The part-time working time record in Spain (the registro de jornada a tiempo parcial) has its own rules, and they are stricter than those for the rest of the workforce. It is not enough to note the start and end times: the hours must be totaled each month, that summary must be given to the employee together with the payslip, and it must be kept for four years. If this is not done, Spanish law presumes the contract is full-time.
This guide explains what Article 12.4.c of the Spanish Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, ET) says, what the monthly summary must include, how complementary hours (horas complementarias) fit in, and which mistakes are repeated most often. Everything has been checked against the consolidated text in the BOE (Spain’s Official State Gazette).
What the law says
The rule is in Article 12.4.c of the Workers’ Statute, and it predates the daily record that was imposed on all companies in 2019:
“The working time of part-time workers shall be recorded day by day and totaled monthly, with a copy delivered to the worker, together with the payslip, of the summary of all hours worked in each month, both ordinary and complementary.”
The same article adds two things: the company must keep the monthly summaries for at least four years, and if it fails to comply with these record-keeping obligations, the contract is presumed to have been entered into on a full-time basis, unless it proves that it was truly part-time.
A contract is part-time when fewer hours are agreed per day, week, month, or year than those of a comparable full-time worker. It does not matter whether it is thirty hours a week or four.
The four obligations
- Record day by day. The actual start and end time of each workday, not the contract schedule.
- Total each month. Add up all the hours in the month, separating ordinary from complementary hours.
- Deliver a copy with the payslip. The summary must be given to the employee together with the payslip. It is not enough to let them consult it: it must be handed over.
- Keep the summaries for four years. At the very least, and available to Spain’s Labour and Social Security Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social).
In addition, the contract must be in writing and state how many ordinary hours are worked per day, week, month, or year, and how they are distributed. Without that, full-time employment is also presumed (art. 12.4.a).
What the monthly summary includes
The law does not set a template. What it requires is that the summary include “all hours worked in each month, both ordinary and complementary.” In practice, a defensible summary includes:
- the company and the employee, with the month it refers to;
- each day worked, with start and end time;
- the ordinary and complementary hours for each day;
- the monthly total of each;
- proof that the employee received it.
This is what an example week looks like, with a 20-hour-per-week contract from Monday to Friday:
| Day | Start | End | Ordinary | Complementary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9:58 | 14:02 | 4 h | 0 h |
| Tuesday | 10:00 | 14:00 | 4 h | 0 h |
| Wednesday | 10:01 | 15:00 | 4 h | 1 h |
| Thursday | 10:00 | 14:01 | 4 h | 0 h |
| Friday | 9:59 | 16:00 | 4 h | 2 h |
| Total | 20 h | 3 h |
The hours in the example are the actual ones, including minutes. A summary in which every day starts and ends at the exact contract time suggests that nothing has been recorded.
So you do not have to build it from scratch, our timesheet template for Spain includes a monthly summary sheet that fills itself in with the month’s totals.
Complementary hours
Someone working part-time cannot do overtime, except in cases of force majeure: those needed to prevent or repair accidents and other extraordinary and urgent damage. Extra hours are called complementary hours and have their own rules (art. 12.5):
| Agreed | Voluntary | |
|---|---|---|
| How they arise | Specific written agreement with the employee | The company offers them and the employee decides each time |
| Which contracts | At least 10 hours per week on an annual basis | Permanent contracts, with at least 10 hours per week on an annual basis |
| Limit | 30% of the contract’s ordinary hours; the collective agreement may raise it to 60% | 15% of ordinary hours; the collective agreement may raise it to 30% |
| Notice | Three days, unless the collective agreement sets a shorter one | None: they are either accepted or not |
| If the employee says no | They must do them if the agreement complies with the law | They cannot be sanctioned |
In both cases they are paid as ordinary hours, are subject to social security contributions, and must appear on the payslip. And the sum of ordinary and complementary hours can never reach the working time of a full-time employee.
Another rule affecting the record: if the daily shift is shorter than that of a full-time worker and it is split, it may only have one interruption, unless the collective agreement says otherwise (art. 12.4.b).
What happens if it is not complied with
The specific consequence for part-time work is the most expensive one: the contract is presumed to be full-time. It is the company that must prove that the employee worked fewer hours, and without a daily record or delivered summaries that proof is very difficult. On top of that come any wage and contribution differences that may be claimed.
