La 35-hour workshops weekly in the General State Administration (AGE) It is now a legal reality. The Government has published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) the resolution that implements the agreement reached with the unions and reduces the weekly working hours of hundreds of thousands of public employees by two and a half hours compared to the previous 37,5-hour schedule.
The new regulation not only sets the annual calculation in 1.533 hours of effective workIt also redefines fixed and flexible working hours, expands work-life balance options, and explicitly clarifies which groups it applies to and which it does not. All of this is done with a one-month grace period for ministries and agencies to adapt their schedules and timekeeping systems without disrupting services to the public.
Entry into force and scope of application of the 35-hour working day
According to the resolution of the State Secretariat for Public Administration, the The 35-hour working day comes into effect the day after its publication in the BOE (Official State Gazette).However, a period of approximately one month is granted to make the necessary internal adjustments. During this time, each department must review its schedules, timekeeping systems, and shift organization.
The standard applies to staff of the General State Administration, to the managing entities and common services of Social Securityas well as autonomous bodies, agencies, and other public law entities with their own legal personality that are linked to or dependent on the General State Administration. In quantitative terms, the Government and the unions place the number of beneficiaries in a range of approximately 220.000 to nearly 250.000 public employees, depending on the scope considered.
However, the resolution also clearly specifies who is excluded. Military personnel of the Armed Forces and members of the State Security Forces and Corps They do not adopt this new schedule. In other sectors, such as prisons, healthcare facilities, or state-run educational institutions, the implementation of the 35-hour workweek is subject to negotiation at their specific negotiating tables and the regulations specific to each service.
Furthermore, the text states that the The planned general working hours will not apply to local entities or other administrations.This implies that municipalities, provincial councils and autonomous communities maintain their own capacity for negotiation and regulation, although the new working day of the AGE acts as a political and labor reference.
From the union agreement to the Official State Gazette: a long-standing demand
The reduction in working hours is the result of a agreement signed between the Ministry and the unions, finalized at the end of March. In that agreement, the Executive committed to implementing a general working week of 35 hours of effective work in the AGE, equivalent to 1.533 hours annually.
This commitment didn't come out of nowhere. It was already included in the Framework Agreement for a 21st Century Administration The agreement was signed in 2022, but its implementation was delayed in the central government, even though many autonomous communities and large municipalities had reinstated the 35-hour workweek in recent years. Unions complained that state employees were working longer hours than much of the rest of the public sector.
The new resolution in the BOE (Official State Gazette) effectively puts an end to the 37,5-hour work week implemented across the board in 2012This extension of working hours was implemented by Mariano Rajoy's government during the height of the economic crisis. It halted the expansion of the 35-hour workweek that had begun in public administrations during the 1990s, and which many autonomous communities were only able to resume once the budgetary situation improved.
With this step, the central government aligns itself with the model already in place in much of the regional public sector and reinforces the idea, championed by the trade unions, that the Reducing working time can be compatible with the quality of service if it is accompanied by planning and reinforcement of staff where necessary.
Annual calculation and new distribution of daily hours
The key technical aspect of the reform lies in establishing the ordinary working hours of 1.533 per yearwhich corresponds to an average of 35 hours per week. From there, the resolution redesigns the fixed and flexible work schedules, maintaining the annual calculation scheme that was already in use.
Tomorrow, the fixed in-person schedule will be as follows: 9:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m. Monday through FridayPreviously, the workday extended until 14:30 p.m., so employees now gain an extra half hour each day during that period. The remaining time to complete the 35-hour week is worked on a flexible schedule, which can be distributed as follows:
- Between 7:00 and 9:00 Monday to Friday.
- Between 14:00 and 18:00 Monday to Thursday.
- Between 14:30 and 15:30 Fridays.
In the case of the morning and afternoon shifts, the fixed schedule is as follows: 9:00 a.m. to 16:30 p.m., Monday to Thursdaywith a minimum half-hour lunch break that does not count as effective working time, and from 9:00 a.m. to 14:30 p.m. on Fridays. This block also reduces the fixed portion compared to the 2019 regulation, which extended the continuous workday until 18:00 p.m. in some cases.
For the afternoon shift only, the fixed reference schedule is 15:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m. Monday through FridayThe time needed to reach 35 hours per week can be worked flexibly between 13:00 and 15:00 and between 20:00 and 22:00, always without breaking the continuity of service and in accordance with the schedules approved in each workplace.
The rule also maintains the figure of the special day of dedicationThis affects positions with greater responsibilities and, typically, higher salaries. In these cases, the working week is set at 37,5 hours, compared to the previous 40 hours, although it is anticipated that occasional extensions may occur due to service needs.
