Time records in store, holidays and overtime: what the Labour Inspectorate asks for first
Nextica Law & Tax supports retail businesses before, during and after an inspection: daily working-time records per workplace under art. 34.9 of the Workers' Statute, with their retention and availability; overtime, how it is compensated and how it is declared for social security; how holiday opening fits the Catalan trading-hours regime; review of campaign contracts; and preparing the documents requested at the first visit, which is when almost everything is decided.
A chain's inspection does not start at head office: it starts at the store with the fewest people and the longest hours.
What's included
1. A prior audit of the working-time record store by store, checking it reflects the hours actually worked and not the theoretical rota.
2. Confirming the record is accessible from head office and not only from the store, and that it is kept for the statutory period.
3. Reviewing overtime, how it is compensated and how it is declared for social security, and how it fits the agreement's working time.
4. Checking the holiday opening calendar against the applicable trading-hours regime and against staffing cover.
5. Reviewing part-time contracts and the supplementary hours agreement, which is the second thing requested.
6. Preparing the first-visit folder
contracts, payslips, contribution records, prevention plan and documented training per person.
7. Attendance during the inspection and submissions against the report and the proposed assessment if they arrive.
THE VISIT STARTS AT THE STORE WITH THE FEWEST STAFF AND THE LONGEST HOURS
The inspection does not start at head office, and what it asks for first is always the same:
A working-time record that does not comply
it must be daily, with each person's specific start and finish times, kept for four years and available to staff, their representatives and the Inspectorate. A signature sheet almost never complies.
art. 34.9 Workers' StatuteA record showing the theoretical rota instead of the hours worked
where the record is unreliable, the evidence the employee produces gains credibility and the employer has no way to rebut it.
art. 34.9 Workers' StatuteSupplementary hours with no written agreement in the part-time contract
without it they cannot be required, and those worked are regularised with their contributions.
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
Is a signature sheet enough as a time record?
Only if it meets what the rule requires, and a signature sheet almost never does. Art. 34.9 of the Workers' Statute requires a daily record including each worker's specific start and finish times, which the company must keep for four years and make available to staff, their representatives and the Inspectorate. In a store network there are two typical failures: the record sits in the store and is not accessible from head office, and it reflects the rota's theoretical hours rather than the hours actually worked.
Can opening on a public holiday be an offence?
Yes, through two different routes that should not be mixed up. One is administrative and commercial: if the opening is not covered by the applicable trading-hours regime —the Catalan one under Law 18/2017 within the framework of national Law 1/2004, with its authorised holidays and tourist-influx zones— the offence is a retail one. The other is employment-related: holiday work has its own treatment in the collective agreement, and doing it without the agreed compensation or rest is a matter for the Labour Inspectorate. Every network should have its opening calendar reviewed before publishing it.
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