Spain

Employing Workers in

Spain

Listed below is a summary of the regulation of employment in this economy, specifically as it affects the hiring and redundancy of workers and the rigidity of working hours.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

Employing Workers Data

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Methodology

Read the methodology for Employing Workers Indicator

Topic Answer
Difficulty of hiring
Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes
Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) It depends on the type of fixed-term contract: (i) for a particular task or service, the contract terminates when the service or task is completed with a maximum duration of 36 months (that can be extended up to 12 months if provided in the relevant colle
Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) 12
Minimum wage for a 19-year old worker or an apprentice (US$/month) 1044.0
Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.27
Rigidity of hours
Standard workday in manufacturing (hours) 8 hours/day as a general practice. 9 hours maximum unless established otherwise through collective agreement. Average of 40 hours/week averaged on an annual basis. - Art. 34, Worker's Statute
Minimum daily rest required by law (hours) 12 - Art. 34(3), Worker's Statute
Maximum overtime limit in normal circumstances (hours) 80 hours/year if compensated with wages. (No limit if compensated with rest time within 4 months after the date of the overtime.) - Art. 35(1) & (2), Worker's Statute. The company can not require an employee to work any overtime except if it has been agre
Maximum overtime limit in exceptional circumstances (hours) If the exceptional circumstances relate to structural matters relating to production or replacement of an absent employee, the company may not require the employee to work unless permitted by the employment contract or by the applicable collective bargain
Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 0% - No compulsory premium (Article 35.1 Workers' Statute Act), but very common in collective agreements.
50-hour workweek allowed for 2 months a year in case of a seasonal increase in production? Yes
Maximum working days per week 5.5
Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) in case of continuous operations 25%
Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) in case of continuous operations 0%
Major restrictions on night work in case of continuous operations? Yes
Major restrictions on weekly holiday in case of continuous operations? Yes
Paid annual leave for a worker with 9 months of tenure (in working days) 14.5
Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (in working days) 22.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (in working days) 22.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (in working days) 22.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 20 years of tenure (in working days) 22.0
Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 22.0
Difficulty of redundancy
Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes
Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes
Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No
Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes
Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No
Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No
Priority rules for redundancies? No
Priority rules for reemployment? No
Redundancy costs (weeks of salary)
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 9 months of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 1 year of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 5 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 10 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 20 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 9 months of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.1
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 1 year of tenure, in salary weeks) 2.9
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 5 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 14.3
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 10 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 28.6
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (for a worker with 20 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 52.0
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in salary weeks) 15.2
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