New draft billed approved by the government on working time and right to disconnect

At a glance

• A new draft bill proposes to reduce working hours from 40 hours to 37.5 hours per week, without any salary reduction.
• It also provides that employers must implement a new digital timekeeping system by 31 December 2025.
• The bill also proposes an unwaivable right to disconnect for all employees. 

On 6 May 2025, the Spanish government approved a draft bill that now needs to go through the legislative process in the Spanish Parliament. 

The draft bill contains a groundbreaking proposal to reduce the standard working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours, without any reduction in salary. This significant change aims to improve work-life balance for employees across the country. According to the Spanish government it will have a positive impact on more than 12 million workers in Spain.

In addition to the proposed reduction in weekly working hours, the new legislation mandates the implementation of a digital timekeeping system. The new regulations aim to modify existing time recording systems by require employees to personally and directly record their working hours in real-time, ensuring the authenticity and accuracy of the data collected. In addition, all breaks will need to be recorded to ensure that the system truly reflects working hours. 

The Labour Inspectorate will have direct access to employers' recording working hours systems, to ensure these obligations are being met.  The systems must, therefore, unequivocally identify the person recording the hours to guarantee data integrity, and the recorded data will need to be in a legible format, accessible at any time as well as remotely. 

Companies will have until 31 December 2025 to comply with the new regulations. Non-compliance with the recording requirements may result in fines of up to EUR10,000 per worker.

Another key aspect of the proposed changes is the strengthening of the right to digital disconnection. The proposed law includes an unwaivable right to digital disconnection for all employees. This right would ensure that workers are not obliged to respond to work-related emails, calls, or messages outside of their designated working hours. 

The aim is to protect employees' personal time and mental well-being, preventing burnout and promoting a healthier work-life balance. In this regard, employers are required to establish clear policies and procedures to facilitate this right, ensuring that employees can fully disconnect from work outside of their working hours. Employee representative consultation on these processes may be required.