Labor Law

Spanish employment laws: labor standards in Spain

Tapas and sunshine might entice you to look for work in Spain, but there’s much more to it – especially considering the country’s labor laws.

Spain labor laws
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By Megan Janicke

Updated 13-3-2024

Spain is a diverse country that attracts many expats who are relocating and looking for work. The good news is that it also has robust worker protections that provide for worker safety, well-being, and job security. Contracts, working hours, paid leave, and wages are just a few of the highly regulated areas of Spanish employment.

Uncover the many layers of Spain’s labor laws by reading the following:

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Labor law in Spain

Spain’s labor laws are comprehensive and provide significant protection for employees. A key aspect of Spain’s employment legislation is the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores), which regulates many aspects of individual and collective employment relations. It also oversees collective bargaining agreements that regulate rights, obligations, professional groups, and minimum wages within specific areas.

Spain also passed urgent labor reforms in 2012 in response to the 2008 economic crisis, and in 2021, to provide solutions to the high level of temporary work. Other recent legislation has addressed workplace safety, gender equality, data protection, remote working, delivery platform workers, social security, training, and temporary contracts. 

Service worker in Spain, bartender pours a beer

Research on the workers’ well-being in Spain shows mixed findings. For instance, the annual household income after taxes in Spain is just under €20,000, lower than the OECD average (€27,568). Spain also has a considerable gap between the highest and lowest earners. The top 20% earn almost seven times as much as the bottom 20%. A lower percentage of Spain’s workforce has a paid job (62%) than the OECD average (68%).

However, Spain scores highly for work-life balance. In Spain, only 4% of employees work very long hours, less than the OECD average of 11%. Workers in Spain log around 1,686 hours of working time annually, slightly lower than the OECD average of 1,726 hours. Spanish labor laws regulate maximum working hours, vacation allowance, and work-life balance. They have also introduced ways to control and reduce extra working hours.

That said, recent studies have also shown that workers in Spain experience a significant amount of work-related stress. Depression is the second leading cause of incapacity for work. As such, it is a good idea to be aware of Spanish business culture to help manage work-related stress.

Foreign workers – your right to work in Spain

Of the more than 46 million people living in Spain, 14% are immigrants. Close to 63% of Spain’s foreign workforce population was employed in 2019. That’s a higher percentage than in Greece (53%) and France (58.9%), but lower than in the Netherlands (66.6%) and Germany (70.8%).

If you’re a citizen of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland, you’re allowed to live and work in Spain without a visa or permit. Non-EU citizens will need a work permit. In most cases, non-EU citizens will have to secure a job before they can apply for permits to work and live in Spain. They will also need to follow the correct immigration process, depending on their particular situation. If you are a non-EU citizen, it might be worth speaking to a lawyer to help plan your move to Spain.

If you are a UK citizen and you were already a legal resident of Spain before 1 January 2021, you do not need a work visa due to Brexit. UK citizens who wish to come to Spain to work post-Brexit will need a work visa. Other employees who are exempt include academics and close relatives who are joining family members working in Spain. However, you might need to provide documents to verify your situation.

All foreigners residing in Spain also require a Foreign Identity Number (NIE). You can apply for this yourself, or through services such as NIE Express.

Employment contracts under Spain labor laws

Legal Spanish employment contracts can be in writing or verbal. However, Spain labor law does require certain employment contracts to be in writing, such as temporary employment contracts, contracts involving special labor relations (e.g., lawyers, top managers, and commercial representatives), contracts that last longer than four weeks, and part-time contracts. The Public State Employment Service (SEPE) should receive the contract within 10 days of the contract coming into force. Workers who are at least 18 years of age can sign a work contract. Those between 16 and 18 years old will need permission from a parent. It is generally not legal for people younger than 16 years old to work in Spain – there are some exceptions for artists, but the Labor Authority must authorize this.

Team of workers in busy Spain office

Your employer in Spain can ask you to perform duties of higher or lower categories than those specified in the contract. However, if the duties are in a higher category, you might be eligible for a pay raise and a promotion. Employers must comply with the requirements and procedures laid down in labor legislation when making changes to contracts. Otherwise, the worker has the right to terminate the contract with compensation.

