Working time records: what art. 34.9 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores requires

Contents

• What is the working time record?
• Who does it apply to?
• What does it have to be like?
• What risk do you run if you don't keep it?
• How Tranquilia solves it
• Frequently asked questions
• Official sources

What is the working time record?

It means writing down, every day, what time each person on your staff starts and finishes work. Since 2019, when RDL 8/2019 amended art. 34.9 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores, this note became obligatory for every company, not just as a way of controlling overtime.

The underlying idea is simple: if working time is not recorded, there is no way of knowing how much people really work, and the extra hours become invisible.

Who does it apply to?

To every company with employed workers. There is no minimum headcount and no exception by sector: from the first employee, you have to record their working time. It makes no difference that they never do overtime: the record is of ordinary working time, not only of the excess.

What does it have to be like?

Art. 34.9 sets out the basic requirements:

• Daily: it is written down every day, with the specific start and finish times.
• For the whole workforce, including part-time working hours.
• Objective and reliable: a system that reflects the actual hours, not an estimate.
• Kept for four years and available to the workers, their representatives and the Inspección.

The way you record it (an app, a signed sheet, a clocking-in system) is for the company to decide, preferably through negotiation or agreement. What the law does not allow is not recording at all.

What risk do you run if you don't keep it?

Not keeping the working time record, or keeping it in a way that does not reflect the actual hours, is a serious infringement in the field of employment relations under the LISOS (Ley de Infracciones y Sanciones en el Orden Social, Spain's act on offences and penalties in the social order). The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social checks it routinely, because it is easy to verify: either the record exists, or it does not.

We do not give an exact figure here because the penalty is graded within the band for serious infringements, but it is worth knowing that this is one of the most inspected breaches and that the fine applies per company, not just once.

How Tranquilia solves it

Tranquilia sets up the working time recording system and the supporting documents for you, with the four-year retention rule the law asks for. If you are a gestoría (a firm that handles other businesses' administrative paperwork), you organise it for each client company you look after, in the same place as the rest of their employment documentation.

Frequently asked questions

If my employees don't do overtime, do I still have to keep a record?

Yes. The record is of the ordinary working time of the whole workforce, not just of overtime. Even if nobody works a single minute extra, the daily note is still obligatory.

Is any system acceptable, even a sheet of paper?

The law does not impose any particular technology: anything from a signed sheet to a digital clocking-in system will do, as long as it is reliable and reflects the actual hours. What matters is that it is recorded daily and kept.

How long do the records have to be kept?

Four years. During that time they have to be available to the workers, their representatives and the Inspección de Trabajo.

Official sources

• BOE — Estatuto de los Trabajadores (RDL 2/2015), article 34.9.
• BOE — RDL 8/2019, which introduced the daily working time record.
• BOE — RDL 5/2000 (LISOS).

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General information about the rules. It does not replace a lawyer's advice or an analysis of your specific case. If you have any doubts, check with your gestoría or with a legal professional.