So, your Spanish company is up and running and you have found the ideal candidate to complete your team. Yet, you are clueless about even the basics of Spanish law and you have no idea where to start. What types of employment contracts exist? Who benefits from what? What are their conditions? We reveal everything you need to know about Spanish labour contracts below.
Employee management requires some knowledge of Spanish labour law. A work contract, as its name suggests, is subject to general contract rules. Consent from both parties is required in order to complete the contract. Spanish law requires the employer to draw up a contract if it is longer than 4 weeks. The maximum weekly hours is 40 hours and the working day should not exceed 10 hours.
Official employee hiring is preceded by a trial period that allows an employer to confirm the employee's skills and allows the employee to see if the job meets his expectations. The duration of this trial period is defined by a collective agreement and should be mentioned within the work contract. During this trial, the employee has the same rights and obligations as other hired employees. The contract can be terminated during this period at any time without notice or compensation.
· Training Contract: this is aimed at young professionals between 16 and 21 years old who want to access a job for which they do not have the training. · Internship: the goal of an internship is to offer students an opportunity to apply their knowledge in a practical way.
· Indefinite contract · Indefinite contract with a bonus: small businesses can benefit from a reduction of 100% in terms of social charges by employing a young person under 30 years old who has been unemployed for more than 3 months. This is one of the advantages gained from Spanish employment reforms.
· Fixed-term contract · Obra y servicio contract: this is for the completion of a specific job that doesn't have a specific duration · Eventual contract: this aims to respond to ad hoc market requirements, for example by supporting a temporary increase in normal tasks within a company. · Replacement contract: this is to replace an absent employee but withholding the right to reinstate him or her during this time. Be aware that after the labour market reforms carried out by the government in 2012, work contracts have become much more flexible.