We already commented a few days ago, in an article by the partner of the Labor Department of Tomarial, Santiago Blanes Mompó, that on September 10th the bill to reduce the maximum length of the ordinary working day, to tighten the daily registration of working hours and to reinforce the right to digital disconnection was rejected in the Congress of Deputies, and that this rejection was a setback for the government, and more specifically for our Minister of Labor, who had made this issue their flagship, anticipating that it would not take long to legislate on important labor issues.
The article was not mistaken, because a particularly sensitive issue, the recording of working hours, is already being discussed again. The Government intends to process, via Royal Decree, new obligations regarding the recording of working hours. This Royal Decree will expand on the obligation to record working hours, an obligation currently provided for in Article 34.9 of the Workers' Statute.
Given that the bills are failing to advance, attempts continue to be made to introduce major changes via Royal Decree, whether or not they are matters of urgent need. This is the only remaining instrument to advance issues that, if a majority in Congress were required, would not be passed.
Therefore, an initial reflection is that this Royal Decree (currently still in draft or proposal form) is being implemented as a result of the failure to process the Law that sought, among other things, to reduce the working week to 37,5 hours.
Regarding the purpose of this Royal Decree, which has not yet been approved, it ultimately regulates in detail the obligation of all companies to implement and maintain a daily workday registration system, how they should do so, and which system must be objective, reliable, and accessible, and must meet the following characteristics:
- Mandatory digitalization, ensuring the traceability and immutability of data.
- The minimum required content includes: records in the registration system must include the employee's identification; their working hours; the exact time and minute of the start and end of the working day, breaks, and waiting times; the type of work (in-person or remote); the hours corresponding to the exercise of work-life balance rights, flexible working hours, or irregular work-day distribution; the start and end of interruptions for digital disconnection; the nature of the hours (regular, overtime, complementary), etc.
- Manage modifications, requiring authorization from both the company and the employee, with a permanent record of the authorship and reason, as well as any discrepancies.
- Access and consultation: Employees and their representatives must be able to access and obtain copies of records immediately, ensuring the protection of personal data. The Labor Inspectorate may also access them, and this can be done remotely. The company must guarantee confidentiality and data protection, minimizing the amount of personal information processed and ensuring restricted access to records.
- Development of an internal protocol, in consultation with the legal representatives of the employees, to organize and document the registry, including a periodic evaluation system.
It's important to note that these new legal requirements will require the adaptation or replacement of current timekeeping systems, which will necessarily entail an investment in technology as well as training.
Regarding the timeframes for these changes, and considering that they would be processed through the urgent procedure, our companies will need to adapt within a short period of time. However, it should be noted that until this Royal Decree is published, it must be filtered through reports or consultations from certain organizations, such as the Council of State, the Technical General Secretariat of the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, the Ministries of Economy, Trade and Business, and Digital Transformation and Civil Service; the Spanish Data Protection Agency; and the Office of Regulatory Coordination and Quality, as well as business and union organizations.
The forecast is that it will be released by the end of 2025.
As you can see, more obligations.
Esther Micó García
Labor Department Collaborator
