The comings and goings in the negotiation on the reduction of working hours open between government, employers and unions, which the PP recently entered with its own controversial project, is keeping businesses in suspense due to its impact in terms of labor costs and productivity. And many are beginning to argue that this situation should be compensated to the detriment of other “concessions” granted to their workers, which also aimed to improve conciliation. This translates to the complete elimination of teleworking for your staff.
Last year, doubts multiplied and consultations in law firms on the implications of combining reduced legal hours and remote positions. If companies are forced to balance the new requirements for reducing working hours and those already envisaged by the application of teleworking, many employers consider that the second must disappear.
This is a derivative that was not mentioned in the open and tense negotiations between the Ministry of Labor, CCOO, UGT, CEOE and Cepyme. None of them are interested in reopening a “melon” that they consider definitively closed with the agreement on the Remote Work Law of 2021, a norm that sought to clarify such relevant issues, from the point of view of workers’ rights. which covers expenses on “equipment, tools and means linked to the development of work activity”obligation incumbent on the company.
But the law established double standards: it only applies to “regular remote work”, understood as that which is ensured “within a reference period of three months”, a minimum of thirty percent of the day, or the equivalent proportional percentage depending on the duration of the employment contract.
How much does teleworking cost in Spain
This had consequences on the implementation of teleworking, which fell from a record reach of 17% of employees in 2020 to 9% in the third quarter of 2022, according to data from the Labor Force Survey. Nevertheless, since then it has recovered positions and in the second quarter of this year it reached 12%, the highest level since 2021 (the date the regulations came into force). and almost triple the 4.2% reached in 2009.
But this recovery is due less to those who work more than half of their working hours remotely, whose share increased from 5.2% to 6.2%, than to those who do so only occasionally, which increased from 3.0% to 6.2%. .9% 5.9% of the total number of workers.
This move towards a greater weight of what some call “hybrid working hours” has been similar to that of the rest of the EU. But this in no way means that Spain has climbed in the European comparison: it remains below the average in the EU ranking (19.8%) and in teleworking rates. like 21.7% in Germany, 29.8% in France or 41.7% in the Netherlands.
This relative resistance to teleworking reflected in the EPA data contrasts with that of the survey on the use of ICT and electronic commerce, also prepared by the INE, which indicates that a 34.2% of companies with 10 or more employees and 17.4% of those with fewer allow teleworking. Of course, according to this statistic, whose figures reach the first quarter of 2023, only 18.92% of employees do so, with an average of 2.41 days.
The numbers fluctuates considerably depending on the sector. The hospitality industry has 20.97% of businesses and 8.6% of workers choosing to work remotely, while the information and communications sector has 87% of businesses and 67% of employees. In any case, the figures contrast sharply with those of the EPA, which can only be explained by the fact that the daily application of teleworking It is much more volatile on a daily basis than the companies themselves suggest.
This underlines something that law firms confirm: many companies do not consider teleworking as a productive or structural necessity, but rather as a “concession” to workers to facilitate the conciliation of one day per week where performance is much lower. In this scenario, reducing working hours would be redundant. Yesespecially if it mixes with extremes like working four days. For these employers, this would effectively mean losing two days of work.
More costs for businesses?
“Some organizations are considering returning 100% to the office to offset the effects of the proposed reduction in working hours, particularly those that culturally view teleworking as a ‘half break’ and not truly efficient work “, he confirms. Omar Molinaof Lawyers in Augusta.
This expert emphasizes, however, that the most frequent doubt does not concern the four-day shift, but the reduction from 40 to 37.5% of the legal limit and its impact on the limit of 30% of teleworking time. so the company has to bear the costs.
Molina points out that for a 40-hour work week, 30% equals 12 hours, which equates to 1.5 days of teleworking, if we think about a Monday-Friday work week (assuming 8 hours per day). But apply half a day in person and half a day remotely is something so complex that the general practice is to round weekly teleworking days to one.
“Many companies are aware that if they implement more than one day of remote working, they will have to apply the law, which is why they move to one day of teleworking, on certain occasions, in order to”get away from her“, he explains. In this sense, remember that exceeding this threshold imposes a series of obligations on the company, such as paying expenses related to remote work.
But with the reform, for a working day of 37.5 hours per week, applying the same logic, 30% is 11.25 hours, which is equivalent to 1.4 days of teleworking. In other words, businesses can continue to apply the one-day “hybrid transition” at no additional cost. Always, of course, that the legal limits are not affected.
But experts are aware that, even if this impact be reduced as long as these conditions are metany increase in system rigidity represents an additional nail in the coffin of teleworking. Especially because companies are wondering what will happen After until 37.5 hours are reached.
Teleworking “must not die”
The government’s projector it remains to reduce the day to this threshold. From now on, the commitment of the PSOE and Sumar is to “continue to move forward in reducing the legal working day” taking into account the characteristics of the different sectors of activity and “the evolution of productivity and economic circumstances “, as recorded in their agreement. to form the coalition government.
From this perspective, companies will have to rethink their relationship with teleworking beyond legal limits. In this direction he points Cristina Andrés ParamioGroup Human Resources Manager Arconi. “The coming reduction in working time will require a necessary review of the distribution of tasks, the setting of objectives, as well as an evaluation of working hours and the definitive implementation of digital disconnection,” believes- he.
She also recommends reviewing the very notion of productivity, so that it is based on the achievement of objectives and not on presence and working hours. Although the latter requires us to thoroughly review the culture of many organizations.
“Teleworking does not have to die, it can continue to be viable if you work in an environment of trust, autonomy and personal responsibility,” says this expert in statements to elEconomista.es. According to him, “this could becomen an opportunity to reinvent hybrid work, if managed correctly“,
