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.