The working hours control, mandatory by law since 2019, is a regulation that must be introduced to the workforce with clarity and transparency, allowing professionals to record their working hours correctly and enabling companies to maintain control over the working hours of all their employees.
Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, of March 8, on urgent measures for social protection and the fight against job insecurity in the workday, establishes working hours control in companies as a regulation. The aim is to ensure minimum and sufficient socioeconomic conditions for a dignified survival affecting workers, obliging them to record their working hours for proper compliance and remuneration.
If the company does not comply with the working hours control law, it will be forced to pay a fine according to the infraction committed. The least serious fines range from 60 to 625 euros, generally imposed when the company does not inform employees about working conditions, limiting their knowledge about recording their working hours. Serious fines range from 625 to 6,250 euros, imposed when workers neither register nor get paid for overtime. The most severe fines range from 6,250 to 187,515 euros, given when the employee has worked more than 80 overtime hours, or when overtime hours are not correctly registered, or when workers under 18 years have worked overtime.
The law outlines different variables to know exactly when and who should record their working hours, and it also provides companies with the freedom to choose the preferred solutions or strategies to control their employees’ working hours.
5 Keys to Controlling the Workday
How to control compliance with the working hours? While it is important to have a digital tool that covers the working hours record, provides necessary data and reports, and respects workers’ rights such as privacy and digital disconnection, it is also crucial that all organization members know the basic keys and guidelines to ensure compliance with the working hours.
Identify the Company’s Needs
Before choosing a tool or software for labor registration for the company, it is important to carefully study what the needs are, what work models are handled, and the established level of labor flexibility. Considering the activity and business work sector, while respecting employees’ rights.
This way, it will be possible to evaluate the implementation of a solution that generates the least possible impact on both productivity and economic profitability, ultimately ensuring compliance with working hours control and proper recording according to legal regulations.
Seek an Appropriate Recording Solution for Working Hours Control
As previously mentioned, the working hours recording law gives companies the freedom to decide on the most appropriate method or solution for controlling working hours.
The company, once its needs have been studied, can decide whether to choose clocking machines, fingerprint recording systems, Excel templates, mobile applications, or working hours control software. The latter is the most recommended and comprehensive alternative, as the recording is done automatically from company devices, keeping reports and hour imputations up to date.
The ideal method or solution must allow for objective records and maintain reports that guarantee the reliability and invariability of the data recorded, either manually or digitally:
- Manual Workday Control: The worker is required to daily record their workday using a template, including start time, breaks, end time, and signature. The company must detail the working hours, including overtime during full-time workdays or complementary hours in part-time workdays.
- Digital Workday Control: This is done through working hours control software or a workday recording application, allowing daily clocking from work devices.
These tools allow obtaining all the required information objectively and in real-time, ensuring the indicated record. As a digital solution, workers do not need to sign a document or record template since the system recognizes the employee to whom certain working hours are attributed, allowing the company to justify the worker’s involvement in the selected digital alternative.
Record Working Hours Daily
Companies must ensure compliance with the workday through the daily recording of each employee’s working hours. This must include the complete start and end times once the workday is concluded. Such recording should include breaks to ensure effective digital disconnection and promote the employee’s mental and physical well-being. It is crucial to understand that daily recording is a labor responsibility of the company, and it is the company that must ensure the employee carries it out.
Provide Access to Information on Working Hours Control
It is important to note that during a labor inspection, the labor inspector will require an updated record with information on all company employees. This information must be easily accessible, regardless of the physical location to be inspected.
Assign a Responsible Person for Workday Control
Regardless of the chosen working hours control solution, it is advisable to designate an internal person responsible, either by department or directly a member of the human resources department, for supervising and controlling compliance with the workday and its proper recording. The responsible person will validate that the process is carried out correctly, managing any issues that may arise.
Workers should also know about this responsible figure for working hours recording so that they can approach them in case of doubts, justified modifications, or omissions in the record.
What Are the Recording Reports Required to Comply with the Workday Control Law?
Once the solution covering the specific needs of the company has been established and a person responsible for working hours control has been designated, it must be clear that the law requires maintaining two types of updated workday records.
Daily Workday Record Report
According to articles 12.4 and 35.5 of the Workers’ Statute, each employee is obliged to keep a daily record of the workday, whether the contract is part-time or full-time, and regardless of whether overtime is worked.
Monthly Workday Record Report
The company is required to prepare, for each worker, a monthly summary with all the information on their daily record. This document is generally an annex to the employee’s payroll and can be provided in paper or through an electronic medium that certifies receipt of the document.
This report must also be provided to the Workers’ Legal Representation and kept for 4 years, as it will be requested during an inspection.
Once the key guidelines for controlling the workday and properly recording working hours are clear, it is important to enhance internal strategies to keep employees motivated and create the habit of accurately fulfilling their working hours record, thus enabling the company to stay up-to-date with its legal obligations.
