Time tracking for domestic workers in Spain (registro horario de la empleada de hogar) is mandatory: anyone who employs a person in their home must be able to show, with data, how many hours they work. The Court of Justice of the European Union made this clear on 19 December 2024 in a case that came from Bilbao.
In this guide we explain what that ruling said, what Spanish law requires today, what must be recorded each day, and how to manage it in a home without complications. Everything is checked against the ruling and the BOE, Spain’s official gazette, as of 9 October 2026.
What the Court of Justice of the EU said
A full-time household employee claimed overtime in Bilbao that she said she had worked. The court did not recognize it: it considered that it had not been proven and that it was not enough that the family did not provide records, because households were exempt from keeping them.
The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country (Tribunal Superior de Justicia del País Vasco) referred the question to Luxembourg, and the answer (Case C-531/23) was this: EU law does not allow a rule, a judicial interpretation, or an administrative practice that frees households from having a system to record their employees’ working time. Without that system, the ruling says, the person cannot objectively and reliably know how many hours they have worked or when.
It is the same idea the Court had already applied in May 2019 in another case from Spain (Case C-55/18, CCOO): without a system that records each day’s working time, limits on hours and rest periods cannot be enforced.
What Spanish law says
Household employment has its own rules, Royal Decree (Real Decreto) 1620/2011, and for anything those rules do not cover, the Spanish Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) applies (Article 3.b). Daily working-time recording is in Article 34.9 of the Statute, and the household royal decree does not exclude it.
The Spanish Government itself said this before the Court: there is no exception to the daily recording of household employees’ working time. The only things Royal Decree 1620/2011 leaves out are two additional records:
- the overtime summary delivered with the payslip (Article 35.5 of the Statute);
- the monthly record specific to part-time contracts.
The ruling accepts that the household sector may have simpler rules on those two points, as long as the obligation is not emptied of content. The daily record, with its start and end time, is kept in the same way.
What must be recorded
- Each day worked, the actual start time and the actual end time.
- Breaks that are not work. For live-in employees, the two daily hours for main meals do not count as working time.
- Presence time, if agreed: these are the hours when the person is available without working, and they are recorded separately.
The employer keeps the record for four years, and the employee may consult it whenever they want. The best practice is for both parties to see it and sign it.
The limits that the record makes visible
Article 9 of Royal Decree 1620/2011 sets the working-time limits for household employment. They are:
| Limit | What it says |
|---|---|
| Weekly working time | Maximum 40 hours of effective work |
| Presence time | Maximum 20 hours per week on average over a month, unless compensated with paid rest. It is paid at least at the ordinary hourly rate |
| Rest between workdays | 12 hours. For live-in employees it may be reduced to 10, with the remainder compensated within periods of up to four weeks |
| Meals for live-in employees | At least 2 hours a day, which do not count as work |
| Weekly rest | 36 consecutive hours; as a general rule, Saturday afternoon or Monday morning and the whole Sunday |
| Holidays | 30 calendar days per year |
When the working day and the agreed presence time end, the person is not obliged to stay in the home.
How to keep it at home
Today the law does not impose a specific medium, and the European ruling accepts that the system can be adapted to the size of the employer. In a home, three options work:
- A paper sheet. One line per day with the start time, end time, and both parties’ signatures. It is valid if filled in every day and with the actual time.
- A spreadsheet. It adds up the hours automatically. We have a free timesheet template for Spain in Excel, which can also be printed.
- An app. The person clocks in from their mobile when arriving and leaving, and nobody can change the time afterwards.
Whichever you use, three rules apply: record it on the day, record what happened and not what was planned, and correct any error in front of both parties.
For a home, Fichómetro is free
Fichómetro (our own product) is a time-tracking app. The person clocks in with one tap from their mobile, the server sets the time, and nobody can alter a clock-in: corrections are added with their reason and author. Each month it prepares the hours summary with the employee’s approval. It is free forever if 1 person clocks in, which is the case in almost all households. With more, €2 per active person per month, plus taxes, with a 30-day free trial and no card required. The app is available in Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque and English.
What happens if there is no record
The most immediate risk is a claim for unpaid hours. In the Bilbao case, the court had said that the lack of records did not harm the family because it was exempt. After the European ruling, that argument no longer works. How many hours are considered proven in each case is decided by the Spanish judge, but the employer is in a much better position with a signed record than with nothing.
As for fines, the law treats failure to comply with working-time recording rules as a serious offence, with fines from €751 to €7,500, and it makes no exception for households. There is a practical nuance: the Spanish Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo) cannot enter a home without the consent of the person living there or a court authorization. We explain it fully in our guide to time tracking fines in Spain.
What the digital time-recording royal decree provides
The Spanish Government is preparing a royal decree that would require companies to keep records in digital format. According to the draft that has become known, household employment is separate: someone employing at home could keep it “by any means” proportionate to their resources, including on paper.
As of 14 October 2026, that royal decree has not been approved. We follow each step in digital time tracking in Spain: when it takes effect.
Frequently asked questions
Is time tracking for household employees mandatory?
Yes. The Court of Justice of the European Union said in December 2024 that households cannot be exempt from having a system to record their employees’ working time.
Is a notebook enough?
Yes, today it is, if the actual start and end time are recorded each day. Better if both parties sign it.
What if they only come a few hours a week?
It still applies. The record for each day worked is kept the same way. What does not apply to households is the monthly summary specific to part-time contracts.
How is the working time of a live-in employee recorded?
With the start and end time of work each day. The two daily meal hours do not count as work, and agreed presence times are recorded separately.
Who keeps the record?
The employer, for four years. The employee has the right to consult it.
Do I have to use an app?
No. Paper is valid today. And the draft digital time-recording royal decree lets the household choose the medium.
Conclusion
In household employment, time tracking has been mandatory since the European ruling closed the door on the exemption. It asks for very little: the actual start and end time of each day, kept for four years. A signed sheet is enough, and it protects both sides: the worker, because their hours are written down, and the employer, because they can prove them.
This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your labour adviser (asesoría laboral).
Useful links
- Fichómetro: free time tracking with 1 person.
- Working time recording in Spain: what the law requires and how to comply.
- Court of Justice of the EU ruling of 19 December 2024, Case C-531/23.
- Article 9 of Royal Decree 1620/2011, in the BOE (in Spanish).
