Mandatory digital time tracking in Spain, Royal Decree status and when it takes effect

Updated 14 October 2026. The Royal Decree that turns Spain’s time record into a digital, tamper-proof system remotely accessible to the Labour Inspectorate has still not been approved, and it now faces a cut-off date: on 6 October the BOE published the dissolution of the Cortes Generales (Spain’s parliament) and the call for a general election on 29 November. Because it is being processed as a royal decree and not as a law, the Cabinet can approve it until that date without going through parliament; from 30 November the Government will be a caretaker government and the Government Act limits it to the ordinary handling of public affairs (Spain’s clock-in decree can still pass before 29 November). The UGT union wants it out before the election and the self-employed workers’ federation ATA fears it will be approved without social dialogue (talks with unions and employers); Labour has not set a date. On 2 October Labour’s Secretary of State, Joaquín Pérez Rey, said the review of the text was complete and that he hoped its path to the Cabinet would be cleared during the month, although he gave no date (Spain’s Labour Ministry targets October for clock-in decree). On 12 October, Government sources quoted by El Español said the decree will come out before 29 November together with the rise in the SMI (Spain’s minimum wage), while La Vanguardia wrote that “nobody dares to make a forecast any more”; the 13 October Cabinet meeting did not include it (Díaz wants the clock-in decree and minimum wage before 29N). June, July and September had already been missed (on 25 September the Government confirmed it would not come out that month). According to sources close to the Prime Minister’s office quoted at the time, Labour and Economy are no longer at odds and are jointly reworking the text, together with the State Attorney’s Office, to respond to the Council of State, which concluded in March that “the proposed royal decree should not be approved”. Its endorsement is not mandatory, but the Government wants it so the rule can withstand the court challenge announced by the CEOE employers’ association. More than a year has passed since the Cabinet declared its processing urgent (30 September 2025). Until then, the rule that binds you is article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute, which requires recording working hours but does not mandate a digital format. This guide explains what is in force today, what the draft foresees and what to do before it lands.

⚡ The Royal Decree in 30 seconds

Question	Answer as of 14 October 2026
Is it in force?	No. It has been neither approved nor published in the BOE.
When will it be approved?	No date. Labour pointed to October (2 Oct). With the election on 29 Nov, the Cabinet can approve it until then without going through parliament.
What is mandatory today?	Art. 34.9: daily time records, including paper or Excel if reliable.
What will change?	Digital only, automatic, tamper-proof, with remote Inspectorate access.
When will it be enforceable?	The latest draft sets 20 days after the BOE, but Labour has said application will be triggered by a ministerial order on technical requirements that has not been drafted yet. Economy wants a long transition period for SMEs.
Fines today?	LISOS: €70 – €7,500.
Expected fines?	The same as today: a royal decree cannot amend the LISOS.
Who does it affect?	Every company with employees, from 1 worker. Self-employed with no staff are exempt.

How to use this page: we update it with every official development. If you want the step-by-step rollout, see the complete time tracking guide for SMEs; if you are choosing a tool, see the requirements your software must meet.

When does mandatory digital clock-in take effect?

There is no date. That is the only honest answer as of 14 October 2026, and you should be wary of any vendor quoting you a firm date.

What we do know:

