What is the fine for not keeping a working hours record in Spain?

A serious offence

The LISOS (Ley sobre Infracciones y Sanciones en el Orden Social, the Spanish law on labour and social security offences) classes breaches of working-time rules, including the time recording obligation (Article 7.5), as a serious offence. Serious offences carry fines of €751 to €7,500 (Article 40.1.b), in three bands:

• Minimum band: €751 to €1,500.
• Medium band: €1,501 to €3,750.
• Maximum band: €3,751 to €7,500.

The band depends, among other things, on the number of employees affected, whether it is a repeat offence and the harm caused. Reforms currently going through parliament plan to toughen this and count one offence per affected employee, so it is best not to put it off.

What the Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo) checks

• That there is a daily record for all employees, with start and finish times.
• That it shows the hours actually worked, not a theoretical timetable copied day after day.
• That it is kept for four years and can be produced on the spot.
• That hours beyond the agreed working day are paid or compensated as overtime.

The costliest risk: overtime

If an employee claims overtime and the company has no reliable record, the judge may accept the hours the employee says they worked. A good record protects the business as much as the employee.

How to avoid the fine

1. Use a system that records the actual time when staff clock in and out.
2. Make sure clock-ins cannot be deleted: any corrections must show who made them and why.
3. Check every month for days with missing or incomplete clock-ins.
4. Download and keep the monthly record.

Want to sort it out without paperwork? With Easy Fichajes your staff clock in from their mobile and you have the record ready for the Labour Inspectorate: €22 a month with 5 employees included, no tie-in.