Employment rights: what you are entitled to as a worker in Spain
If you work as an employee in Spain, your minimum employment rights are set out in the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores): to be paid a salary no lower than the legal minimum or the one in your collective agreement, and to be paid on time; a maximum working week of 40 hours on average, with daily and weekly rest; at least 30 calendar days of paid holiday; paid leave; and protection against discrimination, harassment and dismissal without cause. Your collective agreement (convenio colectivo) and your contract can improve on these minimums, but never make them worse.
What employment rights do I have as a worker in Spain?
Article 4 of the Workers’ Statute arranges them in two groups. The basic rights are, above all, collective: freedom to join a trade union, collective bargaining, strike, assembly, and information and participation in the company. The rights in the employment relationship are the ones you notice day to day:
- Actual work: the company must give you work, not keep you sidelined.
- Training and career advancement.
- Not to be discriminated against, either when joining the company or once inside.
- Physical safety and an adequate occupational risk prevention policy.
- Privacy and dignity, including protection against harassment.
- To be paid on time the agreed salary or the one set by law.
- To claim before the courts what you are owed under your contract.
Over these rights, the law comes first; next, your collective agreement, which usually sets out pay, working hours, allowances and leave; and lastly, your contract. In addition, you cannot validly waive the rights granted to you by law or by the collective agreement, even if you sign a document that says otherwise.
Pay and payslips: being paid what you are due, on time
- Minimum amount: never below the national minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional), which the Government updates by royal decree, or below the pay scales in your collective agreement.
- Punctuality: the salary is paid on the agreed date and at the agreed place, for periods that cannot exceed one month. You can also ask for advances on work already done.
- Payslip: you are entitled to a payslip (nómina) that shows separately what you earn and what is deducted.
- Extra payments: the law provides for two extra payments (pagas extra) a year, one of them at Christmas; the collective agreement sets their amount and may provide for them to be spread across the twelve monthly payments.
- Late payment: if the company is late in paying, the late-payment interest is 10% of what it owes you.
If you do not understand your payslip or think you are being paid below the collective agreement, an employment advice service can go through it with you.
Working hours, overtime and rest
| Item | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Maximum working hours | 40 hours a week of actual work, on average calculated over the year. Your collective agreement can set fewer. |
| Daily maximum | 9 ordinary hours, unless the collective agreement or an agreement with the workers’ representatives sets a different distribution (8 hours for under-18s). |
| Rest between working days | At least 12 hours between the end of one working day and the start of the next. |
| Break during the working day | At least 15 minutes if the continuous working day exceeds 6 hours. It only counts as working time if the collective agreement or the contract says so. |
| Weekly rest | A day and a half without interruption, which can be accumulated over periods of up to 14 days (2 days for under-18s). |
| Overtime | Voluntary, unless it has been agreed; maximum 80 hours a year. It is paid at no less than the value of an ordinary hour or compensated with time off (if there is no agreement, with time off within the following 4 months). |
| Public holidays | Up to 14 a year, two of them local, paid and without having to make up the time. |
The Government proposed reducing the maximum working week to 37.5 hours, but Congress rejected that bill in September 2025, so the legal limit remains 40 hours for as long as no other law is passed.
Two more rights worth knowing: the company must keep a daily record of working hours, with the start and finish times, keep it for four years and make it available to you; and you have the right to digital disconnection, that is, not to answer work emails or messages outside your working hours, on the terms set out by the company or the collective agreement.
Holidays and paid leave
You are entitled to at least 30 calendar days of holiday a year, or more if your collective agreement improves on it. They cannot be exchanged for money while the contract is still in force (they are only paid in the final settlement (finiquito) if you did not get to take them), the dates are set by mutual agreement and you must know them at least two months in advance. If you fall ill before or during your holidays, you do not lose them: we explain it in the guide to sick leave during holidays.
