The most important features of Spanish employment contracts and the special characteristics of Spanish labour law are summarised below.

Who can conclude a valid employment contract?

In principle, any person of legal age (18 years old). Minors can still sign an employment contract if they have been declared legally competent. Anyone who has reached the age of 16 but is not yet 18 years old can sign an employment contract with the consent of their legal representatives, i.e. their parents or guardian, or, if they live independently of their parents with their consent, if their parents expressly or implicitly agree to the contract.

Formal requirements for Spanish employment contracts

In principle, the employment contract does not initially require written form. It can therefore even be concluded verbally. Understandably, the lack of a written agreement often leads to a number of problems.

Since it is difficult to prove the existence of an employment relationship in the case of a verbal agreement, Article 8 of the Ley del Estatuto de los Trabajadores stipulates that an employment relationship exists in any case if a service is provided to another person, this service is subject to instructions and is performed within an organisational and management structure, and a monetary payment has been agreed in exchange for this service.

However, in the following cases, the written form of the employment contract is required at the outset:

• if required by law
• for internship contracts
• training contracts
• apprenticeship contracts
• Part-time contracts (contrato a tiempo parcial)
• Irregular fixed-term contracts / seasonal contracts (contrato fijo-discontinuo) (these are contracts for an indefinite period that only cover certain periods of the year)
• Relief contracts (contrato de relevo) (contracts concluded to compensate for the gradual reduction in the workload of an employee who is gradually retiring by hiring another employee)
• Contracts aimed at the performance, execution or creation of a specific service or work (contrato para la realización de una obra o servicio determinado) (limited contracts whose limitation is not expressed in terms of time, but end with the completion of a specific task).
• Home working contracts (contratos de trabajadores que trabajen a distancia)
• Contracts concluded in Spain with companies based here for the performance of work abroad.
• Fixed-term employment contracts with a duration of more than four weeks.

If the written form has not been observed in the cases described above, the law assumes that the employment relationship is a permanent full-time employment relationship unless it can be proven that it is a fixed-term employment relationship or a part-time contract.

Both the employer and the employee may demand at any time that the employment contract be set out in writing. This applies regardless of how long the employment relationship has existed.

Regardless of the question of an initial formal requirement, it should be noted that, in accordance with Article 8(5) of the Ley del Estatuto de los Trabajadores, the employer is obliged to provide the employee with the most important points of the employment contract in writing for employment relationships lasting longer than four weeks.

The main points are those specified in Council Directive 91/533/EEC of 14 October 1991 on an employer’s obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to their employment contract or employment relationship, and in the decision of the European Court of Justice of 4 December 1997.

According to this, the employer must provide the following information, among other things:

• the personal details of the parties and the address of the company and the workplace;
• the nature of the job;
• Start date and duration of the employment contract;
• Holiday entitlement, duration of holidays and determination of holiday entitlement
• The amount of pay and the date of payment
• the employee’s normal working hours;
• details of the collective agreements and/or collective bargaining agreements governing the employee’s working conditions.
• Notice periods or the manner in which they are determined.

The employer must provide the employee with the information described above within two months of the start of the employment relationship.

Duration of the employment contract:

An employment relationship may be fixed-term or permanent, except in the special cases described above, where the scope and duration of the work are determined by special circumstances.

Probationary period:

An employment contract may provide for a probationary period. However, the probationary period must be specified in writing.

The maximum permissible duration of a probationary period is determined by the relevant collective agreement.

If nothing is specified in the collective agreement, a further distinction must be made.

If the job requires a particularly qualified employee, the probationary period may not exceed six months. For all other jobs, the maximum probationary period is two months. Although the law bases the distinction between special qualifications and simple activities on the employee’s education (university degree), as the term ‘técnico titulado’ (qualified technician) is used, case law has established that the actual activity must be taken into account (STSJ Cataluña 14-2-03, AS 1701). If an employee manages a department of a company without having completed school education, a probationary period of up to six months may therefore be possible. If, on the other hand, an employee with three completed university degrees performs low-level tasks, the probationary period may be limited to a maximum of two months. Any agreement on a probationary period exceeding this period would be null and void.

If the company has fewer than 25 employees, the probationary period for all employment relationships that do not require special qualifications within the meaning described above may not exceed three months.

In the case of fixed-term employment relationships, it should also be noted that if the employment relationship is limited to six months or less, the probationary period may not exceed one month, unless the relevant collective agreement provides otherwise.

In order to stimulate the labour market, the Spanish government has created the legal basis for special employment relationships. The so-called permanent employment contract to support entrepreneurs (contrato de trabajo por tiempo indefinido de apoyo a los emprendedores) provides for the possibility of a probationary period of one year. However, the conclusion of such employment contracts is subject to a number of conditions. Among other things, such contracts may only be concluded as long as the unemployment rate is at or above 15%. At the time of conclusion of the contract, the company may not have more than 50 employees. The entrepreneur also benefits from a number of tax and social security advantages under such contracts.

During the probationary period, the employee has the same rights and obligations as after the probationary period has ended and the employment relationship continues, with the exception of the provisions regarding termination and termination of the employment relationship.

Special features:

The information provided above refers to contracts with Spanish or EU nationals.

If you are a national of another country, further requirements must be met, as you must have a residence or work permit.