Working hours, overtime and mandatory time recording in Spain

Key rules

• Weekly hours: Ordinary work is at most 40 hours a week on average over the year, though your contract or convenio may set fewer.
• Overtime cap: Overtime is capped at 80 hours a year, and night workers and under-18s cannot do it.
• Time recording: Your employer must record your daily start and end times and keep the records for four years.
• Overtime pay: Overtime is paid at no less than an ordinary hour or taken back as paid rest.

How many hours can you be made to work?

Your ordinary working time is at most 40 hours a week on average over the year. Your contract or convenio may set fewer hours, but not more. "On average" means some weeks can be longer and others shorter, as long as the yearly average stays within the limit.

Each day, ordinary work cannot go beyond 9 hours. The exception is where your convenio, or an agreement between the company and worker representatives, spreads the hours differently. Even then, your minimum rests must be respected. Under-18s cannot work more than 8 hours a day, counting all their employers together.

If your convenio and contract say nothing about how hours are spread, the company can still move 10% of your annual hours around.

What counts as overtime?

Overtime (horas extraordinarias) is any hour worked above the maximum ordinary weekly working time. It must be either paid at no less than the value of an ordinary hour, or given back as paid rest. Your convenio or contract decides which. If neither says, you get the time back as rest within four months of working it.

You do not have to accept overtime unless your contract or convenio says you must. Night workers and under-18s cannot do it at all.

The yearly overtime cap

Overtime is capped at 80 hours a year. The cap is reduced in proportion if you work part-time or on a shorter contract.

Two kinds of hours do not count toward the cap:

• Overtime you take back as rest within four months.
• Overtime worked to prevent or repair extraordinary and urgent damage.

Overtime that is paid in money does count.

Your hours must be recorded

Your employer must keep a daily record of your start and end times. The system can be on paper or digital. Your convenio, a company agreement, or the employer's decision after consulting worker representatives sets the format. Records must be kept for four years.

Overtime hours must be recorded day by day and totalled. Your employer must give you a summary of them every month. Ask for it if it does not arrive, because it is your proof if pay is disputed.

Is the 37.5-hour week law?

No. A bill to cut the week from 40 to 37.5 hours and strengthen digital time recording was rejected in Congress in September 2025. The 40-hour average still applies. A new version would need a fresh bill, so no start date exists. Check the current position with a labour adviser or the labour inspectorate before relying on any change.

Where your convenio changes the rules

The statute sets floors. A convenio can improve on them but never go below them. It can set fewer annual hours, spread working time unevenly across the year, allow days longer than 9 hours (with rests respected), and give longer or extra leave.

The floors it cannot cut are 30 calendar days of paid vacation, 12 hours of rest between working days, a weekly rest of a day and a half, the break during the day, and the statutory paid leave (permisos).

Find your convenio's name in your contract or payslip and read its sections on hours, overtime and leave. If your employer ignores overtime pay or hour limits, see the section below on what to do.

Timeline and deadlines

• Take overtime back as paid rest when no rule says otherwise: within four months of working the extra hours

• Receive a summary of your recorded hours from your employer: every month

• Overtime paid rather than taken as rest counts toward the cap: each calendar year, up to 80 hours a year

• Check your convenio for better rest and leave terms: before agreeing a schedule; minimums are 30 calendar days of paid leave, 12 hours daily rest and 1.5 days weekly rest

What if my employer ignores overtime pay or hour limits?

Keep proof of the hours you really work, ask for your time records, and act fast, because unpaid overtime can only be claimed for one year after each payment date. Escalate in this order: your employer, the labour inspectorate, conciliation, then a court claim.

Start keeping evidence now

Labour courts accept almost any proof of hours worked. Keep copies in your own storage, not only on company systems. Useful items:

• Messages or emails where your employer or managers give instructions or schedules outside normal hours.
• Rosters and shift schedules.
• Clock-in, access-card, badge or login data, plus app, GPS or system logs.
• Payslips and your contract, which show the agreed hours and any overtime paid.
• A daily diary or spreadsheet of your hours, written as you go.
• Photos and emails with timestamps.
• Colleagues who can confirm your hours and speak as witnesses.

Copy only what shows your own working time. Do not take confidential company data that is not your work record.

Ask for your time records

Your employer must keep your daily time records for four years. You, your representatives and the inspectorate are entitled to see them. Ask in writing for a copy of your records for the period in question, and keep the request.

These records are the strongest evidence you can have. If the company has no valid record, a court can treat that against the employer.

Step 1: Write to your employer

Send a short written claim by email or registered letter. Give the dates, the hours you worked beyond your contract and the amount you believe you are owed. A written claim the employer acknowledges can also stop the one-year clock, so keep proof that it was received.

Step 2: Complain to the labour inspectorate

You can file a complaint about excess hours, unpaid overtime or missing time records. You can do it online, in person at the provincial inspection office, or by post. Check the current form and access method on the official labour inspectorate page.

Include:

• Your details.
• The company's name, address and tax ID.
• Your workplace.
• The facts, with dates and your evidence.

Your employer is not told who complained. You can file anonymously, but anonymous complaints may get less follow-up.

The inspector can visit, ask for documents including time records, and issue a warning or a fine. The inspectorate does not get your back pay for you, and you are not a party to its process. To recover money you still need the next two steps.

Step 3: Try conciliation

Before suing for unpaid wages or hours, you normally must request conciliation. File a written request at your region's mediation body, or at a sector body if your collective agreement sets one. State your details, the company's, the facts and the amount you claim.

A meeting is usually set within about 15 working days. There are three outcomes: an agreement, no agreement, or the employer not turning up. An agreement can be enforced like a court judgment. Procedures and online filing differ by region, so check with your regional body.

Step 4: File the court claim

If conciliation fails, go to the labour court. Filing the conciliation request pauses the clock, and you then sue within the time that remained. Each month's pay counts separately, so older months expire first. A claim can only recover the last year of unpaid amounts.

Deadlines are short, so see a labour lawyer or a union early. They can tell you what evidence a court will accept in your case.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer make me work more than 9 hours in a day?

Yes, but only if your convenio, or failing that an agreement between the company and worker representatives, spreads working time differently. Even then you must keep the minimum daily and weekly rests. Workers under 18 can never work more than 8 hours a day, counting all employers together.

Does overtime worked and repaid with time off count toward the yearly cap?

No, hours you take back as paid rest within four months of working them do not count toward the yearly cap. Overtime to prevent or repair extraordinary and urgent damage does not count either. Part-time contracts get the cap pro rata.

Do I have to accept overtime if my employer asks?

No, overtime is voluntary unless your contract or convenio says you must do it. If nothing says how it is compensated, you get paid rest within four months. Your employer must also give you a monthly summary of your recorded hours.

Can my convenio give me better terms than the statute?

Yes, a convenio can improve on the statutory minimums but never go below them. It can set fewer annual hours, spread hours irregularly or add leave. Without an agreement, the company can distribute 10% of annual hours irregularly.

Did the 37.5-hour working week become law?

No, the bill to cut the week to 37.5 hours was rejected by Congress in September 2025. The 40-hour average remains the maximum, and any new attempt would need a fresh bill.