Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s obligation to record working hours is often misunderstood, particularly by small businesses, companies with flexible schedules, or employers with remote staff. Yet the legal position is clear. Since the 2019 reform of Spain’s labour law, keeping a daily working hours register is no longer optional, sector-specific or limited to office environments.
Recent guidance from the Ministry of Labour aims to remove lingering doubts. While courts retain final interpretative authority, inspectors are already applying these criteria on the ground. For employers, the margin for error is shrinking.
Almost every employee is covered
The working hours register applies to nearly all employees under Spain’s Estatuto de los Trabajadores, regardless of role, seniority, sector or company size. Full-time and part-time staff are included, as are temporary workers, mobile employees, sales staff and those working remotely or from home.
Only a narrow group falls outside the rule. Senior executives classed as alta dirección are entirely exempt. The same applies to self-employed workers and cooperative members, whose relationship with the organisation is not governed by labour law.
There is, however, a common misconception around managers and trusted staff. Employees with broad availability clauses, senior responsibilities or flexible autonomy are still required to have their working day recorded. Higher pay or status does not remove the obligation. Labour authorities explicitly warn that these arrangements should be clearly documented to avoid abuse or disproportionate workloads.
Flexibility is allowed — invisibility is not
Flexible working hours are fully compatible with the law. Variable schedules, irregular distributions of time and monthly hour targets remain valid, provided daily start and finish times are recorded.
This distinction matters. An employee who works longer hours on one day is not automatically doing overtime if the excess is balanced within the agreed reference period. Inspectors are expected to assess records over time, not in isolation.
The same logic applies to telework. Digital platforms, signed declarations, or self-managed records are acceptable, as long as the system is reliable and verifiable. Employers may trust employee declarations, but they retain the right — and responsibility — to check their accuracy.
Temporary workers and subcontractors: responsibility follows control
When staff are supplied by an employment agency, responsibility for recording working hours lies with the host company, which controls and directs the work. The agency then relies on those records to meet its wage and social security obligations.
In subcontracting arrangements, the contractor remains the legal employer and must keep the records. Where staff work on the premises of the main company, both parties may agree to use the same recording system. Labour authorities see this as a practical way to ensure accuracy and avoid disputes over excess hours or liability.
What counts as working time?
At its simplest, the register must show the precise time an employee starts and finishes work each day. However, problems often arise around breaks, travel and interruptions.
Where rest periods or pauses are clearly defined in contracts or collective agreements, they do not need to be logged daily. In less structured arrangements, employers are advised to record them explicitly. Otherwise, inspectors may presume that all time between start and finish is paid working time.
For employees who travel to clients or other work sites, only effective working time is recorded. Waiting periods or availability time may still require compensation through allowances, but they are not automatically counted as working hours. Clear documentation is essential to distinguish between the two.
The law does not dictate the system — but it sets the standard
Spain’s labour law deliberately avoids imposing a single method. Paper records, digital tools and mixed systems are all valid. What matters is that the data is reliable, traceable and cannot be altered after the fact.
If technology such as geolocation, apps or video monitoring is used, data protection rules apply in full. Employees’ rights to privacy must be respected, even where monitoring is justified.
Where no collective agreement exists, employers may introduce their own system. However, they must consult employee representatives where these exist. The obligation to keep records applies regardless of whether a formal agreement is in place.
A common point of confusion is whether the register must be digital. Spanish law does not require a digital system, and paper records remain lawful. However, inspectors increasingly expect records to be immediately accessible, tamper-proof and clearly traceable. In practice, this makes digital systems far safer, especially for businesses with flexible hours, remote staff or multiple worksites.
Storage, access and inspections
Working hours records must be kept for four years. They must be accessible to employees, their representatives and the Labour Inspectorate at any time.
Crucially, “accessible” means immediately available from the workplace or digitally accessible without delay. Records stored off-site or produced only after an inspection request risk being treated as non-existent.
Employees have the right to consult their records, but employers are not required to issue daily copies unless this has been agreed. The emphasis is on transparency, not paperwork for its own sake.
Working hours and overtime are not the same thing
The daily register and overtime records are separate legal obligations, even if the same system is used for both.
Overtime must still be totalled, reflected in payslips and compensated in line with the law. In cases of force majeure, overtime may be mandatory, but it must always be recorded and paid or offset accordingly.
Spain moves closer to a shorter working week
Why inspections are increasing
Labour inspectors increasingly rely on working hours data to identify unpaid overtime, disguised full-time contracts and breaches of rest rules. In many cases, fines are issued not for exploitation but for poor or inconsistent record-keeping.
The Ministry’s message is clear. Recording working hours is no longer a technical detail. It is a core compliance obligation, and one that employers are expected to take seriously, regardless of how modern or flexible their workplace may be.