COUNTRY

Written Agreements

Employment contracts may be concluded orally or in writing. Employment relationships will be presumed to exist between any party who provides a service to an organization and the counterpart who receives the service in exchange for a fee.

When the employment relationship lasts more than four weeks, the employer must inform the worker in writing, and under the terms and deadlines established by law, of the essential contract terms and conditions for the performance of the work (provided that such elements and conditions do not appear in the employment contract formalized in writing). Essential employment conditions include the following:

• Working hours
• Schedule
• Shift work regime
• Remuneration system
• Work and performance system.

The employer must also notify the employee of any modifications to the above working conditions.

Oral Agreements

Spain's employment contracts may be written or oral. However, employees are entitled to have their employment conditions established in a written agreement if they so request, even if their employment has commenced.

When the employment relationship lasts more than four weeks, the employer must inform the worker in writing, and under the terms and deadlines established by law, of the essential contract terms and conditions for the performance of the work (provided that such elements and conditions do not appear in the employment contract formalized in writing). Essential employment conditions include the following:

• Working hours
• Schedule
• Shift work regime
• Remuneration system
• Work and performance system.

The employer must also notify the employee of any modifications to the above working conditions.

Implied Agreements

A contract can be implied based on the actions of the parties involved. If a person performs work for remuneration, then an employment contract will be implied.

Spain's regulations on work hours state that employees must:

• Not work more than 40 hours a week (based on an annual average)
• Not work more than nine hours a day
• Be given at least 12 hours of rest before starting work the next day.

Remote Work

Spain defines remote work as work conducted by an employee outside the workplace for at least 30% of the work day, occurring over a minimum period of 3 months. The employee and employer must meet certain conditions for remote work to take place.

January 1: New Year’s Day (Nao Nuevo); January 6: Epiphany (Dia de los Reyes Magos); April 15: Good Friday (Viernes Santo); May 1: Labor Day (Día del Trabajo); August 15: Assumption (Asunción de la Virgen); October 12: National Day / Columbus Day; November 1: All Saints’ Day (Fiesta de Todos los Santos); December 6: Constitution Day (Día de la Constitución); December 8: Immaculate Conception (La Immaculada); December 25: Christmas (Navidad); March 19: Father’s Day (coincides with St Joseph’s Day); November 1st All Saints Day on . December 26: St. Stephen’s Day; Varies: Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice or Eid al Adha.

In Spain, employees are entitled to a period of paid annual leave that cannot be substituted by financial compensation and must be agreed to in the employee's collective agreement or individual contract. In no case can the duration of paid annual leave be less than 30 calendar days (equivalent to 22 business days of leave).

The leave period will typically be set by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee in accordance with the provisions (where appropriate) of any collective agreements on annual vacation planning.

In Spain, the maximum duration of sick leave is 12 months (365 days). However, it can be extended another six months (180 days) if a cure is foreseen in this latter period. The law distinguishes between common illnesses and occupational illnesses. The latter refers to a chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity.

A public medical practitioner must examine employees who suffer from a temporary incapacity to work. The practitioner fills out a medical report and submits it to the INSS (National Social Security Institute) where it will then be transmitted to the employer.

During the first three days of illness, the worker is usually compensated by the employer, although the law does not mandate that the employer pay the employee during this time. From day four to day 20, the employee receives 60% of their regular wage, and after day 20, they receive 75% of their regular wage. From day four to day 15, the employer is liable to pay the wage, and after day 16, it is funded by the INSS (Spanish Social Security System). Collective agreements may have different sick leave arrangements.

In Spain, employees are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave (plus two additional weeks for each additional child in the case of multiple births). The maternity leave period should be enjoyed continuously and is independent of any leave taken to attend medical examinations or due to a health risk during pregnancy. The mother may choose to begin maternity leave up to 4 weeks before the child is born, and at least 6 weeks must be utilized immediately after childbirth. If both the mother and father work, the mother may grant part of her maternity leave to the father, provided that she enjoys the minimum of 6 weeks postpartum and that her returning to work does not constitute a risk to her health. In cases of adoption and foster care, both pre-adoptive and permanent, of minors up to 6 years of age, the suspension will have a duration of 16 uninterrupted weeks and is extendable in cases of multiple adoptions. Under Spain's current law, women can transfer up to 10 weeks of leave to the father.

Single parents are entitled to 32 weeks of leave, equal to the combined leave that a two-parent family would receive.

In Spain, fathers are entitled to 16 weeks of paid paternity leave. The Spanish social security system provides leave at 100% of covered pay. Leave can be taken either on a full or part-time basis, at a minimum rate of 50% of regular working time. 2 days of birth leave (separate from the paternity leave and paid for by the employer) are also provided to new fathers, with an extra 2 days added per child for multiple births, adoptions, or foster care. Single parents are entitled to 32 weeks of leave, equal to the combined leave that a two-parent family would receive.

The first 6 weeks of the leave must be taken continuously after birth. The remaining 10 weeks may be interrupted and begin on the expiration of the mandatory leave after birth until the child turns 12 months old.