When you start a job, you may work a probationary period of up to two or six months. If your employment contract is longer than four weeks, your employer has two months from the start date to provide you with the following in writing:

  • Identification of the parties in the employment agreement
  • Employment duration for temporary contracts
  • Work location
  • Professional group or category
  • Base salary as well as other compensation or benefits, if any
  • Total working hours and holidays
  • Notice periods
  • Applicable collective agreement

Indefinite and temporary contracts

Employment contracts in Spain are generally presumed to be for an indefinite or open-ended term. In short, they don’t establish a time limit. However, temporary (fixed) contracts are possible in the following circumstances:

  • Contract for production contingencies: This contract may not run for more than six months within a 12-month period.
  • Temporary replacement contract: This must specify the worker replaced and the reason for the replacement.
Spain labor laws

If the employee continues to work past the original term of the temporary agreement, the relationship becomes indefinite. As a result, the employee should receive the standard severance package.

Training contracts

There are two main types of training contracts:

  • Work-linked training (Contrato para la Formación en alternancia) – a combination of paid work and official studies. This lasts for a minimum of three months and a maximum of three years
  • Contract for professional practice (Contrato para la obtención de la práctica profesional) – this contract has to be formalized within three years of the end of study (five years in the case of people with a disability). It lasts for between six months and a year.

Both types of contract have specific regulations regarding the agreements between the university or training institute and the individuals who may enter these training contracts.

Part-time contracts

The duration of these contracts may be indefinite or fixed. They must always be in writing, specifying the place where the services occur and the duration of the working day.

Part-time employees must work additional hours if they sign a complementary hours agreement. These agreements can only come into play if the employee already works more than 10 hours. The amount of complementary hours for a part-time employee is usually 30% of the hours in the contract, with a maximum of full-time hours. The employer must give at least three days notice if they wish the employee to work these hours.

Work from home

Remote work is considered a work-life conciliation measure in Spain. Therefore, it is not mandatory for companies to allow their employees to work from home. However, more and more companies are permitting hybrid working, so that employees can work from home for a certain amount of their working hours.

When companies entitle employees to work from home for more than 30% of their working hours, the law requires them to establish a work-from-home policy and sign a work-from-home agreement. Moreover, the company must compensate expenses, such as electricity, and facilitate the materials that allow employees to work from home.

Wages and salary in Spain

The minimum salary for a full-time job in Spain is €14,000 gross per year in 2022 (€1,166.66 gross per month), if the company pays it in 12 installments. However, companies tend to pay workers in Spain 14 times per year (with extra payments in July and December), making the minimum wage €1,000 per installment.

However, this minimum wage only applies when there is no collective bargaining agreement – a very rare scenario. As the collective bargaining agreement for each work-related activity establishes a different minimum wage, your minimum wage depends on the company you work for.

Under Spain’s labor law, an employee’s salary can be monetary or in-kind, but the latter cannot be higher than 30% of the total amount of the salary.

If you’ve signed a work contract and your employer asks you to perform higher category duties than specified in the contract, then you must receive the wage corresponding to that category. You have the right to a promotion if you perform the higher category duties for more than six months in one year or eight months in two years. If the ompany refuses, the employee may take them to court.

Working hours in Spain’s labor laws

Full-time work in Spain is based on a maximum of 40 hours per week, calculated on an annual basis. According to Spain labor laws, at least 12 hours must elapse between the end of one working day and the start of the next. Once you’ve worked continuously for six hours in a working day, you can take a 15-minute break.

Your employer in Spain should give you a minimum weekly rest time of one and a half uninterrupted days. This usually includes Saturday afternoon or Monday morning, and all of Sunday.

Spain labor laws, woman works in a butcher shop

Generally speaking, if your employer wants you to work more than nine hours a day you will need to agree to the extra hours. However, you cannot work more than 80 hours of overtime per year. This does not include overtime compensated with rest time, or work carried out to prevent or repair extraordinary and urgent damage. Overtime at night is illegal with very few exceptions. Your employer can compensate you for your overtime with paid rest time.

The collective bargaining agreement applicable to your company stipulates the conditions regarding working hours. Moreover, the concrete working hours and their weekly distribution must be incorporated into the work contract.

Working hours for employees under age 18

Special rules apply to workers who are between the minimum employment age of 16 and 18 years old. These regulations include:

  • Only allowed to work for eight hours a day across employers, including training.
  • Require a 30-minute break after four and a half hours of continuous work.
  • Minimum of two consecutive days in weekly rest time.
  • Cannot perform work at night or activities that are unhealthy, dangerous, or distressing.

Paid and unpaid leave in Spain

Holiday pay in Spain

Annual holiday leave in Spain is generous. A full-time worker may take 22 working days (30 calendar days) of paid holiday time annually. They can take it all at once or divide it up, but Spain’s labor laws require that at least one period of holiday leave must be two weeks long.

