Guide To Employment Contracts in Spain
Expat Tips
Published: 18 October 2017 10:39 CET
Updated: 06 April 2026 10:39 CET
Employment contracts in Spain matter far more than many expats realise. They are not just a formality that sits in a drawer until something goes wrong. Your contract affects your pay, your hours, your holiday entitlement, your probation period, your right to sick pay, and how easy or difficult it is for the employer to end the relationship.
If you have been offered a job in Spain, you need to know what type of contract you are being given, what it says about your working conditions, and whether it matches the reality of the role. A contract that looks harmless on the surface can still hide important issues such as reduced hours, unclear salary wording, an unsuitable temporary clause, or a collective agreement that gives you better rights than the employer has mentioned.
The old idea that Spanish contracts are all either “permanent” or “temporary” is now too simplistic. Spain’s labour rules have changed a lot, especially since the labour reform that reduced the use of temporary contracts and pushed employers more strongly towards indefinite hiring. If you are still working out the wider picture, it also helps to read our guide to finding employment in Spain before you sign anything.
Are employment contracts in Spain always in writing?
Not always, but in practice many are. Some indefinite contracts can still be verbal, but a large number of contracts must be in writing, including part-time contracts, fixed-discontinuous contracts, many temporary contracts, and most training-related arrangements.
Even when the law does not strictly require a written contract in every case, expats should be extremely cautious about accepting vague verbal agreements. If you are moving countries, dealing with residence paperwork, banking, rental contracts, and tax registration, the last thing you need is a job that only exists as a promise over coffee.
Employers must also communicate the contract details to the public employment service within the legal timeframe. That administrative requirement is one more reason why properly documented contracts are the norm in Spain rather than the exception.
What should be included in a Spanish employment contract?
A proper Spanish employment contract should clearly identify the employer and employee and set out the essential terms of the working relationship. The exact format may vary depending on the type of contract and the sector, but the key information should usually include:
- the job title or professional group
- the start date
- whether the contract is indefinite, temporary, part-time, fixed-discontinuous or formativo
- the place of work or whether the role is remote, hybrid or office-based
- the agreed working hours and schedule
- the gross salary and any supplements
- the applicable probation period
- the collective agreement or convenio colectivo
- holiday entitlement
- notice terms, where relevant
If the contract is part-time, the number of ordinary hours and how they are distributed should be spelled out properly. If it is fixed-discontinuous, the contract should reflect the essential features of that intermittent activity. If it is temporary, the employer must explain the specific legal reason why the contract is temporary rather than indefinite.
What is a convenio colectivo and why does it matter?
One of the most important things for expats to understand is that your contract is often only part of the story. Many employment relationships in Spain are also governed by a convenio colectivo, which is a sectoral or company-level collective agreement.
This can matter a lot because the convenio may set out rights that go beyond the basic minimum in the law. It may regulate salary bands, overtime rates, trial periods, job categories, shift allowances, notice periods, travel expenses, paid leave, and other practical terms. Two people doing very similar jobs in different sectors can end up with noticeably different rights because the applicable convenio is different.
So if your contract refers to a collective agreement, do not ignore that line. It is often the bit that explains what you are really entitled to.
The main types of employment contract in Spain today
Indefinite contract
The indefinite contract is now the normal starting point in Spanish labour law. In plain English, this means the contract has no fixed end date. It can be full-time or part-time, and it may also be used for fixed-discontinuous arrangements where the work is recurring but not continuous throughout the year.
This is generally the most secure type of contract for a worker. It does not mean you are impossible to dismiss, but it does mean the employer cannot simply end the contract just because an arbitrary date has arrived.
Fixed-discontinuous contract
This is one of the biggest omissions in a lot of older articles. A fixed-discontinuous contract is an indefinite contract used for work that comes in recurring periods, such as seasonal or intermittent activity. It is common in tourism, hospitality, education support, logistics, and some service sectors where demand rises and falls in a predictable pattern.
This type of contract is important because some employers used to rely heavily on repeated temporary contracts for this kind of work. The current legal framework pushes many of those situations into the fixed-discontinuous category instead.
If you are offered one of these contracts, pay close attention to how the calling-back system works. The order and method of reactivation should not feel like roulette played by payroll.
