Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism will grant up to 150,000 euros to small and medium-sized enterprises that introduce a four-day workweek without reducing employee wages, RTVE reported.
The initiative of the authorities appears in the plan for a pilot project, which should be presented in the next few days. Companies will have to reduce their employees’ working week by at least 10% and stick to this plan for at least two years. The initiative is expected to target 60-70 SMEs.
The total budget of the project is 10 million euros. This was agreed between the kingdom’s government and the Mass País party when power stalwarts backed the state’s draft budget for 2022.
The Portuguese authorities had also previously announced their intention to experiment with the introduction of a four-day working week in both the public and private sectors. But, as “El Pais” reports, the government of the republic will not subsidize the enterprises participating in the pilot project, in order to obtain an objective assessment.
