The length of the working day is one of the key aspects of any job. The usual thing is to think of an amount of eight hours a day for a full day (aside from overtime), but the truth is that the regulations are not so constricted and allow certain peculiarities that can affect directly or through a collective agreement to that working day of the workers.
As in any matter of labor matters, the Workers’ Statute serves as a normative base and in terms of the duration of the working day the text that “will be the one agreed in the collective agreements or employment contracts”. However, everything that appears regulated both in the agreements and in the contracts must adhere to the margins dictated by law.
And, in that, the Workers’ Statute is clear: the annual computation must be the one that corresponds to a working day of eight days. Agreements and contracts may contemplate irregular distribution of these hours (respecting breaks, which must be at least 12 hours between shifts and 36 hours per week) and all changes in the date and day of the work shift must be communicated at least five days before to the worker. Even in cases where this irregular distribution is not agreed, the company has the right to do so for 10% of the annual working day.
For the number of daily hours, the Workers’ Statute sets a maximum limit of nine effective daily hours worked. In the case of minor workers, the limit of daily hours will be eight, including the time dedicated to training. In both cases, the rest periods between shifts must also be respected.
However, as with the annual hours, there is the possibility of increasing or decreasing that daily amount if it is registered and agreed in a collective agreement or contract. In cases of irregular distribution of hours, it is established that “the compensation of the differences, by excess or by default, between the working day and the maximum duration of the ordinary legal or agreed work day will be required according to what is agreed in the collective agreement or, in the absence of provision in this regard, by agreement between the company and the workers’ representatives.
If this compensation, for whatever reason, is not reflected in any written agreement, it will be by default within a maximum period of twelve months (that is, during the following year) from the start of the irregular distribution of the working day.
Right to the ‘snack break’
Certain breaks will be allowed within the working day. This is what is known as the ‘sandwich break’ which allows a rest period of no less than 15 minutes to be established for working days of more than six hours, which will be considered effective working time if it is so stated in the agreement or contract.
As in all cases, the regulations with underage workers are milder: rest periods of at least 30 minutes are established for all their shifts that exceed four and a half hours.
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