What does the ITSS look at in working time campaigns?

The duration of the working day is set by the employment contract or the collective agreement, with a limit of forty hours per week on average annually. In this sense, the Labor Inspection (ITSS) has launched a campaign to verify that workers carry out a working day adjusted to this limit, sanctioning any non-compliance it detects through the analysis of working hour records.

Excess hours worked to prevent or repair accidents and other extraordinary and urgent damages will not be taken into account for the maximum duration of the ordinary working day, as long as this excess is duly compensated as overtime.

On the contrary, the following are considered as effective working time:

• Time dedicated to theoretical and practical training in occupational risk prevention.
• Time spent by prevention delegates to attend meetings of the Health and Safety Committee called by the employer and to perform prevention-related functions required by the company.
• Time spent on medical check-ups required by occupational risk prevention regulations.
• The act of voting in union elections held at the workplace during working hours.

During its verification, the ITSS will take into account that the company may irregularly distribute 10% of its workers' annual working hours (or a higher percentage established by the collective agreement), provided that it notifies the schedule change five days in advance. Likewise, it will verify compliance with regulations regarding breaks during the working day (15 minutes every 6 consecutive hours), daily rest (12 hours between shifts), and weekly rest (one and a half uninterrupted days).

If workers have worked more hours than allowed by law or if the company has not respected the legally established breaks or those set by the collective agreement, it will receive a fine ranging from 751 to 7,500 euros per workplace. Additionally, exceeding the ordinary working day will result in the classification of the extra time as overtime.

 

 

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