There is also the general penalty. Failing to comply with working time record rules is a serious infringement (Article 7.5 of Spain’s Law on Infringements and Penalties in the Social Order, known as LISOS), with a fine from €751 to €7,500 depending on the level assessed by the Inspectorate.
How it differs from the daily record
Since 2019 all companies in Spain have kept a daily working time record (art. 34.9). The part-time record does not replace it: it is added to it.
| Daily record (art. 34.9) | Part-time (art. 12.4.c) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it applies to | All staff | Employees with a part-time contract |
| What is recorded | Start and end time of each workday | The same, plus the monthly total |
| Copy to the employee | Not mandatory; they may consult it | Mandatory, with the payslip |
| How long it is kept | Four years | At least four years |
| If missing | Serious infringement | Serious infringement and contract presumed full-time |
Someone working full-time and doing overtime has a similar rule: their working time is totaled in the pay period and a copy of the summary is given with the payslip (art. 35.5). We explain it in the guide to working time recording in Spain.
Common mistakes
- Using the schedule as the record. The schedule shows what was planned. The record shows what happened.
- Signing a sheet at the end of the month. If there is no daily record behind it, the summary does not hold up.
- Having the summary and not delivering it. The law requires a copy to be given with the payslip. It is advisable to be able to prove it was delivered.
- Doing extra hours without a written agreement. Agreed complementary hours require a specific written agreement.
- Mixing ordinary and complementary hours. The summary must distinguish them.
- Keeping only the payslips. Monthly summaries must be kept for four years.
How to do it, step by step
- Review the contracts. They must be in writing, with the hours and how they are distributed. If complementary hours are worked, there must be an agreement.
- Clock in every day at the actual time. Start, end, and breaks that are not work.
- Mark which hours are complementary. Those that go beyond the ordinary hours in the contract.
- Close the month. Add ordinary and complementary hours and check the limits.
- Deliver the summary with the payslip and keep proof that the employee received it.
- Keep the summaries for four years.
The part-time summary, done automatically, with Fichómetro
Fichómetro (our own product) is a working time recording app designed for small businesses in Spain. Each person clocks in with one tap from their mobile or computer and, when the month closes, the app prepares the monthly part-time summary, emails each person, and stores their acknowledgment. Nobody can alter a clock-in: corrections are added with their reason and author. It is free forever for 1 person. For more, €2 per active person per month, plus taxes, with a 30-day trial and no card required. The app is available in English, Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque.
Frequently asked questions
Does the working time record have to be given to part-time workers?
Yes. Unlike the rest of the workforce, part-time workers are given each month, with the payslip, a copy of the summary of all hours in the month.
Is there an official template for part-time working time records?
No. The law says what the summary must include, the ordinary and complementary hours of each month, but it does not impose a format.
Does the employee have to sign the summary?
The law speaks of delivering a copy, not of signing it. Even so, it is advisable to keep proof of delivery: a signature, an acknowledgment of receipt, or confirmation stored in the app.
Can someone working part-time do overtime?
No, except in cases of force majeure. Hours beyond the contract schedule are complementary and have their own limits.
How many complementary hours can be worked?
Agreed ones, up to 30% of the contract’s ordinary hours, or up to 60% if allowed by the collective agreement. Voluntary ones, up to 15%, or 30% by collective agreement, and only in permanent contracts.
What happens if the part-time working time record is not kept?
The contract is presumed to be full-time, unless the company proves otherwise. It is also a serious infringement, with a fine from €751 to €7,500.
How long are monthly summaries kept?
At least four years.
Conclusion
The part-time working time record in Spain requires four things: record each day, total each month, deliver the summary with the payslip, and keep it for four years. It is little work if done as you go, and very hard to reconstruct later, and what is at stake is the contract being treated as full-time.
This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your employment law advisor. Also check your collective agreement, which may change the limits on complementary hours and the notice period.
Useful links
- Working time recording in Spain: the general guide, with the fines and the status of the digital recording royal decree.
- Fichómetro: working time recording for small businesses, free for 1 person.
- Article 12 of the Workers’ Statute, in the BOE (in Spanish).
