Law No. 21.561 – 40 Hours Law

On April 26, 2024, the progressive reduction of working hours begins.

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Law No. 21,561, enacted on April 26, 2023 (the “Law”) introduced several changes to the Labor Code regarding working hours.

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The reform emblematic of the Law reduces the working day to 40 hours, which may be distributed between 4 to 6 days a week. This modification will come into effect on April 26, 2024 and will be applied gradually as follows:

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1. April 26, 2024: maximum regular workweek of 44 hours.
2. April 26, 2026: maximum ordinary working week of 42 hours.
3. April 26, 2028: maximum ordinary working week of 40 hours. At this time, it will be allowed to distribute the maximum ordinary working day in 4 working days, which will allow the implementation of the 4×3 system.

These modifications will be understood to be incorporated in the individual contracts by the sole authority of the law, without their adaptation being necessary for the modifications introduced to comply with their effects. Consequently, it is NOT necessary to modify or adapt the individual employment contracts.

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Another relevant amendment that will enter into force on April 26 is related to the regulation of workers exempted from working hours, modifying paragraph 2 of Article 22 of the Labor Code, as indicated:

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1.    The exclusions from the limitation of working hours are restricted. It will only apply to:

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• workers who provide services as managers, administrators, attorneys-in-fact with powers of administration and,
• all those who work without immediate superior supervision.

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2. In case of controversy, and even at the worker’s request, the Labor Inspector will decide whether the specific work falls under any of the exclusions.

In this way, the Labor Directorate is granted the power to determine whether the nature of the work performed by the employee is considered to be affected by the limitation of working hours or not.

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Other relevant modifications that will become effective on April 26 are the following:

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1. Possibility of working in cycles of up to 4 weeks, working up to 40 hours per week in the average of the cycle and with a maximum of 160 hours of work.

It may not exceed 45 ordinary hours in each week, nor extend with that limit for more than 2 continuous weeks in the cycle.

To this end, a mutually agreed calendar must be drawn up with the daily and weekly distribution of working hours in each cycle (Article 22 bis of the Labor Code).

2. Workers who are mothers and fathers of children up to 12 years of age, and those who have personal care of them, shall have the right to anticipate or delay the start of their work by up to 1 hour, which shall also determine their departure time (Article 27 of the Labor Code).
3. Possibility of compensating overtime in up to 5 additional holidays per year, which must be used by the employee within 6 months following the cycle in which they were generated (article 32 of the Labor Code).
4. Attendance record: The employer has the duty to monitor attendance and determine working hours, whether ordinary or extraordinary, and is obliged to keep a personnel attendance book, a time clock with record cards or an electronic recording system (Article 33 of the Labor Code).

 For any question related to this topic, please contact Javier Edwards or Ainhoa Yeregui.