INTERES Invest in Spain

1. What type of contracts are there in Spain?
2. What are the working hours in Spain?
3. What is the maximum overtime?
4. Is shift work allowed?
5. What is the statutory holiday entitlement?
6. How much does the employee cost the company?
7. Is it difficult to terminate a contract of employment in Spain?
8. What is the cost of dismissal?
9. What is the average salary in Spain?
10. What advantages are there for contracting certain groups?
11. Is it possible to contract someone in Spain without having formed a Spanish company?
12. Is it hard to find staff who speak other languages?
13. Is it possible to find telecommunications engineers?
14. Is it easy to find scientific researchers?

1. What type of contracts are there in Spain?

Depending on the duration of the employment relationship, contracts can be divided into permanent and temporary contracts. Of particular note within the temporary contracts category are the contract for a particular project and service and training contracts [contrato en formación], which include the work experience contract [contrato en prácticas].

In terms of working time, contracts can be divided into full-time contracts and part-time contracts.

For more information on each of these types of contract click here

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2. What are the working hours in Spain?

Working hours are as agreed in the collective agreements or individual contracts of employment. The Workers' Statute [Estatuto de los Trabajadores] provides for an ordinary maximum working week of forty hours.

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3.  What is the maximum overtime?

Overtime may not exceed 80 hours per year.

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4. Is shift work allowed?

Yes, shift work is possible.

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5. What is the statutory holiday entitlement?

For permanent contracts, there is an entitlement to paid annual holiday of not less that 30 calendar days.

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6. How much does the employee cost the company?

The cost of a permanent, full-time employee will be approximately 130% of his gross annual salary.

For example, an employee who receives €15,000 gross per annum will cost the company 31.59% of his gross salary by way of the employer’s Social Security contribution, that is to say an additional €4,738.50 per annum. The total cost of the employee to the company will be €19,738.50 per annum (€15,000 + €4,738.50).

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7. Is it difficult to terminate a contract of employment in Spain?

No.

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8. What is the cost of dismissal?

If the dismissal is unlawful the employee will be entitled to compensation of 45 days’ salary per year of service, up to a maximum of 42 months.

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9. What is the average salary in Spain?

Salaries vary according to the sector, the professional category, the location of the business, the size of the business, etc. The Spanish salary regulations set out the minimum wage stipulated in the Workers' Statute, which is fixed annually by the government. Thus Royal Decree 1613/2005 of 30 December 2005 fixes the national minimum wage for 2006 at a gross amount of not less than €7,572.60 per annum. In addition the employees’ remuneration terms will be governed by the collective agreement applicable to the sector or business.

Labor costs in Spain are below the average in the EU and the USA.

If you give us the professional categories for which you would need to contract staff, we can give you a salary range broken down by provinces/regions.

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10. What advantages are there for contracting certain groups?

Both the national and regional administration has a list of aid (including employer Social Security contribution rebates) that is aimed at stimulating job creation amongst certain groups: young people, the disabled, unemployed women in sectors with a low rate of female employment, conversion of temporary contracts into permanent ones, etc.

In addition the cost of dismissal is less (33 days’ salary per year of service, prorated for periods of less than a year, up to a maximum of 24 months).

For more information about employment creation measures click here.

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11. Is it possible to contract someone in Spain without having formed a Spanish company?

Yes. Employees of branches or representative offices established in Spain are on the payroll of the head office.

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12. Is it hard to find staff who speak other languages?

No. In Spain a high percentage of the population studies languages.

96% of secondary school students study English, with the average number of languages studied being 1.4 (higher than Germany, Italy, etc).

In addition Spain has a high number of foreign residents of employable age. In 2004 the number of English-speaking immigrants of employable age (originating from the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and India) was 38,839.

For more information about the number of foreign residents of a specific country, please contact us.

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13. Is it possible to find telecommunications engineers?

Yes. There are 28 Spanish university centres that offer degrees in telecommunications engineering and 66 that offer diplomas in telecommunications engineering. Each year around 20,000 students enroll on degree courses in telecommunications engineering and 19,000 on diploma courses. In 2003 2,015 students graduated with degrees and 1,784 with diplomas.

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14. Is it easy to find scientific researchers?

Yes, for example:

Degree	Number of centers with courses	2003-04 Enrolled students	2003 Graduated students
Bio-chemistry	20	1,969	615
Bio-technology	3	525
Biology	27	28,039	3,877
Physics	20	10,923	1,192
Mathematics	25	8,898	1,180
Chemistry	39	25,174	3,182
Marine Science	5	2,020	310
Pharmacy	15	19,791	2,691
Medicine	30	29,062	4,009
Dentistry	15	6,959	1,138
Veterinary	11	6,959	1,138

Degree Number of centers with courses 2003-04 Enrolled students 2003 Graduated students.

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