Published on August 27, 2026 · The mitza.es team
Spain's government has spent months working on a key labor reform: turning time tracking into a digital, automated, verifiable process that's accessible in real time to the Labor Inspectorate. The reform is still in the regulatory drafting stage and, although the goal is to pass it during 2026, there's still no official date of entry into force published in the BOE, Spain's official gazette.
What would actually change
The main change is simple to understand: time tracking will no longer be allowed on paper, in a spreadsheet, or through equivalent manual methods. It will have to be a digital system that records clock-ins and clock-outs in a verifiable way, with real-time access for the Labor Inspectorate whenever it's required.
Where the process stands
As of July 2026, Spain's Ministries of Labor and Economy agreed to bring the reform back to negotiation in September, in order to resolve the observations raised by the Council of State. The Ministry of Labor is reviewing the text to incorporate those observations, with the expectation that the final Royal Decree will be approved during 2026. The adaptation period for companies, once approved, is still under debate: between six months and a year, depending on company size.
The penalties being considered
The draft contemplates toughening the penalty regime: fines could stop being calculated per company and instead be calculated per affected worker, with amounts that could reach up to €10,000. It's a shift in approach that could multiply the real cost of non-compliance for businesses with several employees.
Why it's not worth waiting for the official date
It's the same pattern we've already seen with other regulations with shifting timelines, like the VeriFactu delay: the exact date can move, but the direction of the change doesn't. Companies that already manage their processes with basic digital tools will have a much easier adaptation than those that still depend on paper or scattered spreadsheets for everything.
How we see it at Mitza
We don't offer time-tracking software, but if your business still handles basic administrative processes manually and you want to start digitizing them with margin, before a regulation forces you to do it in a rush, we can help you figure out what to digitize first with an audit of your current processes.