• 12-13 October 2026: El Español reports, citing Government sources, that Labour will approve the 2027 minimum wage and digital time tracking before 29 November, and that Díaz and Cuerpo have put their differences behind them. On the same day La Vanguardia argues that “nobody dares to make a forecast any more” and that the decree “may miss the last train of this parliamentary term”. The 13 October Cabinet meeting did not include it. Six ordinary meetings remain before the election (Díaz wants the clock-in decree and minimum wage before 29N).
• 5-8 October 2026: the Government calls a general election for 29 November (Royal Decree 806/2026, BOE of 6 October). The time-tracking decree survives because it is a regulation: it needs no validation by the Cortes and the Government keeps all its powers until the election. UGT wants it approved before 29 November (“legally there is nothing to prevent the Cabinet from approving it,” Pepe Álvarez said on 6 October) and adds that the latest information it had was that the text was being finalised to go back to the Council of State. Lorenzo Amor (ATA) warned the same day that it may appear “at a Cabinet meeting” and called it a “new punishment” for the self-employed. Labour has not confirmed a date (Spain’s clock-in decree can still pass before 29 November).
• 2 October 2026: Joaquín Pérez Rey, Labour’s Secretary of State, says the work to overcome the Council of State’s objections “as far as possible” is complete and hopes the decree’s path to the Cabinet will be cleared during October. According to his explanation, the text now relies on occupational health and safety powers as its legal basis, strengthens data protection and gives a bigger role to collective bargaining. He gave no date and did not clarify whether the text will go back to the Council of State (Spain’s Labour Ministry targets October for clock-in decree).
• 25-26 September 2026: the Government confirms the decree will not be approved in September. It was not discussed at the preparatory meetings for the Cabinet, whose agenda is taken up by measures against rising prices driven by the conflict in Iran and by the housing decree. According to sources close to the Prime Minister’s office, Labour and Economy are no longer at odds: they are working together, with the State Attorney’s Office, on changes that will satisfy the Council of State, whose opinion criticises the regulation for imposing new obligations without a law to back them and for failing to guarantee staff data protection. “The key to time tracking is in Carmen Calvo’s hands,” sources familiar with the negotiation sum up, referring to the body’s president (the decree misses September too).
• 21 September 2026: UGT raises the pressure. Pepe Álvarez admits he has “no idea” where the reform stands and warns the union will consider not signing any new deal with the Government until it is approved. Díaz tells him the text is still in “a legal-adjustment process” (UGT threatens to freeze its deals).
• 9 September 2026: Yolanda Díaz (Labour) announces that digital time tracking will be approved immediately once the legal changes requested by the Council of State are incorporated, and confirms there is a deal with the Economy Ministry and the PSOE. She did not set a BOE publication date. The announcement follows pressure from UGT, whose general secretary, Pepe Álvarez, had demanded the process be reactivated.
• 24 July 2026: the ministries led by Yolanda Díaz (Labour) and Carlos Cuerpo (Economy) agree to take the rule to the Cabinet in September, after several weeks of work addressing the Council of State’s objections. Europa Press reported it with sources from both departments. It is the latest chapter of a long-running tension between Labour and Economy.
• The agreement comes despite the CCOO and UGT ultimatum, which had set a 31 July deadline.
• It is being processed as a Royal Decree, not as a law: it does not go through Congress. That speeds things up once there is internal agreement within the Government.
• The CEOE employers’ association has announced it will appeal in court if the decree is approved, arguing that a regulation cannot impose new obligations on companies and workers (the same hierarchy-of-norms argument raised in the Council of State’s opinion). Avoiding a court annulment is precisely what is now delaying approval.

Once published, Labour’s latest draft provides for entry into force after 20 days. Two caveats could stretch that out. Economy went as far as requesting a one-year grace period for SMEs, following the Verifactu precedent. And the Secretary of State for Labour, Joaquín Pérez Rey, explained in early September that the new obligations will only apply once a ministerial order sets the system’s technical requirements; the order went to public consultation in March but still has no draft. “That is where we will set the entry into force,” he said. None of this is firm until the BOE.

Could it slip to 2027?

It is looking more likely by the day. The process has accumulated: an unfavourable Council of State opinion (19 March 2026), critical reports from Economy and the Civil Service ministry, the appeal announced by the CEOE, and a string of missed dates (before 21 June, before August, the July Cabinet meeting and September). The “immediately” that Díaz announced on 9 September did not materialise, and Labour’s new reference point, October, is an expectation with no Cabinet date. The 29 November election adds a limit: if it does not come out before then, the caretaker government would have to justify urgency or the general interest to approve it, and failing that, the decision will pass to the government that emerges from the polls. If the text has to go back to the Council of State and the ministerial order on technical requirements still has to follow, digital time recording is unlikely to become enforceable in practice before 2027, just as happened with Verifactu.

What this does not change: time recording has been mandatory since 2019 and the Inspectorate already issues fines. Waiting for the BOE is a bad bet, and we explain why below with case law.