Furthermore, Spain has nine national public holidays in 2021 and two to three times as many at the local and regional levels. That means your paid time off will depend on where you live in Spain. Any public holidays on a Sunday transfer to the Monday right after. Many parents enjoy taking off work while their children are on school holidays. These dates also vary according to the regional autonomous communities.

Employers in Spain cannot replace holidays with financial compensation. Part-time and temporary employees are entitled to vacation under the same conditions as full-time employees. If your contract ends before you could use all of your vacation days, the company must pay to compensate the leftover days.

Maternity and paternity pay in Spain

Spain has been working in recent years to balance leave allowances for all parents. Consequently, as of January 2021, maternity and paternity leave in Spain is now 16 weeks for both parents. Spain also grants this paid leave to adoptive and foster parents. In the case of a birth, the parents must take off six weeks immediately after the child is born. Parents can take off the remaining 10 weeks as desired within the 12 months following the birth or adoption. They must confirm the leave with their employer.

Spain labor laws, pregnant woman working on mobile phone

Parents receive one additional week for each child, multiple births, and in the event that a child has a disability. If there is a premature birth or hospitalization is required for more than seven days, parents can extend their leave by 13 weeks.

While parents are taking maternity and paternity leave, they will earn 100% of their contribution base. The requirements for eligibility depend on your age at the moment of birth, adoption, or foster care. If you are under 21, there are no requirements. However, if you are 21-26, you need to have contributed to Spanish social security for at least 90 days within the last seven years, or during your entire working life. If you are over 26, you need to have contributed to Spanish social security for at least 180 days in the last seven years or 360 days in your entire working life.

If you don’t fulfill the above requirements, you may still be eligible for a public subsidy.

Self-employed parents can also claim maternity and paternity benefits are if they are registered in the Spanish social security system.

Sick pay in Spain

In Spain, if you are sick or injured and have to stop working temporarily, you can claim an allowance for temporary incapacity. It will enable you to cover the loss of your daily income while you are off work, in addition to receiving healthcare.

The amount and accrual of paid sick leave varies depending on the cause of your illness or injury, whether work-related or non work-related.

In the event of a non work-related illness or accident, you will not receive anything for the first three days. From day 4–20 of your sick or injury leave, you receive 60% of your contribution base. You get 75% of your contribution base from the 21st day of your sick leave. However, collective bargaining agreements can improve this payment. Some of them recognize payment up to 100% of the salary or contribution base. Moreover, many more companies are allowing their employees to take one day of sick leave without discounting any salary. This does, however, depend on the professional activity of the company.

In order to receive this benefit, you will need a medical examination by a doctor from the Servicio Público de Salud (State Health Services). Then, the doctor can certify your illness.

Spain labor laws, worker receives health examination from doctor

If you are an employee, your employer is responsible for applying for your sick leave and will pay the costs of the first 15 days of the allowance. After that, the Sistema Nacional de la Seguridad Social will bear the costs.

If you have had a work-related accident, you can receive 75% of the contribution base from day one. However, you must communicate the sick leave document to your employer as soon as you receive it.

Sick pay for self-employed workers

If you are self-employed (autónomo), you should submit a statement to announce if you’ve suspended your work activities temporarily or definitively. The Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS) or the insurance company collaborating with social security will pay the temporary incapacity allowance directly to you.

You can claim the allowance from the INSS or the insurance company using the application for temporary incapacity payment. The maximum period of such leave is 18 months, after which the authorities will review the situation.

Other forms of paid leave in Spain

Additionally, workers may take paid time off for the following:

  • Marriage: 15 calendar days
  • Death, accident, or serious illness or hospitalization of a family member: two calendar days, or four if travel is required
  • Moving house: one day
  • Breastfeeding children under nine months of age: one hour of absence from work per day, or half an hour if taken at the beginning or end of the working day. Either the mother or the father can take the leave if both are working
  • Legal guardianship of a child under 12 or of a person with a disability: reduction of the working day by between one-eighth and one-half
  • Public and personal obligations (e.g., jury duty, appearance in court): as long as necessary
  • Perform trade union or workers’ representation duties: the amount of time established by law or collective agreement

In every case, the worker must inform the employer in advance. These allowances might be improved by the collective barganing agreement applicable to your company.

