Recent developments in Spain
Employment law is always changing, and keeping up with it is a lot of work. Thankfully, our team is always working to stay abreast of the latest changes, so you don’t have to. Here are some of the newest developments in Spain
Changes to maximum working hours (2025)
In November 2023, the new Spanish government announced a plan to reduce the standard working hours to 37.5 hours a week from the current 40-hour limit. Once the new rules are in place, employees will have the right to overtime payments for any hours worked above this limit.
Updates to Spanish Social Security Contributions (2024)
Effective January 2024, the minimum and maximum monthly base for social security contributions increased to EUR 1,260.00 (previously EUR 1,166.70) and EUR 4,720.5 (previously EUR 4,495.50), respectively. Total additional social security costs increased to 0.7% (previously 0.6%), where the employee’s contribution is 0.12% (previously 0.1%) and the employer’s contribution is 0.58% (previously 0.5%).
Clarity and rights for remote workers (2020)
In 2020, the Spanish government passed a new law providing additional protections and rights for remote workers, following the surge in remote employment brought about by the pandemic. This law requires employers and employees to sign a remote work agreement, and employers to compensate employees for additional expenses incurred through remote work. It also clarifies the extent to which employers can monitor their remote workers, and employers’ responsibility for the health and safety of remote workplaces.
More protections from dismissal (2020)
Royal Decree-Law 4/2020 of 18 February entered into force in February 2020. This law repealed Article 52.d of the Workers’ Statute, which allowed businesses to dismiss employees for a certain number of missed workdays over a reference period. This law was repealed on the basis that it could allow for discrimination against both employees with disabilities and female employees, both of whom are more likely to have to take time off work for various reasons.
Boost to economic competitiveness (2019)
Royal Decree-Law 20/2018 of 7 December was passed in 2018 to boost economic competitiveness in Spain’s industrial and trade sectors. Among other things, this allows employers in this sector to apply the regulation of partial retirement, subject to certain requirements.
