ministers had approved the preliminary draft for reducing working hours. This information was incorrect, not only because the Council of Ministers meets on Tuesdays and that day was a Monday, but also because the official draft didn’t even exist yet.
The second attempt came on February 4, when the preliminary draft of the bill was approved , but not the final draft. In fact, it appears that it will finally be May when we get the green light for the bill, although it still has to be sent to the Congress of Deputies for parliamentary processing.
How does it affect teleworkers?
Okay, leaving aside the dates and the fact that the government has announced the approval of this law up to three times, it seems that this reduction in working hours could finally come into effect this spring of 2025 , the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette. The thing is, one of the least discussed issues is how this new law will affect those who work from home or remotely.
The reality is that what you need to know is that the law doesn’t establish an explicit distinction between in-person and remote workers regarding reduced working hours. Ultimately, regardless of where you work from, you’ll be subject to a mandatory digital time clock , which is simply a way to ensure you’re complying with your schedule.
Nowadays, all companies are required to record the daily working hours of all their employees, without exception, and now more than ever, even in remote environments, this will be scrutinized. Therefore, in the case of teleworkers, this means they must digitally clock in each time they start and finish their shift, but subtracting two and a half hours per week. The Labor Inspectorate requires that this record be reliable, objective, and accessible, even if the employee works from home. Therefore, the distribution of hours, whatever it may be, should not exceed 37.5 hours per week. It doesn’t matter whether you subtract half an hour each day or two and a half hours on a Friday; the total number of those hours, whether you work from home or the office, should not exceed 37.5 hours.
The new regulation also guarantees that no employee must respond to calls, emails, or any other work-related tasks outside of their normal working hours, in order to preserve work-life balance and rest .
This right complements the reduction in working hours, ensuring that the recovered hours are effectively used for personal and family activities.
Tougher sanctions
And beware, the new regulations will take these new working hours very seriously , since under the new model, each violation per employee will be considered a separate offense, which can drastically increase penalties. For companies with many remote employees, a poor digital time clock system can result in dozens of simultaneous violations and cumulative penalties.
So the excuse that the worker is at home is no longer valid. If there is no clear and reliable time tracking, it can be considered a serious violation, and fines could reach 10,000 euros per affected worker.
However, a number of exceptions to this reduced working day have been announced, but they are not numerous, as only certain special employment relationships, such as senior executives, artists, professional athletes, or lawyers in law firms, are excluded. For all other workers, whether in-person or remote, the rule will be mandatory.