🔔 Timeline of the legislative process

Most recent first:

• 14 Oct 2026. Díaz wants the clock-in decree and minimum wage before 29N
• 8 Oct 2026. Spain’s clock-in decree can still pass before 29 November
• 2 Oct 2026. Spain’s Labour Ministry targets October for clock-in decree
• 25 Sep 2026. Spain’s digital time-tracking decree misses September and now waits on the Council of State
• 21 Sep 2026. UGT threatens to freeze its deals and admits it does not know where the decree stands
• 9 Sep 2026. Díaz guarantees immediate approval after the Council of State’s changes
• 26 Aug 2026. August ends with no BOE publication. Approval is still expected in September, now imminent.
• 24 Jul 2026. Labour and Economy agree to postpone approval to September.
• 21 Jul 2026. Díaz says she is “very optimistic” and that the rule is “practically ready”.
• 13 Jul 2026. Labour concedes to the Council of State to unblock the rule
• 3 Jul 2026. Labour points to the July Cabinet meeting
• 1 Jul 2026. CCOO and UGT set a 31 July deadline
• 19 Jun 2026. Labour accepts Economy’s changes and unblocks the decree
• 16 Jun 2026. Unions push for immediate approval
• 2 Jun 2026. Pérez Rey: it will be approved before the summer
• 12 May 2026. Díaz: final administrative steps
• 7 May 2026. The Government locks it into its Regulatory Plan
• 6 May 2026. Forecast: before 21 June
• 31 Mar 2026. Economy requests a one-year deadline for SMEs
• 25 Mar 2026. Díaz: it will go ahead despite the Council of State
• 23 Mar 2026. Unfavourable Council of State opinion
• 28 Feb 2026. Labour announces imminent approval of the regulation

What the law requires TODAY (and this is not up for debate)

Many companies have been waiting for the Royal Decree and let their guard down on what is already enforceable. Since 12 May 2019 (Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, which introduced art. 34.9):

• Every company with employees must keep a daily time record, with start and end times.
• It applies from 1 employee, in any sector, with any contract type (full-time, part-time, temporary) and also in remote work (art. 14 of Law 10/2021).
• Records must be kept for 4 years and made available to staff, to workers’ legal representatives and to the Inspectorate.
• Self-employed workers with no employees are exempt. With employees, the obligation is the same as for any company: if you are self-employed with staff, it applies to you.

Formally, paper and Excel are still valid today if they are reliable. In practice, case law has been narrowing that margin for years: some rulings have rejected paper records for relying on estimated times, and others have upheld fines for spreadsheets edited after the fact with no change trail. We have analysed real cases: from the ABaC restaurant ordered to pay overtime to the €15,250 fine for correcting records with correction fluid.

In short: the risk does not start when the BOE publishes, it already exists.

What exactly will change with the new Royal Decree

Based on known drafts and the text that went through the Council of State. The final version may differ.

1. Digital records only

Time records will have to be kept electronically:

• ❌ Signed paper sheets
• ❌ Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets)
• ❌ Any non-traceable manual method
• ✅ Software with timestamping and traceability

2. Automatic, immutable and traceable records

• Automatic: no one has to transcribe the data afterwards.
• Tamper-proof timestamp: no change without leaving a trail.
• Individual identification of each worker.
• Clock-in, clock-out and breaks with exact times.
• Full change history: who modified what, when and why.

3. Remote access and interoperability with the Inspectorate

This is the deepest change. The Labour Inspectorate will be able to consult records remotely with no prior request and no on-site visit. In practice your system must:

• Be available online with centralised data.
• Allow immediate access, not “I’ll email it to you tomorrow”.
• Be interoperable: drafts point to a standardised protocol letting the Inspectorate query data automatically.

This is the point that rules out local systems, files on an office computer and, obviously, paper.

4. Four-year retention

The current period stays, but with more content: clock-ins and clock-outs, every modification, incident justifications and a full history per worker. A free plan that only stores 30 days of history does not cover this.