Minimum Wage

Minimum wages, effective January 1, 2025, are summarized below (these do not include any benefits paid in-kind):

• The minimum wage for any activity in agriculture, industry, and services (regardless of the sex or age of the workers) is set at EUR 39.47 (euros) per day or EUR 1,184 per month.
• The minimum wage for temporary workers on contracts of up to 120 days is EUR 56.08 per working day.
• The minimum hourly wage for domestic staff in the home is EUR 9.26 per hour worked.

According to the Workers' Statute, all employers are required to provide salaries without any discrimination based on gender. Employers are also required to keep a record of the average values of wages, salary supplements, and non-salary earnings, disaggregated by sex and distributed by professional groups, categories, or jobs of equal value, and including arithmetic mean and median.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

In Spain, regular working hours can last no more than nine hours per day and 40 hours per week, averaged over a reference period of 12 months. Work carried out beyond the hours of the ordinary working day is considered overtime work. Through a collective agreement or individual employment contract, the employer may either pay the employee at least their normal remuneration for working the overtime hours or compensate them by granting equivalent paid rest time. In the absence of any such agreement, overtime is compensated with equivalent rest periods within the following four months after which it was worked.

An employee may not work more than 80 overtime hours per year. The provision of overtime work is voluntary unless its performance has been agreed to in a collective agreement or individual employment contract. Overtime work is prohibited for night workers.

Notice Period

Individual dismissals on objective grounds are subject to a notice period of 15 days, while no notice is required for dismissals on disciplinary grounds. Where notice periods apply, the employer can also decide to pay in lieu of notice. In case of termination of fixed-term employment contracts with a duration exceeding one year, the employer must generally give a minimum notice period of 15 days in advance of the termination date. If an employee resigns, regardless of whether they were hired under an open-ended or fixed-term contract, they must give the employer the notice defined by any applicable collective agreement or by custom and practice in the workplace concerned (generally, the notice period ranges from 15 days to one month, though some collective agreements require a notice period of three months).

Severance Benefits

In Spain, in the event of dismissal for an objective reason (economic or organizational reasons, worker's capacity, etc.), an employee receives severance pay when the written contract termination notice is delivered. The amount of severance pay varies depending on the category of dismissal.

• Objective dismissal: A tax-free payment is provided in the amount of 20 days' salary per year of service, up to 12 months' salary.
• Disciplinary dismissal: If the dismissal is proven in court to be fair, the employee is entitled to no severance. If it is deemed unfair, the appropriate tax-free severance is 33 days' salary per year of service up to 24 months' pay.

Pension

In Spain, employees who have reached the statutory retirement age and have paid social security contributions for the necessary number of years (at least 15 years, two of which must be immediately preceding their retirement) are eligible for an old-age pension. The current retirement age limit is 65 years.

The pension amount is 50% of the insured's average earnings for the first 15 years of insurance contributions, plus 0.21% for each additional month of contributions up to 163 additional months and 0.19% for each extra month from 164 to 246 months. Beyond that, the pension is paid at 100% of the insured's average earnings. The maximum benefit for 2025 is EUR 3,267.60 (Euros) per month and 45,746.40 (Euros) per year, paid in 14 payments. Currently, the minimum pension is EUR 15,786.40 per year with dependent spouse, EUR 12,241.60 per year without spouse and EUR 11,620.00 per year with non-dependent spouse.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

In Spain, the law provides survivors benefits that become payable if the deceased worker was registered with a social security scheme (or an equivalent) and had paid contributions for at least 500 days in the five calendar years before their death (or a total of 15 years of contributions). No contributions are required for the orphan's pension or if the deceased was a pensioner.

Survivors include the insured's widow(er) (in some cases, also an unmarried partner or divorced spouse), children under 21 years of age (or 24 when they earn only the minimum wage), and other members of the deceased's family (including grandchildren, siblings, grandparents, parents) if they:

• Lived with the deceased for at least two years before the death
• Were dependent on the deceased worker and not entitled to a public pension themselves.

Invalidity Benefits

In Spain, the Social Security system provides disability benefits, categorized as follows:

• Partial permanent disability - A decrease of no less than 33% in performance
• Total permanent disability - 100% decrease in performance of a particular job, but retained ability to work in other jobs
• Absolute permanent disability - 100% decrease in the ability to perform any job
• Great disability - Personal assistance is required to carry out essential acts of life.

In the case of partial permanent disability, a lump sum compensation is paid as 24 monthly payments of the calculation basis. The calculation basis is equal to the insured's past earnings over the last 19 years. From 2022 onwards, the calculation basis will be calculated with the past 25 annual earnings and adjusted for inflation, apart from the most recent two years. In the case of total permanent disability, a monthly pension is paid that equals 55% of the corresponding calculation basis. It increases by 20% from the age of 55. For absolute permanent disability, 100% of the calculation basis is paid as a monthly pension. The pension for great disability is 100% of the calculation basis, plus a supplement. The calculation basis for a work-related injury is the average of contributions made by the employer.