Temporary contract
Temporary contracts still exist, but they are now much more restricted than many old guides suggest. Broadly speaking, a fixed-term contract is only allowed for two main reasons:
- circumstances of production, such as an occasional and justified increase in workload, or
- substitution, where one worker is temporarily replacing another.
That means employers are not supposed to use temporary contracts lazily just because they “want flexibility” or are not in the mood for commitment. If the real need is stable and ongoing, the contract should usually be indefinite.
In addition, if the legal rules on temporary hiring are breached, the worker may have stronger rights than the employer assumes. So this is not an area where employers can simply make things up and hope no one notices.
Part-time contract
Part-time work is common in Spain, especially in hospitality, retail, support functions, and some education and service roles. However, part-time contracts come with specific formalities. The ordinary contracted hours and their distribution need to be reflected properly, and there are rules on complementary hours.
Part-time workers have the same basic rights as full-time workers on a proportionate basis where appropriate. They should not be treated like second-class employees just because they are working fewer hours.
One thing to watch carefully is whether the employer is offering a genuinely part-time role or trying to disguise a near full-time job behind a lower-hours contract. If the hours worked in reality do not match the contract, that can create serious problems later.
Training and professional-practice contracts
Spain also has contract models linked to training and professional development. These are not the same as the old “training” and “work experience” labels many expat articles still use.
The main categories today are:
- formación en alternancia, which combines paid work with structured training, and
- formativo para la obtención de la práctica profesional, which is aimed at giving a worker practical professional experience linked to completed studies or training.
These contracts come with their own rules on duration, training content, supervision, and salary treatment. If an employer offers you one, make sure it is genuinely appropriate for your profile and not simply a cheaper way to fill a normal job.
What is a typical working week in Spain?
The maximum ordinary working week under the general rule is 40 hours of effective work on average in annual calculation. That does not mean every job is a neat Monday-to-Friday 9-to-5 arrangement, because actual schedules can vary a lot depending on sector, shift patterns, and the relevant convenio.
In practice, your contract should make it clear whether you are working full-time or part-time, what the normal schedule looks like, and whether shifts, weekends, nights or split days are part of the role.
There are also rules on rest periods. As a general labour-law framework, workers must have minimum daily rest and weekly rest protections. So if a job looks like it expects endless availability with no real structure, that is not something to shrug off as “just how Spain works”.
How salary is usually structured in Spain
Salary wording in Spanish contracts can confuse newcomers. Employers may quote salary annually, monthly, or in terms of a sector pay scale. Some jobs are paid in 12 monthly instalments and others in 14, because Spanish law recognises two extraordinary payments per year unless they are prorated into the monthly salary by agreement.
This is why two offers can look different on paper even when the overall annual salary is similar. One role might advertise a monthly figure with 14 payments, while another gives a higher monthly amount because the extra payments are spread across 12 months.
When reviewing a contract, check:
- whether the salary shown is gross or net
- whether it is annual or monthly
- whether the extra payments are included or separate
- whether there are variable elements such as commission, bonuses or supplements
- which salary concepts are guaranteed and which are conditional
You should also receive payslips showing how your salary is made up and what deductions have been taken for tax and social security. If you are still getting your paperwork in order, our guides on how to get your Spanish NIE number and getting a Spanish Social Security number are worth reading alongside this article.
Annual leave and public holidays
Workers in Spain are entitled to paid annual leave, and the legal minimum is 30 calendar days per year. Some collective agreements improve on this, or express leave in working days rather than calendar days, so the practical result may differ depending on the sector.
On top of that, Spain also has public holidays. The maximum number of labour holidays under the general framework is 14 per year, although the exact mix varies by region and municipality because two are local and others can vary by autonomous community. If you want to see how they fall this year, check our guide to Spain public holidays in 2026.
Do not assume the contract alone tells the whole story on holidays. Again, the convenio may add important details about how leave is booked, how periods are scheduled, and whether some dates are reserved for business needs.
Probation periods in Spain
Probation periods are common, but they are not a free-for-all. They must be agreed in writing and are subject to legal or collective-agreement limits. In the absence of a convenio rule, the general legal maximum is six months for qualified technical staff and two months for other workers. In smaller companies, non-technical workers may have different default limits, and short temporary contracts are subject to tighter rules.