Unpaid leave in Spain

Extended leave of absence is when an employee asks to suspend their employment contract. As a result, the employer and employee keep a professional relationship, but the employee isn’t required to work. Neither does the employer need to pay them a salary or contribute to their social security. It may be either compulsory or voluntary. If it’s the latter, at least one year’s service in the company is necessary. The extended leave can last between two and five years. 

If you want to take voluntary leave, bear in mind that the company does not have to maintain your job position so that you can return to it. They can offer you a similar position when you inform them about wishing to go back. If you do not want to accept the offer, the termination of the contract will be considered voluntary, and you won’t be able to access unemployment benefit. If the leave of absence was compulsory, the company must maintain the position for you to return to.

In many cases, the employee must return to their previous job, or a similar position offered by the company, at the end of the suspension. If the worker takes an extended unpaid leave due to a temporary illness or injury, the employee doesn’t have to return if they are officially, permanently incapacitated.

Employees can also claim a leave of absence of one year, which can extend by mutual agreement, to care for a family member who cannot work and look after themselves because of their age, accident, disability, or illness.

During this period, the company will not pay your social security contributions. Therefore, you should find out if you are eligible to sign a special agreement with Spanish social security to continue contributing so that you don’t lose any future benefits.

Parental rights in Spain’s labor laws

Parents and soon-to-be-parents can receive paid time off to attend tests and examinations before childbirth and training prior to adoption and fostering.

Mothers and fathers in Spain can both take paid breastfeeding leave. They can choose to take breastfeeding leave for one hour during their workday or reduce their working hours by 30 minutes until their child is nine months old. On the other hand, they can choose to accumulate breastfeeding time and take 13 to 15 days off.

Additional protections for biological and adoptive parents under Spain’s labor laws include:

  • An employer cannot terminate a pregnant woman. If the woman is let go from her job during a probationary period, the company must provide evidence to prove her pregnancy is not the reason.
  • Women are entitled to social security benefits if they cannot fulfill some or all of their work duties due to their high-risk pregnancy. This applies only in the event that the company cannot change the role of the pregnant employee to a more suitable and less risky one during the pregnancy.
  • Employees can take extended, unpaid parental leave to bring up their biological or adopted child in the three-year period after the birth or adoption. During this extended parental leave, employees are not generally provided any social security benefits (with some exceptions in certain regions).
Spain parental leave, parents with baby smiling
  • If the employee takes parental leave of no longer than one year (15–18 months if the employee has four or more children), they are entitled to resume their former job after the leave. If the employee takes a longer leave, they are entitled only to return to a similar job.
  • Employees who have requested or are taking parental leave have special protection from dismissal.

Social security and tax in Spain

Workers in Spain must pay Spanish taxes and register with the Spanish Social Security service (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social or TGSS). You pay contributions into the Spanish social security system in order to access its benefits and insurance coverage for illness, injuries, work-related accidents, unemployment, retirement, and maternity and paternity leave. Generally speaking, contribution rates for 2021 are 6.35% (indefinite) and 6.4% (temporary) for employees and 30.4% for employers, plus a variable rate for occupational accidents (e.g., 1.5% for office work).

The part of the contribution payable by the employee comes out of the payslip on a monthly basis. This is in addition to personal income tax and the amount the company pays towards social security. This means that you will receive your gross salary minus income tax and 6.35% or 6.4%.

Self-employed workers come under a special scheme known as the régimen especial trabajadores autónomos. You must pay all of the social security contributions yourself according to a minimum monthly amount. This means self-employed people typically pay more in their contributions than a company employee and will need to have arrangements in place to cover this cost.

Anti-workplace discrimination

Spain is taking steps to improve gender equality in the workplace. As of 2021, companies with 50 or more workers must create and implement an equality plan. They must include a salary audit in the plan and make it publicly available. For companies with 50 or more employees, if one individual in a certain professional group or position earns at least 25% higher or lower than one of the other gender, the employer must justify that those salary differences are not based on discrimination.

This change is important because, while Spain ranks in the top 10 on the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap index, it still has a large pay gap between men and women. In fact, while men working full-time earned an average of €29,400 annually, women had annual average salaries of €26,300.

Spain boardroom meeting, men and women at a table

Spain’s labor laws also protect against discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, color, nationality, ethnic or national origin, disability religion or belief, and age. The law prohibits direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimization. If a worker in Spain feels that they have been discriminated against in the workplace or if they’ve been harassed at work, they can take the case to the Labor court.

