Digital time tracking: Spain confirms imminent regulation approval

Legal notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The regulation described is currently being processed by the Council of State and has not yet been definitively approved.

Pérez Rey: “The regulation will be approved shortly”

The Secretary of State for Employment, Joaquín Pérez Rey, has confirmed that the regulation developing the working time record will be approved “shortly”. He made the announcement on February 27, 2026, during a conference on working time organized by the Fundación 1º de Mayo (CCOO).

According to Pérez Rey, the text is already before the Council of State “in the conclusive phase of its processing”. Once it receives the opinion, the Government will be able to approve it through regulatory channels without needing to go through Parliament.

The message is clear: paper and Excel time tracking’s days are numbered.

What exactly changes with the new regulation

The draft regulation introduces profound changes in how companies must record working hours. These are the key requirements:

• 100% mandatory digital recording. Express prohibition of paper, signed sheets, and Excel files.
• Immutable traceability. Every modification to the record will be logged and cannot be deleted or altered.
• Remote access for the Labor Inspectorate (ITSS). Inspectors will be able to consult records electronically, without needing to visit the company in person.
• Hour and minute of the start and end of each working day.
• Differentiation between regular hours, overtime, and breaks.
• Retention for 4 years.

In practice, this means companies will need a digital time tracking system that meets all these technical requirements. Any app won’t do: it must guarantee immutability and remote access.

The current disaster: 70% of companies without digital time tracking

A report by TeamSystem and Ipsos published on February 26 — based on 1,200 interviews with freelancers and SMEs — reveals a worrying picture:

• 35% still track time on paper or Excel.
• Only 10% use a mobile app for time recording.
• 34% are unaware that digital recording will be mandatory.
• Just 23% consider themselves adequately informed about the coming changes.

The figures are devastating. When the regulation comes into force, 7 out of 10 companies will not comply with the new requirements.

€3.243 billion in unpaid overtime

The urgency of the regulation is explained, in part, by the figures on labor fraud linked to overtime. According to a CCOO report published on February 23 in El País:

• 945,000 employees worked overtime in 2025 (5% of the total).
• Of that overtime, 39% went unpaid and uncompensated: 2.49 million weekly hours that simply vanish.
• Each affected worker loses an average of 5.6 unpaid overtime hours per week, equivalent to €141 per week or €7,355 per year.
• In total, those unpaid hours are equivalent to 160,000 full-time jobs.
• The sectors with the highest incidence: finance (5.6%), education (4.9%), and professional activities (4.6%).

Digital recording with immutable traceability aims precisely to end this reality: ensuring that hours worked are recorded in a way that cannot be manipulated or made to disappear.

The fines that are coming: up to €10,000 per employee

The new penalty regime radically changes the rules of the game. The most important difference: fines will be applied per employee, not as a single penalty per company.

Type of infringement	Example	Fine per employee
Minor	Minor errors in the record	Up to €750
Serious	Complete absence of records	Up to €7,500
Very serious	Manipulation or falsification	Up to €10,000

For a company with 20 employees without records, the serious penalty could reach €150,000. If manipulation is proven, up to €200,000.

The employer battle: CEOE against the regulation

The employers’ association CEOE maintains head-on opposition to the telematic control provisions in the regulation. Their main argument: that remote access by the Inspectorate conflicts with data protection.

The Ministry of Employment rejects this objection. It argues that telematic interoperability already exists with Social Security and the Tax Agency, and that time records are no different.

Pérez Rey took CEOE’s legal challenge for granted during the February 27 conference, but appeared confident: the employers’ association, he said, “has always lost” in its appeals against labor regulations.

The context: the 37.5-hour workweek

The digital recording regulation is advancing separately from the reduction of the workweek to 37.5 hours, which Pérez Rey described as “a parliamentary failure, but a political and union victory”. The Government “will wait for the right political moment” to resume it, while collective bargaining has stalled the average workweek at 38.1 hours.

The digital record, however, does not depend on Parliament and can be approved by decree. It’s the piece that will actually arrive.

What companies should do now

If your company still tracks time on paper, Excel, or simply doesn’t record working hours at all, the time to act is now. Not when it’s published in the Official Gazette.

1. Assess your current situation. Does your system meet the requirements for immutable traceability and remote access?
2. Ditch paper and Excel. They will no longer be legally valid. Period.
3. Choose a digital time tracking system that meets all the regulation’s requirements: recording by hour and minute, differentiation of hour types, immutability, and 4-year retention.
4. Train your employees. 34% of companies don’t even know this is coming. Make sure your team is prepared.
5. Don’t wait for the fine. With per-employee penalties, the cost of non-compliance is exponentially greater than any tool.

Cleverfy: digital time tracking that’s compliant from day one

Cleverfy is designed to meet all the requirements of the new regulation:

• ✅ Digital recording with exact hour and minute
• ✅ Immutable traceability of every clock-in and modification
• ✅ Differentiation of regular hours, overtime, and breaks
• ✅ Remote access available for inspections
• ✅ Data retention for 4 years
• ✅ Mobile app, web, and tablet — clock in from anywhere

Don’t wait for the regulation to come into force. Try Cleverfy for free and be compliant from today.

Frequently asked questions

When will the digital time tracking regulation be approved?

The Secretary of State for Labor confirmed on February 27, 2026 that the regulation is in its final processing stage at the Council of State. There is no exact date, but approval is expected within the coming weeks.

What happens if my company still uses paper or Excel timesheets?

Once the regulation takes effect, paper and Excel timesheets will no longer be legally valid. Companies that don’t adapt will face fines of up to €7,500 per employee for serious violations.

How much is the fine for not having digital time tracking?

Fines will be applied per affected employee: up to €750 for minor violations, up to €7,500 for serious ones (no records), and up to €10,000 for very serious ones (manipulation or falsification).

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Sources: EFE via Deia (Feb 27, 2026), El País (Feb 23, 2026), MuyPymes (Feb 26, 2026), LawAndTrends (Feb 27, 2026)