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Control horario

Time control of workers, in digital record

What is time control?

Time control or attendance control is a system implemented by companies to record the time that workers spend on work tasks.

Therefore, it is the action of counting the hours that each employee has worked and how these have been distributed throughout their workday.

This record includes the hours from the start to the end of the workday, overtime, and any breaks or interruptions that may occur during the day.

The time control of workers has been mandatory since May 12, 2019, the date on which the Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, of March 8, and was reflected in article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute:

“The company will ensure the daily registration of working hours, which must include the specific start and end times of each employee’s working day, without prejudice to the flexible hours established in this article”.

What is the purpose of recording working hours?

The purpose of time control is to ensure compliance with working hours and, at the same time, to avoid abuse and fraud in relation to the recording of overtime hours.

What new features will the new law bring?

The major change that the new law will introduce is the obligation for time control to be exclusively digital, eliminating the possibility of using paper records.

This measure seeks to improve the transparency and accuracy of time recording.

On the other hand, it will also allow the Labour Inspectorate to access the data of the workers’ time clocks electronically; thus, Treball will have remote and direct access to the time control records and its inspections will be expedited.

When will the new law come into effect?

On June 24, the draft bill was discussed and analyzed.

This draft bill establishes a six-month period to approve the regulations that define the legal aspects and set out the guidelines on how companies should implement and manage the new registration system.

Therefore, the new regulations on monitoring workers’ working hours will be applicable at the beginning of 2025.

What type of workers should be subject to time control?

Time control will apply to all workers, regardless of the type of contract or position within the company.

Which workers are exempt?

Professionals exempt from complying with this law are divided into three groups:

  • Special relationships, as set out in Article 2 of the Workers’ Statute:
  1. Senior management staff.
  2. Domestic workers.
  3. Convicts in penitentiary institutions.
  4. Professional athletes.
  5. Artists in public performances.
  6. Disabled employees in special workplaces.
  7. Lawyers who work in law firms (individual or collective).
  8. Any other type of work that is expressly declared as a special relationship by law.
  • Workers with a specific regime regarding the recording of their working hours; for example, part-time employees, who were already required to record their daily working hours and provide a copy to the company with a monthly summary.
  • Self-employed workers and members of cooperatives.

How can I sign up?

The new law requires that timekeeping be digital and, therefore, companies must have software that allows them to record the arrivals and departures of workers and store it electronically.

Time clock systems must meet a series of requirements:

  • Automation: Systems must automatically record the start and end times of the workday to avoid errors and manipulations.
  • Accessibility: Records must be accessible in real time to workers, representatives, Labor Inspection and Social Security.
  • Data security and retention: Data must be protected against alteration, loss and retained for at least four years.
  • Reporting: Systems should allow for the quick and accurate generation of detailed reports on hours worked and any other relevant information.

Below we point out a series of valid methods for digital clocking in:

  • Time control applications for mobile phones and/or computers.
  • Machines with RFID or QR systems.
  • Register TAGs from your mobile.
  • Web links.

Only digital time control methods will be accepted; non-digital systems (paper) or other systems that, while digital, violate any right are not valid, for example:

  • Biometric systems: These use unique physical characteristics of workers, such as fingerprints, hand readers, or even facial recognition.

These systems are a highly invasive and disproportionate measure that puts workers’ rights and freedoms at risk (given the value that biometric data has on the black market).

Penalties for non-compliance with the new law

Failure to comply with the new law on time control may result in sanctions for companies and, as a novelty, also for workers.

We are talking about fines that, depending on the severity of the infringement, can range between 1,000 and 10,000 euros per worker.

Data protection implications

The implementation of the new regulations on the monitoring of workers’ working hours, in terms of data protection, means that companies must:

  • Inform workers about the new time recording system.
  • Update the Record of Processing Activities (RPA): document that we are talking about in this post.
  • Sign data processing contracts with the company that manages the software.

Author: Sandra Santiago, Lawyer.

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