Time Tracking for Remote Work: What the Law Requires

Remote work doesn’t remove the obligation to track working hours — if anything, it makes it more critical. When the working day is split between home and office, proving when each employee’s shift starts and ends becomes harder, and that’s precisely why the law is explicit about it. In this article we cover what Spain’s Remote Work Law requires, how the right to disconnect fits into the picture, and how to clock in from home without turning time tracking into surveillance.

Clock in from home just as you would at the office. With dvgtime, every employee checks in from their phone or browser — wherever they are — in full compliance with the law. Book a demo.

Time tracking is mandatory for remote workers too

Spain’s Remote Work Law explicitly states that employees who work remotely have the same rights as those working on-site — including proper working-hours records. In other words, the obligation under Article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute applies equally: employers must record the start and end of each employee’s working day on a daily basis, including those working from home.

The remote work agreement must specify working hours

Remote working arrangements must be formalized in a written agreement that includes, among other things, the employee’s availability schedule, the distribution of working hours, and the monitoring methods to be used. It is good practice for that agreement to make clear how working hours will be recorded and which tool will be used — avoiding any room for interpretation down the line.

The right to disconnect: the other side of the coin

Alongside the obligation to log working hours comes the right to disconnect digitally: employees are not required to be available outside their scheduled hours. Proper time tracking actually helps protect this right, because it creates a clear record of when the working day ends and makes it easy to spot any overruns. Time tracking and the right to disconnect don’t conflict — they complement each other.

The purpose of time tracking in remote work is not to monitor anyone, but to create a verifiable record of working hours that protects both the employer and the employee.

Clocking in remotely without invading privacy

Time tracking must be limited to what is strictly necessary — when the working day starts and when it ends — and must comply with GDPR and applicable data protection regulations. Recording working hours is not the same as monitoring activity: screenshots, mouse-tracking, or continuous surveillance go far beyond the purpose of time tracking and enter legally sensitive territory. What is proportionate is a simple check-in and check-out, capturing only the information the law requires. We cover the specific rules for mobile check-ins in mobile time tracking: legal requirements.

How dvgtime handles it

dvgtime, DAVISA INFORMÁTICA’s workforce management platform, is built for teams that combine on-site and remote work. Every employee clocks in from their phone or browser, whether they’re at home, in the office, or travelling, and the platform automatically calculates working hours and maintains the immutable historical record the law demands. The log is limited to working hours — no intrusive monitoring — and in the connected editions, data flows into Business Central for cost tracking and project allocation. We cover remote team leave and absence management in this article.

This article provides general information and does not replace qualified employment law advice; always review your collective bargaining agreement and consult your HR or legal advisor.

Get your remote team’s time tracking in order. We’ll show you how dvgtime handles clock-ins at home and at the office — fully compliant with the law. Request a demo.

Keep reading

• Mobile time tracking: legal requirements
• Mandatory working-hours records in Spain (Art. 34.9)
• Leave and absence management for SMEs