In addition, with prior notice and proof, you can be absent from work without losing pay in these cases (Article 37 of the Statute):
| Reason | Duration |
|---|---|
| Marriage or registration of a civil partnership (pareja de hecho) | 15 calendar days |
| Serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or surgery without hospitalisation that requires rest at home, affecting your spouse, registered partner, relatives up to the second degree or a person who lives with you and needs your care | 5 days |
| Death of your spouse, registered partner or relatives up to the second degree | 2 days (4 if you need to travel) |
| Moving home | 1 day |
| An unavoidable public and personal duty, such as voting or serving at a polling station | The time strictly necessary |
| Antenatal tests and childbirth preparation, during working hours | The time strictly necessary |
| Being unable to get to work because of restrictions imposed by the authorities or a serious and imminent risk, such as a disaster or an adverse weather event | Up to 4 days, extendable for as long as the situation lasts |
| Force majeure for urgent family reasons (illness or accident requiring your immediate presence) | Paid hours equivalent to 4 days a year |
Many collective agreements extend these types of leave or add others, so it is worth checking yours.
Balancing work and family life
- Adapting your working hours: you can ask to change your timetable, the distribution of your working hours or to work remotely in order to care for your children until they turn 12 or for other relatives who need it. The company must negotiate it with you and, if it refuses, explain why.
- Reduced working hours: by between one eighth and one half, with a proportional reduction in pay, to care for a child under 12, a person with a disability or a relative up to the second degree who cannot look after themselves.
- Nursing leave: one hour’s absence a day until the baby is nine months old, which you can replace with a half-hour reduction or accumulate into full days.
- Birth and childcare leave: this suspends the contract and is paid by Social Security, not by the company.
The law gives special protection to those who exercise these rights: the dismissal of a person who has requested or is taking reduced hours, an adaptation of working hours or certain types of leave is declared null and void, unless the company proves a genuine reason that has nothing to do with them.
Equality, dignity and health at work
The company cannot treat you worse because of your sex, age, origin, disability, sexual orientation, beliefs, trade union membership or for exercising your work-life balance rights, among other grounds. It must also protect you against harassment and take risk prevention measures: train you, give you the necessary protective equipment and offer you health surveillance. If you are suffering hostile and continued treatment, read the workplace harassment lawyer page.
What are the 3 most important employment rights?
The law does not set an order, but if three had to be chosen for what they mean in your daily life, they would be these:
- Being paid your full salary on time, with the extra payments and whatever your collective agreement sets.
- The limits on working hours and the rest periods, including holidays: these are what protect your health and your life outside work.
- Not being dismissed without cause or for discriminatory reasons: if the company does not justify the dismissal, it is unfair (improcedente) and you are entitled to compensation; if it is discriminatory or a reprisal, it is null and void (nulo) and you must be reinstated. We cover it in the guide to disciplinary dismissal.
What to do if the company does not respect your rights
- Gather evidence: contract, payslips, working-hours record, emails, messages and any document that shows the problem.
- Complain in writing to the company, by a means that leaves a record, and keep the reply.
- Talk to the workers’ representatives, if there are any: the works council or the staff delegates.
- Go to the Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo), which can act on a complaint and must treat its origin as confidential.
- Watch the deadlines: in general, you have one year to claim wages and other amounts, but only 20 working days to challenge a dismissal or a substantial change to your conditions.
If the company does not put things right or the problem is serious, it is worth having a professional look at it before the deadlines pass. You can tell an employment lawyer about your case: we will put you in touch with an English-speaking specialist who will study your situation and tell you what you can claim.
Frequently asked questions
Can I waive my employment rights if I sign a document?
No. The Workers’ Statute prevents you from validly waiving the rights granted by law or by the collective agreement, so a clause that takes them away is not binding on you. If you are asked to sign something like that, seek advice first.
What rights do I have if I work without a written contract?
The same ones. The law presumes that there is a contract when you work for and under the direction of another in exchange for a salary and, if it is not in writing when it should be, it is presumed to be permanent and full-time, unless proven otherwise.
Where can I look up my collective agreement?
Collective agreements are published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) or in the official gazette of your region (autonomous community) or province, depending on their scope. The applicable agreement is usually stated in your contract; if you do not know it, ask the company or the workers’ representatives.
How long do I have to claim overtime or unpaid wages?
In general, one year from the day on which you could have claimed each amount. It is best not to wait: the oldest amounts are gradually lost.
