🕒 Is it legal to round clock-in and clock-out times in time tracking records?
A common question among haddock HR users is whether automatic rounding can be applied when recording employee start and end times. The short answer is: yes, it can, but with conditions.
⚖️ What does the law say?
The obligation to record working time is regulated by:
- Royal Decree-Law 8/2019, of March 8, on urgent measures for social protection and against labor market insecurity.
- And by Article 34.9 of the Workers' Statute, which states that:
"The company shall ensure the daily recording of working time, which must include the specific start and end time of each worker's working day".
🔍 Although the regulations do not explicitly prohibit rounding, they do make clear that the record must reliably and objectively reflect actual working time.
✅ When is rounding allowed?
Rounding time entries is allowed as long as these conditions are met:
- Rounding must not disadvantage the worker.
For example, if someone clocks in at 08:58 and it is rounded to 09:00, but a clock-out at 17:02 is also rounded to 17:00, it cannot result in a loss of actual minutes worked.
- It must be applied symmetrically and consistently.
The system must round both up and down, avoiding systematic bias in favor of the company.
- It has to be documented and communicated.
Ideally, it should be reflected in the company agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or an internal policy accepted by employees or their legal representatives.
- It must be justifiable during an inspection.
Labor inspectors may request evidence of how rounding is applied and whether it respects employee rights.
📌 Best practices with haddock HR
If you use haddock HR to manage time entries, we recommend:
- Being transparent with your team about your rounding policy.
- Applying automatic rules in a clear, symmetrical, and reasonable way.
- Keeping the real time entry records (without rounding) and having them available in case of an inspection.
🧾 Legal references
Updated on: 23/04/2026
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