Employers are also generally required to take appropriate measures for adapting the workplace to enable people with disabilities access to employment, job progress, and job training. Companies with more than 50 employees must reserve a quota of 2% of their staff for disabled people.

Joining a union in Spain

The Spanish constitution guarantees the right for workers to organize and participate in trade unions. There are two types of employee representation in Spain: individual delegates and works councils. Individual delegates represent workers in companies or worksites having up to 50 workers. A works council serves employers of companies with more than 50 workers.

Spain labor laws, delivery worker riding bicycle

Another protection for workers within Spain’s labor laws is the right to strike. For strikes against a single company, trade unions, elected representatives (works councils, employee delegates), or the employees themselves can organize. However, trade unions must call strikes affecting an entire sector.

Unfortunately, strikes and absence are taken out of your salary. However, if you are a delegate, you will receive paid time credit for your tasks as a workers’ representative.

Health and safety at work in Spain

Companies in Spain must have a risk prevention policy in the workplace. The company itself can introduce this policy. They can also implement it through an agreement with an external risk prevention company.

Workers in Spain are entitled to participate in the company on issues related to health and safety in the workplace, and must have access to specific training relating to risks in their role. Health and Safety representatives (delegados de prevención) are elected by workers in all companies employing more than 50 people. They have substantial consultation rights and in larger companies they work with employers in health and safety committees.

Spain worker parental rights, woman and child

Spain has also passed new rules to help ensure employee well-being while working remotely (teletrabajo). For example, labor laws now stipulate that workers have the right to a private life and to disconnect from their work activities outside of working hours. Employees also have the right to digital disconnection outside of their working hours and when on holiday. In short, when you’re off the clock you generally have the right to not answer your phone, even if it is your work phone, and email or social media messages.

Training and development in Spain

As a worker in Spain, you can benefit from upskilling or reskilling. Spain has government-funded vocational training courses for both employees and those that are unemployed. The training is funded through Spanish social security contributions, the European Social Fund, and the Spanish Public State Employment Service (Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal – SPEE). Each employee can claim 20 hours of free training per year.

Spain job training, woman explaining cafe work to another woman

Training for the unemployed is mostly funded through the SPEE and managed by the educational authorities of the Autonomous Communities. Programs vary across regions but typically include transferable skills and beginner-level courses (e.g., administration, retail). Most regions also have a specific program for young people.

Terminating the employment relationship in Spain

Spanish Labor Law requires that if either an employer or an employee wants to terminate an employment agreement, they must provide a minimum of 15 days’ notice in writing (longer if the collective bargaining agreement stipulates it). This rule does not apply to interim contracts, probation periods, or temporary contracts shorter than 12 months.

If either party does not fulfill the termination period, the employer may discount the missing proportion from the pay slip or the employee may claim it.

Dismissal

In Spain, express dismissal, or dismissal without cause, is not legal. An employer in Spain can legally dismiss an employee for three reasons:

Objective (extinción del contrato por causas objetivas): when the employee doesn’t adapt to reasonable technical modifications to their job, or if the employee can’t perform their work (for reasons other than injury, illness, or pregnancy) and this was not apparent during the employee’s probation. The employee is entitled to compensation of 20 days’ pay per year of service, up to a maximum of 12 months’ pay. During the notice period, the employee can take six hours of paid leave per week to find a new job.

Disciplinary (despido disciplinario): a consequence of issues such as repeated or unjustified absences or being chronically late to work. It can also happen if an employee insults, physically harms, or harasses the employer, other employees, or their household members. Other grounds for disciplinary dismissal include contract violations and substance abuse affecting the employee’s work. When dismissing an employee for disciplinary reasons, the employer must inform them in writing of the reasons for the decision and the date of termination. If the employee is a trade union member, the employer must consult union delegates.

Collective (despido colectivo): can happen because of economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons within the company. An employer contemplating a collective dismissal must consult statutory employee representatives over a period of up to 30 calendar days (15 days for companies with fewer than 50 employees).

If you don’t agree with the dismissal, you can take your ex-employer to labor court. If the court finds the dismissal is unjustified, you may be able to return to work or receive compensation of 33 days’ worth of salary per years that you have worked. The company decides which option they prefer.

Leaving a job voluntarily

You can resign from your job in Spain at any time. As noted above, you’ll need to give your employer written notice at least 15 days in advance, unless your contract is temporary and lasts less than 12 months.

