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WORKING IN SPAIN

EXPLAINED: What you need to know before hiring a worker in Spain

If you’re setting up a business in Spain and need to hire staff, you’ll need to know all the legalities involved. Here’s what you need to know when you employ someone in Spain.

Published: 21 September 2021 16:55 CEST
Updated: 11 March 2022 10:56 CET
EXPLAINED: What you need to know before hiring a worker in Spain
Illustration Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Employment is regulated in Spain by the convenio colectivo, a set of rules which regulate things such as working hours, number of vacation days, and salary.

Here’s what you need to know about each of these, as well as sick pay, maternity and paternity leave, and how to terminate a contract. 

Working hours

The general number of working hours per week in Spain is 40 hours, however you can also choose to hire someone for slightly less. If you choose to shorten the working week, you could distribute the extra hours how you see fit, with some longer weeks for example.

Employees can choose to do overtime if you offer it to them. You can compensate this either as extra pay or as additional holiday days within four months. Usually, paid overtime cannot exceed 80 hours annually.

You will also need to work out what type of contract to offer them, you can find out about the different types of contracts available in Spain below. 

READ ALSO: What are the types of work contracts in Spain and which one is the best?

Salary and payroll

You can choose to pay your employee 14 payments per year or 16 1/2 payments per year. If you choose 14 payments, you must pay the monthly salary plus two extra payments due by July 10th and December 15th. In early February 2022, the Spanish government raised the minimum wage to €1,000 gross per month.

Make sure that you specify that the salary is gross in the contract with your employee, as certain taxes and social security contributions will have to be deducted from this.

You must also pay a social security tax for each of your workers. This equals 29.9 percent of the employee’s salary up until a certain amount 

READ ALSO: Spain posts record drop in summer unemployment as tourists return

Holidays

Besides public holidays (usually 10 national holidays and four regional public holidays), employees are allowed 23 vacation days for a full year worked.

Employees also have the right to take extra days for exceptional circumstances. These include two days for the death of a family member, one day for moving house, up to 15 days if they get married, and three to four days for the illness of a family member.

Spanish law also allows for 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. After the maternity period is up, employees may take a further additional year of unpaid leave. In January 2021, Spain also changed the law so that new fathers can also benefit from 16-week paternity leave.  

READ ALSO: New fathers in Spain can now enjoy 16 weeks paternity leave

Sick days

Spanish employment law doesn’t provide separate days for sick leave, instead, if an employee is sick, they must get a note from a doctor so they can go on ‘baja’.

During this time, you will be reimbursed by the social security system for payments. Employees typically receive at least 60 percent of their usual wages while they are out sick, but it will depend on your industry.

Firing

Generally, there is a two-month probationary period, so you can decide if your employee is a good fit for your company and works well.

After this time, you can only fire an employee if you have justified grounds for dismissal, for example, if they are not performing their role correctly. However, if you don’t have grounds for dismissal then you will have to pay for wrongful termination of the contract. This is usually from 20 to 33 days salary per year that the employee has worked for you.

You must also pay finiquito, which covers any vacation that the employee has not yet benefitted from.

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WORKING IN SPAIN

What’s the law on having two jobs in Spain?

With the current cost of living crisis, working more than one job is becoming more and more common, but what are the rules on working multiple contracted jobs in Spain and the tax implications of this?

Published: 25 June 2024 13:24 CEST
Updated: 29 June 2024 08:10 CEST
What's the law on having two jobs in Spain?

Often it’s necessary to have more than one job at a time, particularly if they don’t pay well and you’re struggling to make ends meet.

In fact, historically that is part of the reason why establishments stay open so late and why siestas were so common – because people would have one job in the morning and then go home for a rest before starting their second.

This is still commonplace today and is in fact becoming more and more popular, with the rise in the cost of living, driving an increasing number of people to take up a second job.

Whatever your reasons for having two jobs or more – to save up more money or gain extra experience and work your way up, there are some financial implications you should be aware of.

What does the law say?

Currently in Spain, there is no restriction that prevents a person from having a second job, with two contracts in two different companies, for 80 hours a week.

According to data from the first quarter of this year from the Active Population Survey (EPA) prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the number of people with a second job in Spain stands at 591,300, although according to affiliation data of Social Security, some 800,000 people have more than one position.

This trend has been seen in each quarter of the EPA since 2022 and, right now, is close to a historic number.

Categories you should be aware of

There are two types of categories when you work in multiple jobs in Spain – these are pluriempleo and pluriactividad. Pluriempleo literally means multiple employment. This is understood as a person who works as an employee in two or more companies under the same Social Security regime.

In this way, it differs from pluriactividad or multiple activities, which is when people work for others and have their own business at the same time or their second job is under a different social security regime.

For example, if you work as a hotel receptionist in the morning and then in a restaurant at night, these positions are considered to be part of the same regime, but if you work in a hotel in the morning and then as a nurse in a hospital at night, these are two different careers and therefore social security regimes.

If you’re self-employed as well as having a contract job, this is a slightly different situation. To find out more, read our guide below. 

READ ALSO – Self-employed in Spain: What are the tax rules if you do two or more jobs?

What are the tax and social security implications?

If you have two separate jobs, you are required by law to report your situation to Social Security, and to each of the companies you’re employed by.

When it comes to the Tax Agency, it’s important to note that you are obliged to submit your yearly Income Tax return (Renta), when you are paid by more than one employer and your income exceeds €22,000 per year.

READ ALSO – EXPLAINED: The key changes to Spain’s 2023/2024 annual tax return

In 2024, the maximum social security contribution base for employees has been set at €4,720.50 per month. This means, that regardless of whether your income from two positions exceeds this amount, the social security base will not be more than this.

The amount of IRPF (Personal Income Tax) must also be taken into account. If you are combining two contracts, it’s important to calculate the withholding tax.

This is because companies calculate personal income tax based on your annual compensation expectations. They do not take into account the existence of another job, so they apply the discount depending on what they are paying you only.

This means that they will keep less than what they should and when you’re filling out your Renta yearly income tax return, you will most likely have to pay the extra to make up the difference. 

In this case, you should request that both companies calculate personal income tax according to your earnings, so that you can get a good idea of the amount you have to pay working two positions.

You may also consider hiring a gestor or accountant to file your yearly tax return for you if you have a particularly complicated situation and work three or more jobs for example. 

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