The recent approval by the Council of Ministers of the Bill that reduces the working day in Spain could force vehicle repair workshops to increase the price of labor up to 4.6%, to compensate for the lowest number of hours worked and maintain its billing level, according to solera calculations, a technology company specialized in the automotive sector.
This increase responds to need to compensate for the loss of 80 hours per year of work that would entail the new regulations. According to a Practical exercise prepared by Solerabased on a current average price of 45 euros per hour In body services, the workshops would have to raise the rate to 47.15 euros/hour to absorb the impact of the lowest number of hours worked.
The measure arrives in a complicated context for the sector, which already suffers a accumulated inflation of 3.4% in spare parts prices for 2024. These components represent approximately 60% of the total cost of a repair.
Solara also recalled that the business fabric of the workshops in Spain is mostly composed of small and medium enterprises. Of the more than 30,000 existing workshops, the average of technicians per establishment is only two peoplewhich makes them especially vulnerable to a Reduction of working hours without proportional adjustment in prices. The rule must now be debated and approved by Congress before its final entry.
