Working hours and overtime: major variations between groups of workers

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Recent studies have revealed that a great deal of overtime is worked in Spain, though the average working week is 36.7 hours. This means that both the longest and the shortest working weeks are concentrated amongst very specific groups of the working population.

A recent study carried out by the Economic and Social Council (Consejo Económico y Social, CES) has contributed to the current debate on the distribution of employment across Spain and other countries of the European Union.

The study calculates that in 1996 over 62 million hours of overtime were performed in the Spanish economy, which would have led to the creation of 36,000 jobs. As the Council admits, this is obviously a hypothetical calculation since some hours of overtime might lead to the creation of a new job, whereas others might not. On the other hand, it should also be pointed out that the calculation was made on the basis of declared overtime; many experts believe that the undeclared number of overtime hours could be two or three times greater.

Despite this, the study is useful for several other reasons: it shows that the hours of declared overtime are 36% more expensive than ordinary hours (which could also affect the prospects for employment creation); and that the smaller the company, the more overtime is performed. Obviously, this cost does not reflect undeclared overtime, which, it is assumed, is carried out mainly in smaller companies.

The Council is a tripartite institution (comprising government, union and employer representatives), which means that the conclusions of the study could feed into the process of collective bargaining.

In the same way, the results of the Survey of the Active Population for the second quarter of 1997 show that the average working week of Spanish workers was 36.7 hours in 1996. As the data were gathered from a survey of workers - in contrast to the CES study, which gathered data from companies - this result shows the importance of part-time employment in determining the duration of the average working week. Part-time employment is largely undeclared and performed by women in small companies. Long working weeks are found primarily in the private sector and amongst the self-employed, and affect particularly middle-aged men.

The two conclusions drawn from these studies are that a great deal of overtime is performed in Spain, and that there are great differences in the length of the working week amongst specific groups of workers.