The Catalan Association of the Self-Employed (Autcat) has welcomed the Spanish Congress’s rejection of a proposed law to shorten the working week, warning that such measures cannot be applied uniformly and must account for the realities of freelancers.
In a statement, Autcat argued that reforms to working hours should not only be about reducing time spent on the job but also about protecting the viability of small businesses. The group stressed that policies must reflect ‘the real needs of work–life balance among the self-employed’, a sector that typically works longer hours than the average employee and often without support mechanisms to ease the burden.
While opposing the current proposal, Autcat said the debate was useful in shining a light on work–life balance and the demands faced by freelancers, noting that small entrepreneurs frequently juggle both professional and personal responsibilities without formal safeguards.
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