The doubt is logical: if you work fewer hours, do you get less holiday? The Spanish Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers Statute) does not say so. Holiday is measured in days, not hours, and a reduction of hours for childcare cuts what you do each day and what you are paid, not your days of rest. What does deserve a calculation is what those days pay and what happens to the extra payment.
What article 38 says
Article 38.1 provides that the annual paid holiday is the one agreed in the collective agreement or contract and that in no case will it be less than thirty calendar days. It cannot be replaced by money. The article does not distinguish between full and reduced hours, and the reduction in article 37.6 applies to the daily working day, with a proportional cut in salary. The right to reduce does not touch the days.
How the 30 calendar days are counted and how many are working days is in how many holiday days the law gives you.
What does not change and what does
| Item | Full hours | Reduction of 1/4 |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar days of holiday | 30 | 30 |
| Working days in 30 calendar days, 3 August to 1 September 2026 (Monday to Friday) | 22 | 22 |
| Hours in the working day | 8 | 6 |
| Hours off during holiday | 22 × 8 = 176 | 22 × 6 = 132 |
| Gross monthly pay (example) | €1,800 | €1,350 |
If your employer keeps your holiday balance in hours, you will see a smaller balance (132 instead of 176), but it equals exactly the same 22 working days. You add and subtract in days, not hours. If you see a table that takes days away, ask how it was calculated.
If you reduce days of the week rather than hours
Article 37.6 speaks of reducing the daily working day. If instead you work fewer days a week (for example, Monday to Thursday), you may be in the position of a part-time contract, and your agreement may count holiday in working days. In the 30 calendar days from 3 August to 1 September 2026 there are 22 days from Monday to Friday but only 18 from Monday to Thursday. They are still 30 calendar days of rest; what changes is how many of your working days they use up. Check how your agreement treats it.
What you are paid on holiday
Holiday is paid. How much depends on your salary and on what the agreement says about which supplements count towards holiday pay. If the holiday month falls with the reduction already in place, it is paid on the reduced salary.
An example with €1,800 and a reduction of 1/4 from 1 October 2026:
| Holiday | Pay for the month | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 (before reducing) | €1,800 | Full salary |
| August 2027 (reduced) | €1,350 | 1,800 × 3/4 |
The extra payment: it depends on the agreement
Article 31 of the Statute gives the right to two extra payments a year, one at Christmas and the other in the month set by the agreement or a deal, and leaves their amount to the agreement. It also allows the agreement to spread them across the twelve monthly payments.
With the reduction there are several possible cases. Assuming you receive 14 payments of €1,800 and reduce by 1/4 on 1 October 2026:
| How your agreement sets it | Christmas payment | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed amount at the salary on the payment date | €1,350 | 1,800 × 3/4 |
| Accrued from July to December (3 full months, 3 reduced) | €1,575 | (3 × 1,800 + 3 × 1,350) / 6 |
| Spread over 12 payments | €2,100 → €1,575 a month | 1,800 × 14 / 12 = 2,100; × 3/4 = 1,575 |
The formula is set by your agreement or contract, not by the employer at will. Look at your payslip to see whether it is already spread.
Contributions and finiquito
The reduction for childcare has an effect on contributions: during the first three years they are counted as increased to 100% of what they would have been without the reduction, for certain benefits (art. 237.3 of the Social Security Act). And if one day you receive a finiquito (final settlement) or severance, the Statute’s nineteenth additional provision says that, for reductions under paragraphs 4 (last paragraph), 5, 6 and 8 of article 37, the salary used is the one you would have had without the reduction, as long as the legal maximum period has not passed. Check it with the final settlement calculator and read how unused holiday is paid.
How to check your holiday payslip
- Look at your holiday calendar: you must know your dates at least two months before they start (art. 38.3).
- Check that you are given 30 calendar days (or more if your agreement says so) and not a smaller number because you work fewer hours.
- In the payslip for the holiday month, compare the basic salary with what you are paid that month on reduced hours. If a supplement that used to count is missing, ask what the agreement says.
- Review the extra payment: ask the company for the calculation formula in writing.
- If something does not add up, claim in writing. For money owed, the general deadline is one year from when it could have been claimed (art. 59.1 and 59.2).
Why your case may be different
- Your collective agreement may improve holiday and set it in working days or with a higher minimum.
- If you have a part-time contract, check how your agreement counts days.
- If sick leave coincides with your holiday, the postponement rules in article 38.3 apply just the same.
- If your extra payment falls more than you expected, compare with your payslip and ask for the calculation in writing.
The table of what you are paid under each fraction of reduction is in reduced working hours for childcare; we do not repeat it here.
This is general information. With deadlines or money at stake, speak to an employment lawyer (abogado laboralista) or a union.