Spain job interview, woman meeting with another woman

The notice period may be longer depending on your contract or collective bargaining agreement. You could be eligible for 20 days’ compensation for each year of your employment with the company in the following situations:

  • Your employer is not upholding your agreed-upon employment contract, for example, by not paying on time or paying the agreed amount.
  • Your employer substantially changes your working conditions and doesn’t follow Spain’s labor law regulations in making those changes.
  • You don’t consent to transferring to a different work location which will involve a change of residence.

Redundancy

Spain’s labor laws have specific protocols for certain cases when an employee can be made redundant, called objective cases. These types of redundancy usually happen during an economic downturn. When an employer wants to break an employee’s contract due to objective redundancy, the employee can receive 20 days’ salary for every year they have been working for the company (maximum 12 months’ salary). This compensation adds up to 45 days in cases of unfair redundancies (with no justified reason).

The company must give the employee notice at least 30 days before the employee is discharged. Furthermore, the company must allow the employee to leave work at least six hours a week in order to have time to look for a new job.

Retirement

The minimum age that you can retire in Spain and earn a Spanish pension is currently around 65 years old. However, the country is gradually raising the retirement age until it reaches age 67 by 2027. To qualify for the minimum state pension, you must have worked and paid Spanish social security contributions for at least 15 years. Two of these years must be within the 15 year period immediately preceding the pension claim.

The amount you receive in your public pension depends on your last 25 years of contributions and the percentage applicable to the years contributed. By 2027, you will need to have contributed for 38.5 years to receive 100% of the pension.

If you want to retire early, you will incur a penalty in terms of the pension you will earn. Voluntary early retirement is restricted in Spain. You can retire a maximum of two years early if you meet certain conditions and have made at least 35 years of contributions.

That said, you may retire earlier, up to four years in advance, in case of dismissal for economic reasons, the death of an employer, or collective dismissal, among other reasons. You need to have contributed a minimum of 33 years.

Additionally, there are some special cases (e.g., disabled workers, hazardous jobs) in which you can claim a full Spanish pension from the age of 60 (or as early as 52 in some situations) if you have made sufficient contributions.

Spain retirement, woman adding bills

If you meet the age and contributions requirement, you might be able to partially retire. You must reduce your working day by 25–50% and meet the rest of the conditions required for ordinary retirement.

Company mergers and insolvencies in Spain

If the company that you work for comes under new ownership, your employee contract automatically transfers to the new owner. That means the new employer must observe all existing employment and social security rights and obligations. The old and new employers must inform the representatives of employees affected by the transfer about its planned date, reasons for the transfer, and consequences for employees. This information must be shared before the transfer affects employees’ employment and working conditions.

The new employee must maintain the more beneficial conditions you have already agreed with your former employer.

If your employer goes bankrupt or is declared insolvent, you can access a special insolvency state fund (Fogasa) to receive (sometimes in part) the wages that your company owes you. Part-time and fixed-term workers are also eligible to receive the funds. The guarantee covers wages, bonuses, and fringe benefits as well as financial employee participation that arises up to one year before the insolvency.

Temporary, part-time, agency, and informal workers in Spain

Spain requires government oversight of temporary work agencies (empresas de trabajo temporal) that provide temporary workers to client companies. The agency is responsible for paying agency workers and dealing with social security matters. During the assignment, the agency employee receives the same rights and protections as any other worker under Spain’s labor laws.

Woman working in a lettuce field in Spain

The Spanish government has suppressed the use of temporary contracts that let companies employ workers temporarily for up to three years. In 2021 and 2022, temporary contract regulations have become stricter. They now only allow six-month temporary contracts, or one year, if the collective bargaining agreement permits it. In the case of one-year contracts, the reason for a temporary agreement must be addressed in the contract.

Making a complaint as a worker in Spain

Spain’s labor law provides for specialized courts to oversee cases that relate to labor and employment. In most cases, before the labor courts will hear a case, the two sides must try to resolve the issue. The national public Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Servicios de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación – SMAC) or a regional equivalent provide conciliation services.

The requirement for prior conciliation does not apply to disputes over certain issues, including:

  • Challenges to collective dismissals by employee representatives
  • Use of annual leave
  • Geographical mobility
  • Substantial modifications of employment conditions
  • Suspension of employment contracts due to economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons
  • Reconciliation of personal/family life and work

If the employee and employer cannot reach an agreement, cases generally proceed to the local labor courts (juzgados de lo social). Their rulings can be appealed to the labor chamber of the relevant regional high court of justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia), whose rulings can be appealed to the labor chamber of the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo). Some labor law cases can be taken up by the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional).

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