Maximum working hours and rest
The ordinary working week cannot exceed 40 hours on average over the year. The reform in progress lowers that limit to 37.5 hours without a pay cut and requires a digital working-time record, but until it takes effect the legal limit remains 40 hours.
There must be at least 12 hours of rest between working days, and workers are entitled to a day and a half of continuous weekly rest. Overtime is paid or compensated with rest, within annual caps.
Holidays: 30 calendar days
The holiday entitlement is 30 calendar days per year worked, or the proportional part for shorter contracts. They cannot be exchanged for money unless the contract ends without being taken, and at least 15 days must be consecutive.
The holiday calendar is agreed between company and worker, taking the activity into account. There is no automatic right to choose the dates: they are negotiated.
Paid leave
Paid leave means the company pays for those days. The Statute sets the minimum; collective agreements usually extend them.
Key points
- Marriage or registered partnership: the days set by the Workers' Statute, extendable by collective agreement
- Birth, death or serious accident of a family member: 2 days, 4 if travel is required
- Moving to a new usual residence: 1 day
- Fulfilment of an unavoidable public duty: the time necessary
Contracts and probation period
Contracts are presumed to be permanent and full-time: unless the company proves otherwise, stability is the rule. Fixed-term contracts are only allowed for specific causes, such as works, seasonal peaks or replacement, with duration limits.
The probation period cannot exceed 6 months for qualified technicians or 2 months for other workers. During it, either side can walk away without compensation.
Dismissal and compensation
There are three types of dismissal: disciplinary, for serious misconduct; objective, for economic, technical, organisational or production reasons; and collective, when it affects a threshold of workers and requires a specific procedure.
Unfair dismissal is compensated with 33 days of salary per year worked, within a legal cap. Objective dismissal pays 20 days per year. Where a dismissal declared unfair was based on an objective cause, the correct compensation is the objective one, 20 days per year.
