Spain’s third largest city (after Madrid and Barcelona) has decided to experiment with a four-day working week (10 April – 07 May) by taking advantage of four consecutive Monday public holidays. Valencia is emerging as Spain’s pilot for the shorter working week. This initiative follows on from another pilot that was launched on 30 June 2022 at the regional level in a bid to support businesses attempting to switch to the four-day week, to help them break down reticence, to financially subsidize them and to guide them towards a reorganisation so that less working time does not mean less productivity.
As Madrid correspondent for mind RH since 2021, I cover news developments in Spain's world of work, focusing on legal developments and collective bargaining, particularly around work-life balance, equality and inclusion policies, which have been hot topics in the country in recent years.