Labour accepts Economy's changes and unblocks the time-tracking rules

Legal note: This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The Royal Decree described here is still going through the legislative process and has not yet been published in the official gazette (BOE).

Spain’s Ministry of Labour has agreed to make the changes Economy was demanding in order to unblock the Royal Decree on working-time records. As El Español reported on 19 June 2026, Yolanda Díaz’s team is willing to rewrite the points that Carlos Cuerpo’s vice-presidency had been holding up, so the decree can be approved before the August recess.

It is a clear shift from the stance of just a few weeks ago. In early May, Labour refused to touch the text and called on Economy to back down. By June the tone had changed, and it is Labour doing the rectifying.

The concessions Labour has accepted

The standoff between the two ministries was never about the principle —both want a digital record— but about how heavily it falls on small businesses. These are the adjustments that, according to El Español, are going into the new version of the decree:

• Less red tape for SMEs. Labour will review the obligations that generated the most paperwork and look for ways to minimise the operational impact on smaller firms.
• Sector-specific rules. The decree will no longer apply identically to every type of activity. Justified exemptions are foreseen in specific cases, such as domestic employment.
• A public app. The Government is considering offering an affordable tool for businesses, along the lines of what the tax authority did with electronic invoicing.
• A bigger role for collective bargaining. Agreements between employers and unions will have more room to spell out how the record applies in each sector.
• Stronger data-protection safeguards. This was a recurring objection from Economy and the CEOE employers’ association, and the regulatory impact assessment is being amended to address it.

None of these concessions touch the record itself: it will still be digital, accurate to the hour and minute, traceable and tamper-proof. What is being adjusted is who is required to keep it and how heavy the burden is, above all for small companies.

What we still don’t know about the public app

Of all the changes, the most talked-about is the possible official app. It is too early to say exactly what it will be. The reference to the tax authority’s electronic invoicing gives a hint of the model: a bare-bones solution, free or very cheap, aimed at the freelancer or micro-business that simply wants to comply.

What such a tool does not solve is the day-to-day reality of a company with shifts, breaks, remote work, overtime to offset and a calendar to balance every month. We will have to wait for the final text to know what it covers and what it leaves out.

Where the decree stands now

The Council of State has already issued its opinion, which was unfavourable on procedure: it recommended passing the measure as a law rather than a royal decree. The Government has decided to press ahead via the regulatory route, which bypasses Parliament and allows the text to be approved in the Council of Ministers.

The decree will be followed by a ministerial order setting out the technical details of the record. In other words, the timeline has two phases: first the framework rules, then the fine print that directly affects how the software has to work.

The pressure to close this before August is not purely administrative. Díaz is aiming for the role of Director-General of the ILO and has set the end of summer as her horizon; getting the decree out before any possible move gives her room to claim the measure as her own.

The underlying argument hasn’t changed

While the details are being negotiated, the problem that justifies the rules is still there. According to the Labour Force Survey (EPA), Spain works in the order of 2.5 million unpaid overtime hours every week. Unai Sordo, secretary-general of the CCOO union, described the record as an “absolute bare minimum” measure: for the unions, its main value is proving the hours actually worked.

The concessions to Economy do not go anywhere near that figure. You can argue about how much paperwork an SME can bear; it is much harder to argue against having working hours reliably recorded.

What makes sense to do now

The concessions ease the burden on SMEs, but the timeline the Government is working to is measured in weeks. Adapting before publication in the BOE remains the sensible call, especially if your company still clocks in on paper or in a spreadsheet.

1. Check whether your current system records the hour and minute of clock-in, clock-out and breaks, and whether that data cannot be altered without leaving a trace.
2. If you clock in on paper or in Excel, assume it won’t pass muster and start the transition now, without waiting for the final text.
3. Keep an eye on the later ministerial order: that is where the specific technical requirements any tool will have to meet will be set out.
4. If you operate in a sector with shifts or remote work, consider a solution that handles the real operational side, not just the legal minimum.

Cleverfy, ready for the decree on its way

Cleverfy records working time to the exact hour and minute, keeps a tamper-proof trail of every clock-in and edit, separates regular hours, overtime and breaks, and retains the data for the four years the rules require. It works from web, mobile and tablet, starting at €1.50/employee/month.

Once the decree is published, the clock will be ticking against you. Try it free and be ready with compliance already sorted.

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Sources: El Español (19 Jun 2026)