RD 723/2026, the new information you must give employees in writing

RD 723/2026 is not the mandatory digital time-tracking law, even though plenty of people are searching for it these days assuming it is, because it arrives just as the time-registration decree is expected. They are two separate rules. RD 723/2026 governs the information your company has to give each employee in writing about their working conditions, and that includes working hours, shifts and overtime. That is the part you need to review even if you already have time tracking sorted.

What RD 723/2026 is

Royal Decree 723/2026, of 9 September, transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions. It develops Article 8.5 of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) and fully repeals RD 1659/1998, the rule that until now set out what had to be communicated to an employee about their contract.

The duty to inform employees already existed under RD 1659/1998. What 723/2026 does is greatly broaden the what, the how and the when. More content to hand over, handed over earlier, and with proof that it was handed over.

Dates that matter:

• 8 September 2026: approval by the Council of Ministers (we covered it that day in the new duty to inform employees in writing about their working conditions).
• 9 September 2026: date of Royal Decree 723/2026.
• 15 September 2026: publication in the BOE (Spanish Official Gazette).
• 5 October 2026: entry into force, 20 days after publication.

Who it applies to

It applies generally to companies and to employees under Article 1 of the Statute, and it expressly brings in special employment relationships, public sector staff, fishermen and seafarers.

The general information obligations only reach employment relationships lasting more than four weeks, so in very short contracts the bulk of the duty to inform is not triggered.

What information you have to provide

The list is long and goes well beyond what many companies currently put in the contract. If all of this information already appears in writing in the contract, the obligation is considered met; if only part of it is there, you have to fill in the rest. Among other points:

• Identity of the parties, start date and, for fixed-term contracts, end date or foreseeable duration.
• Usual place of work and, for remote work, the workplace the person is assigned to.
• Job content, category or professional group.
• For fixed-term contracts, the specific reason for the temporary nature and its link to the expected duration.
• Base salary and each supplement separately, with frequency, payment method and the formula and criteria for every variable component.
• Length and distribution of daily, weekly and annual working time, including night or shift work, and the procedure for changing hours or shifts.
• Agreements on overtime and its pay.
• Length of holidays and the procedure for setting them.
• Length and terms of the probationary period.
• The right to training provided by the company.
• Termination procedure and notice periods.
• The applicable collective agreement or agreements, with their code, publication date and validity.
• Social Security cover, voluntary improvements and pension plans.
• Equality plan, work-life balance policy, anti-harassment protocol and LGTBI measures, where the company has them.

Irregular distribution and permanent seasonal contracts

When working time follows an irregular distribution, the level of detail goes up. You have to report the system used to set it, identifying the reference days and hours during which the company can require work, and the minimum notice periods before starting a task and for cancelling it. For permanent seasonal contracts (fijos-discontinuos), the information must cover the periods of activity and inactivity, or an estimate of them, without prejudice to specifying them later in the call-up.

Algorithmic transparency, the big novelty

If the company uses algorithmic or automated systems to make decisions that affect working conditions, it has to disclose their existence and the parameters, criteria and rules by which they operate. The decree expressly mentions decisions on the length and distribution of working time, task allocation, pay, career progression, place of work and contract termination.

This is not just about big delivery platforms. Any company that uses software to assign shifts automatically, prioritise tasks or calculate variable pay is on the radar of this obligation. Review which tools make decisions for you and whether you can explain how they make them, because that is what you now have to declare.

When and how it is delivered

For new contracts, the general information must be provided before the employment relationship begins. That is a big shift in pace: it forces you to have templates ready and quick processes, because in an urgent hire you can no longer hand over the paperwork the following week.

For staff already on board, the mechanism is on request. The employee can ask for the expanded information and the company has 30 working days from the request to provide it in writing, provided the worker does not already have it (sole transitional provision).

Paper or electronic format is accepted, as long as it is accessible, can be stored and printed, and the company keeps proof of the transmission or receipt. That last point is the one that usually fails, because the company has to be able to prove that the information was sent and on what date. And every later change to those conditions must be communicated in writing before it takes effect. Failing to comply opens the door to the penalty regime under LISOS.

So, is this the mandatory time clock or not?

No. Digital time registration will be governed by another Royal Decree, which as of today still has not been published. You can follow its status in our article on the Royal Decree on digital time tracking.

What happens is that the two rules share ground. RD 723/2026 requires informing about working hours, shifts, overtime and holidays; time registration requires evidencing what is actually worked. A company that already evidences its working hours well has a good part of the first duty covered, because it is already managing that data.

What digital time tracking can do for you

The working-hours part of this decree is exactly what time-tracking software already has structured. With Cleverfy you can:

• Keep each employee’s working-time distribution, shifts and calendars documented and up to date, not scattered across a spreadsheet.
• Track overtime separately from ordinary hours, ready to reflect in the information you hand over.
• Leave a timestamp on changes to schedules and shifts, which is exactly what the rule asks to be communicated in writing before they take effect.

It does not replace the labour adviser who drafts the conditions document, but it removes manual work and saves you from hunting for working-hours data site by site when an employee requests it.

What to do before 5 October

Check three things. First, whether your contract templates already cover everything the decree requires or you will have to hand over supplementary information. Second, whether you can explain in writing how each variable supplement is calculated and how shifts are set. And third, whether any software in your company makes automatic decisions about working conditions, because that now has to be declared. With those reviewed, you reach the date with no surprises.

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Legal note: informational article, not legal advice. Based on Royal Decree 723/2026, of 9 September, Directive (EU) 2019/1152 and Article 8.5 of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores). Consult your labour adviser before making decisions that affect your contracts.

Sources:

• Royal Decree 723/2026, of 9 September (BOE)
• Directive (EU) 2019/1152
• Workers’ Statute, Art. 8