5. All work arrangements

On-site, remote, hybrid and mobile (sales reps, delivery drivers, field staff). The draft also reinforces the distinction between on-site and remote working time.

6. Documented overtime

Every overtime hour must be recorded, along with evidence of how it is compensated: pay or equivalent time off.

7. Contingency backup system

The draft requires companies to have a manual backup procedure for system outages or lack of connectivity, with subsequent upload to the digital system. It is not a return to paper: it is a documented plan B.

Fines: what applies today and what is expected

Current regime (LISOS)

Type of infringement	Fine
Minor	€70 – €750
Serious	€751 – €7,500

The amount rises with severity, repeat offences and the number of people affected. These fines already apply: there are companies fined for hiding overtime and dismissals ruled unfair over fictitious clock-ins. The full breakdown is in our guide to time-tracking penalties.

What the draft foresees

The amounts do not change. Infringements and penalties are set in the LISOS, which has the force of law, and a royal decree cannot create new penalties or alter existing ones (article 25 of the Spanish Constitution and article 27 of Law 40/2015). Counting one infringement per affected worker, with fines of up to €10,000, was part of the bill to cut the working week to 37.5 hours, which Congress rejected on 10 September 2025. What the decree does change is what counts as a valid record: if it is approved, a record kept on paper or in an editable spreadsheet would become a breach punishable by the amounts in the table (we explain it here).

For perspective: compliance costs from €1.20 per user per month, less than the lowest minor fine spread over four years.

What do I do while the BOE waits?

Short answer: comply with art. 34.9 now, using a system that also meets what is coming. That way you do not migrate twice.

Step 1: audit your situation

• Do you keep time records today? Daily?
• Digital or manual?
• Does it have timestamping and change traceability?
• Does it distinguish on-site from remote?
• Could you hand over 4 years of history if asked tomorrow?

If you hesitate on any of these, take the 2-minute compliance test.

Step 2: pick a tool you will not have to replace when the decree hits the BOE

Look for time-tracking software that already delivers:

• ✅ Digital records with timestamping
• ✅ Traceability of every modification
• ✅ On-site / remote distinction
• ✅ Access for staff, workers’ representatives and the Inspectorate
• ✅ Four-year retention (not 30 days)
• ✅ Daily and monthly totals
• ✅ Report export in standard formats
• ✅ Offline operation, storing the real clock-in time

Step 3: roll it out

With tools like Cleverfy, setup takes under 10 minutes:

1. Create the company account.
2. Add your staff.
3. Configure schedules and work centres.
4. Your team clocks in from the app, the web, the Chrome extension, a tablet kiosk with a PIN, or even from the official Cleverfy app in ChatGPT.

If your case has sector specifics, we have dedicated guides for hospitality (split shifts, high turnover), construction (on-site clock-in, no coverage) and logistics (field staff).

Step 4: keep it alive

• Check that everyone clocks in, every week.
• Handle incidents and corrections leaving a trail.
• Generate monthly reports for payroll.
• Keep the data accessible at any time.

Conclusion

Time recording is already mandatory and already fined. The Royal Decree that will make it digital, tamper-proof and interoperable with the Inspectorate still has no date, now that the September deadline has also been missed (Labour pointed to October and the Government can approve it without the Cortes until the 29 November election), but its direction is not in doubt: automatic, traceable records that can be consulted remotely.

The practical reading for an SME is that there is nothing to gain by waiting. Migrating now takes 10 minutes and costs from €1.20 per user per month; migrating the day it appears in the BOE costs the same, but in a rush and with no room to train the team.

If you are still deciding which system to implement, start with the employee presence control guide: system types, costs and common mistakes.

Start a free 14-day trial → · Book a 15-min demo →

---

Legal note: this article is informational and does not constitute legal advice. As of 14 October 2026 the Royal Decree on digital time recording has still been neither approved nor published in the BOE; Labour hopes to take it to the Cabinet in October, with no official date, and the Government can approve it by royal decree until the general election on 29 November. Cleverfy complies with the regulation in force (art. 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute) and is designed to meet the expected requirements of the new Royal Decree. We update this page with every official development.