Breaks, intensive summer working hours and work-life balance measures
The resolution maintains the possibility of enjoying a daily 30-minute break that counts as effective workWith the aim of avoiding long, uninterrupted periods of activity, this break may be taken between 10:00 and 12:30 on morning, morning and afternoon, and special dedication shifts; and between 16:30 and 19:00 on afternoon-only shifts.
Regarding the organization of work during the hottest months, the following remains in place: intensive summer schedule between June 16 and September 15During this period, the General State Administration and its agencies may establish six-and-a-half-hour shifts between 8:00 a.m. and 15:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, for those working mornings. For afternoon staff, the intensive shift falls between 14:30 p.m. and 21:30 p.m., also with six and a half consecutive hours.
The regulation also incorporates a strengthening of work-life balance measures. Public employees who have dependents in their care children or minors under guardianship or foster care up to 12 years oldPeople with disabilities of 33% or more, or family members with serious illnesses up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, may request adjusted work schedules. Among other options, this includes greater flexibility regarding fixed shifts and the ability to move the start and end times earlier or later.
Specifically, during the summer, those workers with children up to 12 years old or people with disabilities in their care can to opt for the intensive work schedule from June 1st to September 30theven in the year the child turns 12. The intention is to facilitate better compatibility between the school calendar and work schedules.
The Civil Service resolution also opens the door to the possibility that Each work schedule specifies additional maximum and minimum limits to complete the workday in all its forms, always through negotiation and without compromising service to the public.
Guarantee public service and strengthen staffing levels
One of the points that the Government and the unions have wanted to emphasize is that the A reduction in working hours should not result in a deterioration of service.Therefore, the agreement states that the affected departments must implement the necessary organizational adaptations, especially in areas with direct public service or shift work systems.
The Ministry of Public Administration points out that the AGE will guide its human resources planning tools and the upcoming public employment offers aimed at strengthening the responsiveness of services. The idea is that the reduction in on-site time will be offset by a better distribution of tasks, digitization of processes, and, where appropriate, an increase in staff.
In areas with specific characteristics—such as penitentiary institutions, health centers or educational centers dependent on the State— The implementation of the 35-hour workweek must be compatible with existing operating rules. This involves sector-wide negotiations to adapt shifts, on-call duties, and availability systems, always under the premise of maintaining service continuity.
In parallel, staff on special dedication contracts will see their official working hours reduced from 40 to 37,5 hours per weekHowever, the resolution acknowledges that, due to service needs, a greater presence may be required at specific times. Each ministry and agency will determine which positions are considered to require special dedication based on the nature of the work and the level of responsibility.
With this new framework, the Executive intends to combine Improvements in the working conditions of civil servants with guarantees of stability and quality in citizen servicesThis is especially sensitive in registry offices, information units, employment services and social security benefits.
Impact on the rest of the public sector and battle in local administrations
Although the resolution makes it clear that the The standard 35-hour working day does not automatically apply to local entities or other public administrations.The publication in the BOE has acted as a trigger to revive negotiations in city councils and other institutions.
The signatory unions, led by CSIF and CCOO, have announced that they will use this new framework of the AGE as argument for demanding a reduction in working hours across the public sectorAccording to their calculations, more than half a million local government employees could ultimately benefit if the 35-hour workweek model is extended through collective bargaining.
The Ministry of Public Administration, however, maintains that the agreement reached refers exclusively to the workers dependent on the General State Administration And that any changes in city councils or autonomous communities must be negotiated within their own governing bodies. The legal reference cited by the unions is Article 94 of the Local Government Act, which equates the annual working hours of local government employees with those of the State Civil Service.
The department that manages the Civil Service responds that the General State Budget Law of 2018By establishing a general working day of 37,5 hours, with the possibility of modifying it through negotiation, the government has introduced a different framework in which each administration has leeway to agree on its own working hours, provided that legal requirements are met. Therefore, according to the Ministry, it is not possible to speak of an automatic transfer of the 35-hour work week to all local authorities.
Beyond this interpretive dispute, the reality is that Many autonomous communities and large cities have already implemented the 35-hour workweek. for its staff, while others continue to negotiate or maintain longer working hours. In this scenario, the AGE's decision adds pressure to gradually standardize working hours across all public administrations.
The implementation of the 35-hour workweek in the General State Administration marks a change of stage in the organization of public work, closing the cycle of extended working hours resulting from the 2012 crisis and bringing the working hours of state officials closer to those already enjoyed by many regional and local employees; now, the focus is on how this reduction will be implemented in each center, how it will affect staff and shifts, and to what extent it will serve as a lever to extend the 35-hour workweek to the rest of the public sector without diminishing the quality of services.
