Denbora erabiltzeko modu berriak
Nuevos usos del tiempo
Innovative Uses of Time

In recent years, Bilbao and Bizkaia have been undergoing major changes that have affected the population’s lifestyles and time management. Faced with this situation, the City Council of Bilbao and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia are supporting the creation of the NETWORK of AGENCIES in BILBAO and BIZKAIA, consisting of firms and organisations that are committed to the achievement of better time management and the reconciliation of work and family and personal life.

Our Network’s best practices

CONTACT PERSON:
Ms. Begoña Murguialday Martínez
Managing Director

Lehendakari Agirre 11
48014 BILBAO
Phone: +34 94 476 51 66
e-mail: info@murgibe.com
www.murgibe.com

PROCESS

From the very first, the reconciliation of life has been one of the company’s strategic focuses, adapting timetables and the workday according to its employees’ needs.

First Reconciliation Agreement in 2006 drawn up and approved on a company-wide basis. The Third Reconciliation Plan is currently in place.

Each employee has her own Reconciliation Agreement that can be accessed via the company’s intranet. MURGIBE takes part in training schemes and in public Fora and Symposia related to Equal Opportunities and Reconciliation.

There is a "Reconciliation" enhancement team, with diverse needs, as part of the Equal Opportunities Team. It is assessed and updated on a yearly basis through different management tools.

MEASURES

Flexibility in the use of time

  • Staggered timetable for entering and leaving work. There is no specific lunch break, with each employee managing her own time.
  • The option is available of working straight through the day without a lunch break.
  • Following a positive performance assessment within the company, the working week is set at 35 hours. The wage bargaining agreement for this sector stipulates a 40-hour week.
  • All employees are entitled to at least three afternoons off per week. There is an early finish on Friday afternoons and on the eve of a bank holiday, as well as throughout August.
  • Option of a longer workday in exchange for a day and a half off.
  • Option of working fewer hours per day or per week, with a proportional reduction in salary and workload.
  • Option of taking individual days off in lieu of holiday entitlement.
  • There are holidays at Easter and Christmas, and a number of long weekends coinciding with bank holidays, over and above those provided for in the wage bargaining agreement, which are negotiated each year, for rest and relaxation purposes. They are not accumulated in the summer.
  • The right to attend to personal matters, without the need to make up the time.
  • Choice of holiday times.
  • Adjustment of tasks to the working timetable: any training arranged or work meetings are always held within the working day.

Flexibility in the workplace

  • Working from home: employees may occasionally work from home or some other suitable place. The company provides the tools and technical means.

Leave and time off

  • Maternity leave may be extended, with a guarantee of returning to the job.
  • Leave of absence may be taken to care for dependents, with a guarantee of returning to the job.
  • Policy for replacing staff that covers different types of leave and personal circumstances in time and nature.
  • Policy for reincorporating staff: schemes are in place for updating and/or reincorporating those employees who return to work after a prolonged absence. The length of maternity leave may be negotiated, returning to work earlier and extending the period of part-time work.

Other measures

  • Right to unpaid days off, with no negotiated maximum.
  • Annual review of holidays in the wage agreement’s working calendar, with a view to improving on periods of rest and relaxation.
  • More compassionate leave for the death of close family and friends, regardless of the degree of kinship.
  • Days off for private events.