Spain's Council of State Rejects Digital Time Tracking Decree, but the Ministry Pushes Forward: What It Means for Your Business

In this article:

1. What exactly happened
2. Labour's response: "even if it's the last thing I do"
3. Employers celebrate and prepare legal action
4. What this means for your business
5. How to comply with JornAda

If you have employees in Spain, what happened this week affects you directly.

The Council of State has issued a ruling against the Royal Decree on digital time tracking pushed by the Ministry of Labour. A nearly 100-page opinion that tears the text apart: the cost for businesses, data protection, the lack of sector-specific adaptation, and even the legal route chosen to approve it.

But here's the important part: Yolanda Díaz is not backing down. Not one inch.

What exactly happened

On Thursday 23 March, the Standing Committee of the Council of State approved an unfavourable opinion on the draft Royal Decree for digital time tracking. The text concludes that "the proposed Royal Decree should not be approved".

The main criticisms:

• The decree exceeds what a regulation can do. What Labour is proposing should be processed as a law through Parliament, not as a royal decree.
• The economic impact is underestimated. The opinion itself puts the cost at €867 million for 1.35 million companies and 15.6 million workers. The Ministry claimed it was not significant.
• There is no sector-specific adaptation. A restaurant, a mechanic's workshop, and a domestic worker are not the same. The decree treats them all equally.
• Data protection is insufficient. The Spanish Data Protection Agency has also issued negative reports.
• Only 20 days to adapt after publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). No real transitional period.

The opinion also incorporates the two unfavourable reports from the Ministry of Economy led by Carlos Cuerpo, which has been the main internal brake within the Government.

Labour's response: "even if it's the last thing I do"

Two days after the ruling, on 25 March, Yolanda Díaz was asked about it during a Plenary Session in Congress by ERC deputy Jordi Salvador.

Her answer was blunt: the decree will go ahead "even if it's the last thing I do".

Díaz called the ruling "very serious", accused the Ministry of Economy of sabotaging the regulation, and said she would not be "a collaborator of employers' associations that don't comply with labour rights".

The Ministry of Labour has confirmed they will make minor adjustments to the text, but without touching the core. The two pillars remain: mandatory digital time tracking and remote access for the Labour Inspectorate. There will be no special treatment for SMEs. Labour explicitly rules it out. The adjustments focus on strengthening data protection and giving more weight to collective bargaining to adapt the system by sector. The plan is to take it to the Council of Ministers within the coming weeks.

The Council of State's opinion is not binding. And Labour has reminded that on 14 previous occasions the Government has approved regulations despite unfavourable opinions.

Employers celebrate… and prepare legal action

The CEOE (Spain's main employers' association) was quick to react. President Garamendi welcomed the ruling and called the decree an "invasion of privacy". The association alleges violation of the legal reserve principle and data protection rights, and has already announced it will challenge the regulation in court if approved.

The Council of State's opinion reflects "broadly and literally" the arguments filed by CEOE and Cepyme. That gives them solid legal ammunition for the courts.

What this means for your business

If you're waiting for the dust to settle before taking action, this is the dust settling: the decree is going through.

Maybe with a few tweaks. Maybe with a legal battle behind it. But the direction is clear: mandatory digital time tracking, with tamper-proof records and remote access for the Labour Inspectorate, is becoming law. And once it's published in the BOE, you'll have 20 days. Not 6 months. Not a year. Twenty calendar days.

What won't change with the adjustments:

• Paper and Excel are banned. Using spreadsheets will be a serious offence.
• Every company is required to comply. Whether you have 2 employees or 200. No exceptions by size.
• Fines per employee. Up to €10,000 per affected worker. A company with 20 employees could face up to €200,000 in the worst case.
• The Inspectorate will access records remotely. Without prior notice, without any preparation needed on your end.

If you're still using paper, Excel, or a system that doesn't meet the technical requirements (timestamping, immutability, audit log, verifiable export), you need to migrate before the decree is published in the BOE. If you've already got it sorted, good. If not, now is the time.

How to comply with JornAda

JornAda already meets every requirement the new decree will demand: tamper-proof digital records, automatic timestamping, full audit log, PDF and CSV export, encrypted storage for 4 years, and remote access. Clock in from the mobile app, web, tablet in kiosk mode, WiFi RFID reader, or QR code. Everything in one platform, no installations, up and running in under 5 minutes.

From €10/month for 5 employees. No commitment. No fine print.

• Start free now — no credit card required.
• Book a 20-minute demo — we'll show you with your own data.
• Talk to us — call +34 971 14 38 36 or reach us on WhatsApp.

Last updated: 26 March 2026. General information only, not legal advice.