UGT reopens the debate on whether overtime should be charged at a higher rate than normal working hours
Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) is once again suing the Spanish government in Brussels. If more than a year and a half ago it filed a complaint for considering dismissal in our country to be cheap, now it is charging against the low - or even null - price of overtime worked by workers - an average of 13 million every month, the equivalent of 130,000 permanent jobs - and is seeking to raise its cost.
Alberto Novoa, labour partner at RocaJunyent, analyses the situation in this article, published by Economist Jurist, from a technical perspective and based on real data.
He mentions that "compliance with these obligations requires legislative tools and internal regulations that, to date, have not been fully deployed, and these mechanisms can come from, and in fact it would be advisable for them to come from, social dialogue".
At the same time, he considers that "there is no clear interpretation of this rule and even less so of the final clause, which says 'except in certain specific cases'.
From his point of view, "the main problem with overtime in Spain is not its remuneration, but the excessive volume of excess working hours, some of which are recognised and many of which are hidden".
With regard to the complaint filed by the UGT, Novoa shares the opinion that "it is legitimate and necessary for trade unions to act as watchdogs of compliance with labour rights. In this context, the complaint to international bodies is a valid strategy to seek solutions in cases of alleged non-compliance".
For Novoa, "if the work carried out by the Labour Inspectorate is combined with the real efforts of trade unions on the ground to verify compliance with working time regulations, overtime will probably be reduced, jobs will increase and then, yes, the main problem to be tackled will be the payment of overtime".
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