Labour inspections in hospitality: what they look at and what to have ready
Nextica Law & Tax assists bars, restaurants and hotels before, during and after a labour inspection: a prior review of the working-time record, social security registrations and part-time contracts, handling the visit and the request for documents, submissions against the infringement or assessment report and, where appropriate, an appeal. Hospitality is the target of specific campaigns and the visit almost never comes with notice.
The inspector walks in on a Friday at nine in the evening, with a full dining room. Whatever can be shown at that moment is what counts.
What's included
1. A prior audit of the working-time record against the reality of split services, which is where the standard system stops reflecting what happens.
2. Checking that registrations are filed before the person starts work, including a single weekend of extra cover.
3. Reviewing part-time contracts and the supplementary hours agreement, comparing what was agreed with what was worked.
4. Reviewing how the published rota, the recorded hours and what the till closings and order tickets say fit together.
5. Preparing the folder requested at the first visit, with the prevention plan and training documented person by person.
6. Attendance during the inspection, with a single point of contact and documents handed over in an orderly way.
7. Submissions against the infringement report and the contributions assessment, which here extends to the whole season's workforce because the criterion is applied across the board, and correcting the rota before the next season.
THE INSPECTORATE RUNS HOSPITALITY-SPECIFIC CAMPAIGNS
It is not a generic inspection that sometimes lands here: the sector has its own campaigns, and the same things are always requested.
A working-time record that does not reflect the split service
it must be daily, with each person's specific start and finish times. A system recording one entry and one exit does not describe a lunchtime-and-evening shift.
art. 34.9 Workers' StatuteWeekend cover that starts before registration
registration must be filed before work begins, and in a sector that covers peaks with last-minute calls it is the easiest breach to detect and the hardest to justify.
RD 84/1996, General Regulation on company registration and affiliationA rota and order tickets that contradict each other
when the record says one thing and the till closings or order tickets say another, the record loses credibility and the evidence the employee produces gains it.
art. 34.9 Workers' StatuteLABOR SANCTION TABLE — LISOS 2026
Law of Offenses and Sanctions in the Social Order (LISOS), Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000. Updated amounts 2026.
| Degree | Minimum | Medium | Maximum | Frequent violations in inspections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 60 € | 185 € | 625 € | Minor formal defects in contracts or communications |
| Serious | 750 € | 4,005 € | 7,500 € | Without workday record · incorrect contracts · lack of registration in SS · breach of agreement |
| Very serious | €7,501 | 40.985 € | €225,018 | Without mandatory Equality Plan · illegal transfer of workers · violation of fundamental rights |
Light
Serious
Very serious
Frequently asked questions
The inspector turns up unannounced. Must I deal with it right then?
Yes: the visit can be unannounced and there is a duty to cooperate. What you can do is organise how you respond: identify the inspector, find out what is being checked, hand over what is available on the spot and ask for time for the rest through the formal request for documents, which is the normal route. What does not help is improvising answers about schedules or contracts without having checked the paperwork.
Which documents are always requested in a hospitality venue?
The daily working-time record, the contracts and their annexes —especially part-time contracts and their additional hours—, social security registrations and contributions, the shift rotas and the information on the collective agreement applied. If the venue has changed hands, also the transfer documentation. Having it tidy and accessible from the venue itself is half the inspection solved.
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