Mandatory time tracking
Complete guide to the obligation to record working time in Spain: regulations, requirements, penalties and how to automate clock-ins with Horentia.
The rules: what does the law say?
Royal Decree-Law 8/2019 of 8 March established mandatory daily working-time records for all companies in Spain, regardless of size or sector. The rule took effect on 12 May 2019 and applies to all employees. The goal is to ensure compliance with working-time limits, control of overtime and work–life balance.
The Labor Inspectorate may request working-time records at any time. Penalties for non-compliance range from €626 to €6,250 per infringement, and may be higher if unpaid or unreported overtime is detected. In case of recidivism, fines can reach €187,515.
Legal requirements for working-time records
Mandatory daily record
Every worker must record the exact start and end of their working day, every day. A weekly or monthly summary is not enough. Start and end times must be recorded clearly and immutably.
Retention for 4 years
Working-time records must be kept for at least four years. They must be available to workers, their legal representatives and the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate at any time.
Worker access
Each employee has the right to access their own working-time records at any time. Workers’ legal representatives must also be able to consult them to verify compliance.
Overtime
The recording system must allow identification and quantification of overtime worked. Overtime has additional social contributions and is subject to legal limits that the system should help control.
Benefits of digitizing time tracking
Guaranteed regulatory compliance
Eliminate the risk of Labor Inspectorate penalties. Records are immutable and always available. Comply with RD-ley 8/2019 without maintaining paper sign-in sheets.
Clock-in from any device
Employees can clock in from mobile, tablet or computer. Ideal for remote teams, field workers or staff without a fixed desk. Optional geolocation to verify location.
Integrated leave and absences
Manage leave, sick leave and permission requests on the same platform. The system automatically calculates available days, detects overlap conflicts and updates balances in real time.
Reports and analytics
Generate reports of hours worked by employee, department or project. Identify absenteeism patterns, recurring overtime and deviations from planned schedules. Data to make decisions.
Payroll integration
Recorded hours transfer automatically to the payroll system. No more manual timesheet submissions at month-end. Fewer errors, less admin work.
Employee experience
Intuitive interface that needs no training. Employees clock in within seconds. They can check history, request leave and justify absences without bothering HR.
Horentia: the Politeia Soft solution
Horentia is the time-tracking system developed by Politeia Soft. It meets all RD-ley 8/2019 requirements and is designed for teams of any size. Employees clock in within seconds from mobile or computer, hours are recorded immutably and reports are always available for inspections. Leave and absence management is built into the same platform, removing the need for separate tools for each HR process.
Need to comply with mandatory time tracking?