Spain heralds a test phase – with full salary

Spain has launched an official test phase for the so-called 4-day week. Spanish companies with fewer than 250 employees now have one month to apply for a government pilot project. The promise: a reduction in working hours to four days with full wage compensation.

Small and medium-sized companies in Spain currently have the opportunity to apply for a pilot project for the so-called 4-day week. That comes from a report by the news agency Reuters citing the Spanish government.

4-day week: Spain starts pilot project

Accordingly, a budget of around 9.6 million euros is available for the program. The Spanish government wants to use financial support to create an incentive for employees to test the working model. Around 25 to 30 percent of the employees should work at least ten percent fewer hours per week – with full salary.

Applicants should receive partial compensation of up to 200,000 euros. This should also enable companies to cover potential consulting costs. Spanish companies with fewer than 250 employees currently have one month to apply to take part in the project.

Spain wants to test four-day weeks for two years

The Spanish government wants to process the applications by November 2023 at the latest. Participating companies are in turn asked to test the 4-day week for two years. The country then wants to review the performance results. Parallel to this runs loud Reuters currently a month-long pilot in the coastal city of Valencia.

The city administration declared four consecutive Mondays as local public holidays for all 800,000 inhabitants. The aim is to investigate the effects of a 4-day work week on aspects such as CO2 emissions and people’s well-being. The city wants to publish the first results in July 2023.

Long-term studies on the 4-day week

Meanwhile, the non-profit organization “Four Day Week Global” (4DWG) recently presented a first long-term study on the 4-day week with 33 participating companies from different countries. The most extensive trial of the working model to date took place in Great Britain.

From June to December 2022, the employees of 61 companies worked an average of 34 hours on four days with full salary. Most then spoke out in favor of the 4-day week. In Belgium, meanwhile, there has been a nationwide entitlement to the working model since February 2022.

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