Company obligations regarding teleworking and time monitoring

Although in recent months there have been many reports that many large companies are advocating for their employees to return to the office, the truth is that teleworking enjoys a degree of implementation in Spain that was unimaginable before 2020, when health measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic forced thousands of workplaces to close.

However, the law popularly known as the Working Hours Control Law (Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, of 8 March, on urgent measures for social protection and the fight against job insecurity in the working day) predates these events. We therefore understand that you may have some questions about the obligations that companies have when employees work from home.

But what is meant by time control?

Time control is simply attendance control. It is used to count the hours that an employee spends performing the tasks for which they have been hired.

The reason why the aforementioned law was passed in 2019 was to control and reduce the number of overtime hours, especially unpaid overtime, that many workers were forced to work. It was also designed to facilitate a better work-life balance.

Is time tracking mandatory for teleworkers?

Of course it is. In fact, it does not matter that the law we mentioned above predates the boom in remote working in Spain, as it refers to 100% of employees, regardless of the work they do or the sector they belong to. This is clear from the fact that it led to the amendment of the Workers' Statute, which is the law governing all workers in Spain.

What are the company's obligations regarding time recording for teleworking?

Just as if the work were carried out in person, companies that offer their employees the possibility of teleworking are obliged to keep a reliable daily record of working hours. This must clearly show the start and end times, as well as any breaks taken by employees. This data must be entered by the employees themselves and then stored by the company for at least four years.

It is therefore understood that it is the company's obligation to provide its remote employees with a time recording and teleworking system that is appropriate to the specificities of this modality. For example, by providing a mobile application or digital platform that allows secure user authentication and complies with the control and accessibility requirements demanded by the labour inspectorate. Failure to do so is grounds for sanctions.

Other obligations that companies have with regard to monitoring teleworking hours

As mentioned above, companies are required to record the working hours of their remote employees and, therefore, to provide them with an adequate platform for this purpose. However, they must also:

• Provide permanent access to the information collected: employees, trade unions and labour inspectors can review the hours worked and overtime accumulated. The aim is to monitor compliance with the working conditions set out in the Workers' Statute or the current sectoral agreement.
• Transparency: remote employees must know the distribution and duration of their working day in advance. However, this does not prevent the parties from signing flexible working time agreements.
• Obligation to report overtime: companies must inform their teleworkers and trade union representatives of any overtime worked.

In general, it should be remembered that the law prohibits employees, whether working on-site or remotely, from working more than 48 hours per week (including overtime). The law also guarantees them a minimum of 11 consecutive hours of rest between the end of one shift and the start of the next, and 22 working days of holiday per year.

As we have already mentioned, people who telework are treated in the same way as those who work on site. Therefore, companies have the same obligations towards them in terms of recording working hours and monitoring timetables. If you believe that your rights in this regard are not being respected, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will help you with whatever you need.