Staying late and leaving on time: what colleagues expect

Key rules

• Expectations vary: How much visible presence counts depends on your sector, company and manager, so watch your own team first.
• Leaving on time: Leaving at your contracted time is legal and routine on Fridays and summer continuous schedules.
• Disconnection: You have a legal right to digital disconnection outside working hours, though informal expectations differ.
• Time records: Your employer must record your daily start and end times.

Long hours still carry weight in many workplaces

Staying at your desk late can still count for something in Spain, but it varies a lot. Spanish working days are often long, with a long midday break. In many places, being seen at work is still linked to commitment and promotion. Spaniards even have an expression for it: "calentar la silla", meaning warming your chair.

It is a tendency, not a rule. Your own team and manager matter more than the national picture.

How it differs by sector

Presence is more marked in traditional firms, family businesses, and professional services such as law, consulting and banking. It is less marked in tech start-ups, multinationals and companies with remote or flexible work, where results count more than hours.

Leaving at your contracted time is legally normal and increasingly accepted, especially in multinationals, tech and the public sector. In traditional firms and some management cultures, being the first to leave can read as low commitment. On Fridays, and in summer on continuous schedules, leaving on time is routine everywhere.

If you work shifts, none of this applies much, because your times are fixed.

What to do in your first weeks

• Notice when your manager and colleagues actually leave. That tells you more than any general rule.
• Ask your manager, simply, what they expect about finishing time.
• Do not assume a late finish is required. Ordinary work is capped at 40 hours a week on average over the year, and any shorter week comes from your collective agreement (the sector-wide agreement that may apply to your job).

Your hours and your messages

Your employer must record your daily start and end times. Make sure your real hours are logged, not just the contracted ones.

You also have a legal right to digital disconnection: not being expected to work outside your hours, during rest periods, leave and holidays. Your employer must have an internal policy on it, drawn up after hearing worker representatives. Many collective agreements add their own clause.

In practice, answering after hours is often expected informally in senior roles, client-facing roles and small companies. If that is you, agree with your manager when you will reply. If a problem persists, worker representatives and the labour inspectorate are the routes. The checklist and FAQ below cover the practical steps.

Checklist

• Watch when your manager and colleagues usually leave during your first weeks, because long hours and visible presence still carry weight in many Spanish workplaces.

• Check how your sector treats presence: it is more marked in traditional firms, family businesses, law, consulting and banking, and less in tech start-ups, multinationals and flexible or remote companies.

• Ask your manager what they expect about finishing time, since leaving on time reads differently from team to team.

• Ask HR or your worker representatives for the company's policy on digital disconnection.

• Look in your collective agreement for a disconnection clause.

• Agree with your manager when you will reply after hours if your role is senior, client-facing or in a small company.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to reply to messages after work hours in Spain?

No, you have a legal right to digital disconnection outside your working hours, including rest periods, leave and holidays. In senior, client-facing and small-company roles, a quick reply is often expected informally anyway. Your company must have an internal disconnection policy, so ask what it says.

Is the 40-hour working week being cut to 37.5 hours?

No, the 40 hours a week maximum still applies, because a proposal to cut it to 37.5 hours was defeated in Congress in September 2025. Your collective agreement may still give you a shorter week.

Is staying late less expected in companies with remote or flexible work?

Yes, staying late matters less in tech start-ups, multinationals and companies that manage by results or allow remote work.