Supreme Court: Employee Self-Declaration is Valid

Is it valid for employees to record their own working hours?

One of the most common questions from businesses is whether a time tracking system where employees declare their own clock-in and clock-out times complies with the law. The answer is yes, and Spain’s Supreme Court has confirmed it.

The Supreme Court Ruling of January 18, 2023

The Supreme Court, in its ruling of January 18, 2023, established a fundamental criterion:

“It lacks legal validity to deny in the abstract the objectivity and reliability of a time tracking system solely because it assigns to the employee the obligation to record the start and end times of their daily working hours, as well as rest periods and other interruptions that are not considered effective working time.”

In other words: the fact that it’s the employee who clocks in doesn’t invalidate the system.

Why is this ruling important?

The Supreme Court adds a key reflection:

“It is difficult to imagine a time tracking system that does not require the employee to perform a specific action at the start and end of their workday, when taking time for rest or meals, when entering or leaving the workplace, in short, to record any possible interruption of work activity.”

This means that:

• ✅ Mobile clock-in apps are valid
• ✅ Self-declaration systems comply with art. 34.9 ET
• ✅ Biometric control is not mandatory
• ✅ Employees can record from any location

What requirements must the system meet?

According to the CJEU doctrine (Ruling of May 14, 2019, CCOO vs Deutsche Bank case), the system must be:

1. Objective — Record actual data, not estimates
2. Reliable — Guarantee the integrity of records
3. Accessible — Allow consultation by employees, worker representatives, and Labor Inspection

Implications for your business

If you use a time tracking app where employees clock in themselves:

• You’re complying with the law according to the Supreme Court
• You don’t need invasive biometric systems
• You can manage remote or mobile teams
• You reduce costs compared to physical terminals

The key: traceability and immutability

What the regulations do require is that records be immutable and have traceability. That is:

• They cannot be modified without leaving a trace
• There’s a record of who made each entry and when
• Data is retained for 4 years

Conclusion

Employee self-declaration is perfectly valid. What matters is not who records, but that the system guarantees the objectivity, reliability, and accessibility of the data.

With Cleverfy, your company meets all these requirements with a simple, reliable system backed by Supreme Court jurisprudence.

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Sources: STS January 18, 2023 (rec. 2945/2020), CJEU May 14, 2019 (C-55/18, CCOO), Art. 34.9 ET