The Supreme Court exempts companies from the obligation to keep a record of workers' daily working hours
The Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court has established in a ruling last March that companies are not obliged to keep a record of the daily working hours of the entire workforce to verify compliance with the agreed working hours and schedules, as we reported in the article The obligation to record the working hours of full-time workers, but only they must keep a record of overtime hours worked, according to their interpretation of what is established in article 35.5 of the Workers' Statute.
Practical application of the aforementioned ruling:
- There is no obligation to keep a daily record of the working hours of employees who provide services on a full-time basis.
Contrary to the guidelines issued by the Labor Inspectorate and the rulings of the National Court, the Supreme Court declares that there is no obligation to use a daily record of the ordinary working hours of workers who provide services on a full-time basis.
- Obligation to record the overtime hours worked daily by all employees.
The Supreme Court, in its ruling of March 23, interprets that the obligation to keep a record of working hours refers to overtime worked by the company's employees.
- Obligation to keep a daily record of the working hours of employees who provide services to the company on a part-time basis, mobile workers, those in the merchant marine sector and railway workers.
The Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court expressly states in the aforementioned ruling that companies MUST keep a record of the daily working hours for workers who provide services to the company on a part-time basis, mobile workers, those in the merchant marine sector and railway workers.
- Failure to keep or incorrect keeping of records is not classified as an infraction.
The practical consequence of such a statement made by the High Court implies that all sanctions imposed by the Labor Inspectorate relating to the daily recording of the working hours of workers who provide services on a full-time basis do not conform to this interpretation of the current legislation, and therefore it is advisable to challenge them before the Social Jurisdiction.
Do you have any questions about this topic?
Our team of expert advisors will help you resolve any issues related to our services.
Contact us now
A graduate in Law from the University of Barcelona, she also completed a Master's degree specializing in Labor Law and Social Security at the Barcelona Bar Association. She began her professional career as an intern while studying and later joined the Navarro Law Firm as an employment lawyer, advising companies nationwide on labor law matters and representing them before the Labor Courts, the Labor Inspectorate, in conciliation proceedings, etc. In February 2017, she joined Àmbit Jurídic i Econòmic as a professional partner after extensive experience as an employment lawyer.
Latest posts by Laura Rodríguez Nuñez
(see all)
Related