During probation, both sides have more freedom to end the relationship, but that does not mean the worker has no rights. You are still an employee, still entitled to pay, and still covered by the normal obligations and protections attached to the job.
Sick leave and family-related rights
Employment contracts do not usually contain a neat little “number of sick days” box in the way some foreigners expect. In Spain, if you are unwell and unable to work, the usual route is a medical sick leave process rather than a casual self-certified day off system.
In broad terms, temporary disability benefit for common illness or non-work accident is typically paid at 60% of the regulatory base from day 4 to day 20, and 75% from day 21 onward, subject to the rules and conditions that apply. Some collective agreements improve on this and top up the amount.
Family rights have also changed over time, so older articles can be very misleading here. If your contract or an employer casually quotes old maternity and paternity figures, do not assume they are current. The wider legal framework on birth and childcare leave has evolved, and what applies today is more equalised and more structured than the old “mother gets X, father gets Y” model people still repeat.
Can the employer change your role, hours or workplace?
Not whenever they feel like it. Employers in Spain do have managerial powers, but they are not unlimited. Significant changes to working conditions, functions, schedules, or workplace arrangements can trigger specific legal rules.
That means if you signed up for one role and the company later starts trying to turn it into another with worse hours, lower value duties, or a very different working pattern, the answer is not automatically “tough luck”. Sometimes there is a lawful basis for changes. Sometimes there is not. The contract, the convenio, and the broader labour framework all matter.
What happens when an employment contract ends?
Resignation
If you decide to leave, your notice period may be set by the contract or the applicable convenio. Some sectors are stricter than others, so do not resign impulsively and only then discover you were expected to give formal notice.
End of a temporary contract
If the contract is genuinely temporary and the legal cause is valid, it can end when that cause ends. But if the temporary setup was not lawful in the first place, the worker may have stronger rights than the employer assumes.
Dismissal or redundancy
Spain does not make it impossible to dismiss someone, but it does regulate it. If a dismissal is challenged and ultimately declared unfair, the general compensation rule for modern contracts is 33 days’ salary per year of service up to a maximum of 24 monthly payments. That is very different from old articles that still talk as if 45 days per year were the standard across the board.
Also remember that not every contract ending is the same. A resignation, the expiry of a valid temporary contract, an objective dismissal, a disciplinary dismissal, and an unfair dismissal all have different consequences.
Finiquito
When employment ends, workers in Spain are often given a finiquito. This is the final settlement of outstanding amounts, such as salary owed, unused holiday accrued, or pending extras. A finiquito is not automatically the same thing as severance compensation, and expats often confuse the two.
If you are asked to sign a final settlement and do not fully understand what is included, do not treat it like a restaurant receipt and scribble away just to get home faster.
Red flags to watch for before signing
- the employer cannot clearly explain what type of contract it is
- the salary is described vaguely or only verbally
- the contract says part-time but the real expectation is clearly much higher
- the employer wants to use repeated temporary contracts for a job that looks permanent
- the convenio colectivo is not identified
- the notice period is unclear
- the role being discussed in person does not match the one written down
- you are being asked to start work before the legal paperwork is in order
What if you are moving to Spain and do not have a job yet?
For many expats, the contract question starts before the contract itself ever arrives. You may still be comparing routes, working out whether you need sponsorship, or trying to figure out which sectors are most realistic for your background.
If that is your situation, these guides will help:
And what if salaried employment is not the right fit?
Not everyone moving to Spain wants a standard employee contract. Some expats already have clients, freelance income, or a business idea they want to build from scratch.
If that sounds more like you, these articles are the better place to start:
Moving to Spain for work? If you want private health cover while you get settled, compare our Sanitas health insurance plans for expats in Spain and find the option that best matches your move.
Final thoughts
Spanish employment contracts are more detailed and more regulated than many expats expect, which is not necessarily a bad thing. A decent contract can give you a strong framework of protection, but only if you understand what you are signing.
The key things to check are the contract type, the salary structure, the working hours, the probation period, the applicable convenio colectivo, and whether the terms actually match the job you have been promised. If something feels muddled, temporary for no clear reason, or written in a way that leaves too much open to interpretation, take a closer look before you commit.
