The Government insists on taking the new digital timekeeping system to the Council of Ministers —with minute-by-minute clocking, remote access for Inspection, and an estimated cost of 867 million annually for companies— while Economy, CEOE, and the State's own advisory body demand fundamental changes.
The legal limit for the working day remains at 40 hours per week
The legal limit for the working day remains set at 40 hours per week and will continue to do so, at least, for the remainder of the legislature. The major law that intended to reduce it to 37.5 hours fell in the Congress of Deputies last September after the amendments in their entirety presented by PP, Vox, and Junts, were successful. Since then, the Executive has not registered a new bill to reinstate the measure.
However, the debate on working time has not disappeared. It has moved to the realm of timekeeping, where the Government is preparing a Royal Decree that it intends to approve before the summer holidays and which has already opened a conflict with the Ministry of Economy, the employers' association, and the Council of State.
A completely digital timekeeping system
The project, promoted by the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, would oblige all companies to record their workers' working hours exclusively by digital means, with the exact hour and minute of entry, exit, and breaks, differentiating between ordinary and overtime hours and guaranteeing the traceability of any modification to the record.
The Labor Inspectorate would have remote access to this data, which must be kept for a minimum of four years. The draft also incorporates specific provisions for teleworking, subcontracting, and temporary employment agencies, only allowing alternative systems when a competent technician certifies that they offer the same guarantees of reliability.
A highly critical opinion from the Council of State
The main obstacle to the decree has not come from the parliamentary opposition, but from the Council of State itself. In its opinion, it concludes that "it is not appropriate to approve" the text in its current wording, considering that it invades matters reserved for law, does not adequately analyze its economic impact, and does not sufficiently guarantee data protection, in line with the observations made by the Spanish Data Protection Agency.
The advisory body calculates that mandatory digitalization would have a cost of 867 million euros annually for 1.35 million companies and recommends adapting or excluding sectors with special working hours, such as hospitality, transport, or building superintendence. Despite this, the Ministry of Labor has described the opinion as "devastating and unfortunate" and maintains as red lines mandatory digital clocking, remote access for the Inspection, and traceability of records.
Labor and Economy clash over deadlines
The conflict is also being fought within the government itself. The draft foresees the decree coming into effect 20 days after its publication in the BOE, a timeline that the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, considers unfeasible for small and medium-sized enterprises. Economy proposes a one-year moratorium and the creation of a public time recording tool, similar to the platform planned for electronic invoicing. From Labor, they respond by accusing Economy of "aligning with employers' associations" and maintain that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, supports the model proposed by the department of Yolanda Díaz.
CEOE threatens to appeal and unions issue an ultimatum
The CEOE and Cepyme have fully supported the Council of State's opinion and maintain that the decree has a defect of nullity for violating the reservation of law, the right to data protection, imposing a disproportionate economic burden, and limiting the role of collective bargaining. Both organizations have already announced that they will go to court if the text is approved without changes.
On the opposite end, CCOO and UGT, who agreed to this reform with the Government within the framework of the agreement for the failed reduction of working hours, have set July 31 as the deadline. The general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, has warned that if by then there is no effective time control system, his organization will stop signing agreements that do not translate into real regulations. The leader of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, has gone a step further by stating that they "do not rule out any measure" if the decree remains unapproved during August.
Both unions recall that in Spain between 2.5 and 3 million unpaid overtime hours are worked each week and emphasize that both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have called on Spain for a reliable and objective time recording system.
What has been approved
While the decree remains pending, the Government has already implemented another of its measures regarding working time: the reduction of the working week to 35 hours in the General Administration of the State, agreed upon with UGT, CCOO, and CSIF. The measure, in effect since April, benefits approximately 250,000 public employees, with the exception of military personnel and State Security Forces and Corps.
In addition, the Congress is processing other initiatives related to labor rights, such as the draft law for the transposition of the European Directive on transparent working conditions, currently in the committee stage, which will strengthen the information that workers must receive about schedules, shifts, and unpredictable working hours.
Added to this are various initiatives on work-life balance and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, which clarifies that the 36-hour weekly rest and the 12-hour daily rest are cumulative rights and cannot overlap.
The countdown continues
As of today, the Royal Decree on time recording has not been approved nor published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), so the framework established by Royal Decree-Law 8/2019 remains in force.
The Ministry of Labor maintains its intention to submit the text to the Council of Ministers before the summer break, while a future Ministerial Order, still in the public consultation phase, will need to specify the technical and security requirements of the new digital system.
Until then, the decree remains a project that pits the Government against some of its institutional and social partners, while trade unions maintain pressure with an ultimatum that expires on July 31.