Guide · Spain and Germany
Employee time tracking law in Spain and Germany: what employers must record in 2026
Since the EU Court of Justice ruled in May 2019 that employers must measure daily working time, Spain and Germany both require employers to record their employees’ hours, whatever the company size. Neither country requires a digital system yet, and both are working on reforms that would. If you employ people in either country, here is what applies today, what is only a draft, and how the two compare.
Quick answer
- Spain
- Mandatory daily record of start and end times since 12 May 2019 (Workers’ Statute, art. 34.9). Kept 4 years. Fines €751–€7,500.
- Germany
- Mandatory recording of start, end and duration since the Federal Labour Court’s decision of 13 September 2022. Fines up to €30,000 under specific rules.
- Does it have to be digital?
- Not yet in either country. Paper and spreadsheets remain lawful if the records are reliable.
- Reforms
- Spain: digital-only decree stalled after a negative Council of State opinion (March 2026). Germany: ministry draft (June 2026) with long transition periods; no cabinet decision.
Why both countries require time records
In Case C-55/18 (14 May 2019), the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the Working Time Directive and the EU Charter require member states to make employers set up an “objective, reliable and accessible” system for measuring each worker’s daily working time. Without it, limits on maximum hours and rest periods cannot be enforced.
Spain had already legislated two months earlier. Germany never passed a specific law; its Federal Labour Court read the duty into existing occupational safety law in 2022.
Spain: the daily working-time record
- Rule: article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores), added by Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, in force since 12 May 2019.
- Who: every employer and every employee, including part-time, remote and mobile staff.
- What: the start and end time of each working day, per person.
- How: set by collective agreement or company agreement, or by the employer after consulting employee representatives. No format is prescribed; paper and spreadsheets are still valid.
- Retention: four years, available to employees, their representatives and the Labour Inspectorate.
- Fines: a serious offence under the LISOS, €751 to €7,500 per infringement.
- Reform: a royal decree would make the record digital only, filled in personally by each worker, traceable and immediately accessible to the Inspectorate. On 19 March 2026 the Council of State concluded that the draft should not be approved as it stood, citing the need for a law (data protection), the impact on small businesses and undefined technical requirements. Parliament was dissolved on 6 October 2026 ahead of the 29 November general election, and the decree has not been published. Read our Spanish guide for details.
Germany: recording start, end and duration
- Rule: since the Federal Labour Court decision of 13 September 2022 (1 ABR 22/21), section 3(2)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act obliges every employer to record start, end and duration of working time, including overtime.
- Who: every employer, regardless of size. Senior executives (leitende Angestellte) are excluded from the Working Hours Act.
- How: any reliable form: paper, spreadsheet, time clock or app.
- Specific rules with direct fines (up to €30,000): hours beyond eight per working day must be recorded and kept two years (§ 16(2) ArbZG). For mini-jobs and sectors listed in § 2a of the Undeclared Work Act (construction, hospitality, logistics and platform delivery, cleaning, security, hairdressing and cosmetics since 2026, and others), start, end and duration must be recorded within seven days and kept two years (§ 17 MiLoG).
- Reform: a Federal Labour Ministry draft that surfaced in June 2026 would require electronic, same-day recording, exempt businesses with up to 10 employees permanently from the electronic form, and give transition periods of 1, 2 or 5 years depending on size. It allows a weekly instead of daily maximum only through collective agreements. There is no cabinet decision; Alexander Schweitzer took over as labour minister on 14 October 2026, with pension reform as his priority. Read our German guide for the full timeline.
Spain and Germany side by side
| Spain | Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Workers’ Statute, art. 34.9 | Occupational Safety Act § 3 (BAG 2022); ArbZG § 16; MiLoG § 17 |
| In force since | 12 May 2019 | 13 September 2022 (court decision) |
| Company size | all | all |
| What to record | start and end of each day | start, end and duration |
| Digital required | no (draft decree would require it) | no (draft law would require it, with exemptions) |
| Retention | 4 years | at least 2 years |
| Maximum fine | €7,500 per infringement | €30,000 under ArbZG, MiLoG or an authority’s order |
| Reform status | Council of State: “should not be approved”; not published | ministry draft; no cabinet decision |
What international employers should do now
- Record daily, per person, in every country where you have employees, including remote hires.
- Track breaks, so that recorded hours reflect actual working time and overtime is visible.
- Make corrections traceable: who changed an entry, when and why, and who approved it.
- Keep records long enough: four years covers both countries’ minimums.
- Check collective agreements and consult works councils or employee representatives before introducing a system.
- Mind the GDPR: inform employees, limit access by role, avoid unnecessary data such as continuous geolocation or biometrics, and prefer EU hosting.
- Choose a system that already meets the drafts: personal, same-day, electronic and traceable. You will not need to switch again when the reforms land.
How Claimora fits
Claimora is time tracking and leave management built for companies in Spain and Germany, available in Spanish, German and English and hosted in the EU (Google Cloud, Belgium). Employees clock in and out with breaks from the browser or phone; managers approve corrections; HR exports per-employee monthly reports. AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT can clock in through Claimora’s MCP server. Pricing is per company, not per user: free for up to 10 employees, €5 a month for up to 100 and €20 a month for up to 1,000 (pricing).
Frequently asked questions
Do small companies have to track employee hours in Spain and Germany?
Yes. Both duties apply from the first employee. Germany’s draft reform would let businesses with up to 10 employees keep paper records permanently, but they would still have to record hours.
Do remote employees and part-timers need to clock in?
Yes. The obligation covers every employee, including part-time, remote and field staff. Spain has a specific duty to total part-time hours monthly; in Germany, mini-jobbers fall under the stricter Minimum Wage Act rules.
Is trust-based working time (Vertrauensarbeitszeit) still allowed in Germany?
Yes. The employer may choose not to monitor hours, but hours must still be recorded, and the draft reform would require the employer to learn about breaches of maximum hours and rest periods.
Can employees record their own hours with an app?
Yes, in both countries. The employer remains responsible: it must provide the system, check it, and protect the data under the GDPR. Spain’s draft decree would require each worker to clock in personally.
Do these rules apply to contractors?
No, they apply to employees. Genuine self-employed contractors record their own time for invoicing, not under working-time law. Misclassified contractors can, however, be treated as employees.
Sources
- CJEU judgment of 14 May 2019, Case C-55/18 (CCOO v Deutsche Bank) — EUR-Lex, 14 May 2019
- Spanish Workers' Statute, article 34.9 (consolidated text) — BOE (Spanish Official Gazette)
- Spanish Law on Social Order Offences and Penalties (LISOS), arts. 7.5 and 40 — BOE
- Council of State opinion 188/2026 on the draft working-time recording decree — Consejo de Estado (copy published by laboral-social.com), 19 March 2026
- Federal Labour Court, decision of 13 September 2022 – 1 ABR 22/21 — Bundesarbeitsgericht, 13 September 2022
- German Working Hours Act (ArbZG), § 16 — gesetze-im-internet.de
- German Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG), § 17 — gesetze-im-internet.de
- Swearing-in of Federal Labour Minister Alexander Schweitzer — German Bundestag, 14 October 2026