Benedita Gonçalves is quoted in an Iberian Lawyer article entitled "Will friday become the new saturday".

The pilot project for the four-day working week began in 2022 and ended in November 2023, with the results of this pilot published on 24 June. The project involved 41 companies, in a six-month, voluntary, reversible experiment with no financial compensation, with the state providing only technical and administrative support, if necessary. The first results released from this pilot project were positive, however there are still many legal and operational challenges to overcome if the four-day working week becomes a viable reality.

"Until there is a concrete legislative proposal, the role of worker representatives will be to negotiate with companies or employer associations on the format to adopt for a potential four-day week", clarifies Benedita Gonçalves.

To ensure that companies comply with the requirements of a reduced working week, the VdA lawyer explains that " in the event of normative changes, sanction frameworks would also need to be created for noncompliance with the defined requirements and obligations".

"The implementation of appropriate legislation constitutes the third and final axis – following the Experiment and Encourage axes currently in progress – with the creation of a new regime in the Labor Code expected between 2026 and the end of 2028. “Its implementation is expected by the end of 2032 in large companies, and by the end of 2034, in small and medium-sized enterprises", said the VdA lawyer.

• This article is available here.