Working in Spain Employment
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Employment Working in Spain
Employment
Working
in Spain
AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES
Andalusia ® Galicia ®
Aragon ® Madrid ®
Asturias ® Murcia ®
Balearic Islands ® Navarre ®
Canary Islands ® Basque Country ®
Cantabria ® La Rioja ®
Castilla-La Mancha ® Valencian Community ®
Castilla y León ® Autonomous City of Ceuta ®
Catalonia ® Autonomous City of Melilla ®
Extremadura ®
Updated: May 2012Catálogo general de publicaciones oficiales http://publicacionesoficiales.boe.es Edición realizada por el Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal Condesa de Venadito, 9. 28027 - Madrid NIPO: 274-12-139-8
Working in spain
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 7
2. Free movement of workers......................................................................... 9
3. JOB MARKET............................................................................................. 11
4. FINDING WORK IN SPAIN .............................................................................. 12
5. SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.................................... 16
6. TAXES .................................................................................................... 19
7. LIVING CONDITIONS.................................................................................... 22
8. WORKING CONDITIONS................................................................................. 23
9. ACCOMMODATION....................................................................................... 28
10. EDUCATION SYSTEM.................................................................................. 30
11. EQUIVALENCE OF CERTIFICATES AND DIPLOMAS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC SPACE.... 33
12. CULTURE................................................................................................ 35
13. LEGAL AID.............................................................................................. 37
14. USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES................................................ 38
15. DON’T FORGET ........................................................................................ 45National Public Employment Service
Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and the cities
1. INTRODUCTION of Ceuta and Melilla in the north of Africa.
It is the third largest European country in
area and the fifth in population.
The new European Union, with its 495 mi-
llion citizens, is the largest job and trai- Spain is a country with a mild climate and
ning market in the world. Within this area, abundant sunshine, although there are
the barriers that may prevent people from significant variations in its weather. The
realising their full potential are gradually northernmost climate zone runs along the
coming down. coast and includes the communities of Ga-
licia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque
To make it possible for workers to circulate Country. Here, there is constant, heavy rain,
freely in the so-called European Economic mild summers and relatively cold winters.
Space, the EU created the EURES Network To the south of this strip is the inland area,
of European Public Employment Services, which has a continental climate. Finally, in
of which the Spanish public employment the rest of the coastal regions, especially
services, the publishers of this information Andalusia and the East, the winters tend to
leaflet, form part. be milder and the summers hot.
Working in another country is always a cha- Spain has a population of 47,212,990.
llenge, as well as a unique opportunity to Currently, 5,711,040 foreigners are regis-
get to know a country and its people and to tered as living in Spain. 2,440,852 are
build up a large collection of new experien- Community citizens, or 5.17% of the total
ces. This leaflet gives those who want to population. In recent years, a very conside-
live and work in Spain a good idea of what rable number of foreigners has arrived and
life is like in this country. It is our intention taken up residence. It is calculated that
to provide information that will be useful the number of foreign residents has qua-
when making a decision and, if you finally drupled since 1998.
do decide to come to Spain, when prepa-
ring for your stay. Almost 60% of these foreigners live in the
Communities of Madrid, Balearic Islands,
Catalonia and Valencia. This shows that fo-
reigners prefer to go to the big cities like
Some facts about the country Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Another
22.1% lives in Andalusia, the Balearic Is-
lands and the Canary Islands. The north
Official name: Kingdom of Spain; common and west of the peninsula are the regions
name: Spain. with the smallest number of foreign resi-
dents.
Spain is located in the southwest of Euro-
pe, on the Iberian Peninsula. It has a to- The Spanish state is a parliamentary mo-
tal area of 504,750 km² and shares the narchy. The legislative power is based on
peninsula with Portugal. Apart from the a Parliament (the Cortes), which has two
mainland, Spain includes the Balearic Is- houses: the Congress of Deputies and the
lands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary
Working in Spain 7 ToCNational Public Employment Service
Senate. Spain has both a Head of State,
the King, and a President. Currency
Spain is a “State of Autonomies” and is
made up of 17 Autonomous Communities: Spain’s legal currency is the Euro.
Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Canary Islands,
Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-Leon, To import and export local currency a de-
Catalonia, Valencian Community, Extremadu- claration must be made if the amount is
ra, Galicia, Balearic Islands, La Rioja, Madrid, over €6000 (the amount exported may not,
Murcia, Navarre and the Basque Country. however, exceed the amount declared on
arrival in the country). Unlimited sums of
In turn, each of these Communities has its foreign currency may be imported and ex-
own parliament and Community president; ported but they must be declared on arrival
we can therefore say that the organization if the amount is over €6000 per person
of political power in Spain is characterised and trip, in order to avoid customs pro-
by decentralization. blems when leaving Spain.
Language Time
Spain has enormous cultural diversity and The Peninsula & Balearic Islands: GMT+1
this is reflected in the number of langua- Canary Islands: GMT.
ges spoken in the country. The official lan-
guage for the whole country is Spanish or
castellano; however, in many Autonomous
Communities it coexists with other official International telephone calls
languages, such as Basque (euskera), Ca-
talan, Galician (gallego) and Valencian,
which are each found in their own geogra- If you wish to make a telephone call to
phical areas. Spain from abroad, you must dial the in-
ternational access code of the country from
Although they are unofficial, other vernacu- which you are calling plus 34 (the country
lar, minority languages are spoken, such as code for Spain) and the nine digit telepho-
bable or Asturian, Leonese, Aragonese and ne number.
aranés, a sub-dialect of Gascon.
If you wish to call another country from
It is very difficult to find a job in Spain if Spain, you need to dial 00 followed by the
you only speak English, French or German, country code and the telephone number.
except for casual employment in some tou-
rist enclaves on the islands or on the coast. You can make phone calls from telephone
boxes. They work with either coins or cards.
8 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
If you wish to make a call within Spain, you
must dial the number without any kind of 2. Free movement of workers
prefix. The number will always have nine
digits, whether it is a landline or a mobile
phone. EES citizens can travel, live and work
freely in any member country and enjoy the
The mobile phone technology used in same rights as the nationals of the country
Spain is GSM, which is incompatible with chosen. This right to free movement also
some countries, such as the United Sta- applies to the members of their families,
tes and Japan. If your technology is com- whatever their nationality, but with some
patible with GSM, you should contact the specific requirements.
operator in your country to make sure that
you can use your mobile phone in Spain Therefore, as a citizen of an EES member
(Some operators require that you activate country, you can work in any job in Spain,
their international service or “roaming”.). whether employed by someone else or self-
Once you have completed these steps in employed, without having to apply for a work
your country of origin, you simply use your permit. You will have the same rights as Spa-
mobile phone in Spain as if it were Spa- nish citizens as regards wages, working condi-
nish. In other words, to make international tions, access to housing, vocational training,
calls, you need to dial 00 plus the country Social Security and trade union membership,
code. with some specific exceptions that are recog-
nised in the Treaty of European Union regar-
ding access to jobs in the civil service.
Emergency services To enter Spain it is only necessary to have a
valid identity card or current passport. You
can stay for three months to look for work
112 is the one telephone number to dial or to set up on your own account as a self-
for all the emergency services. employed worker. If at the end of the three
months you still have not found a job, you
The service operates 24 hours a day, 365 have the right to remain longer if you con-
days a year. In some Communities, the tinue to look for work and you have a real
calls may be handled in more than one possibility of finding it.
language.
Last July, because of the Spanish job mar-
Other useful telephone numbers are: ket situation, the Spanish government,
National police: 091 through the Council of Ministers, decided
Local police: 092 to reactivate the transitional period for
Ambulances: 061 Romanian citizens and once more to set
Fire brigade: 080 limits for entry to the job market for wage
earners from Romania. This measure does
not affect Romanian citizens who were al-
ready in Spain on 22 July 2011 and were
registered with the Spanish Social Security
system, or were registered as job seekers
Working in Spain 9 ToCNational Public Employment Service
with the public employment services. The
government will evaluate the effects of this Other useful procedures
transition period at the end of 2012 and,
depending on the conclusions reached,
will decide whether to continue it or not. Everyone who lives in Spain is obliged to
register with the municipality where they
live. To do this, you must go to your local
town hall. The certificate of registration is
Documentation needed required for many administrative proces-
ses, such as registering your children in
school, obtaining a health card, registering
Within three months of entering Spain, you with the employment office and voting in
must apply at the Foreigners’ Office (Ofici- the municipal elections.
na de Extranjeros) or a police station to be
registered in the Central Register of Foreig- Another indispensable document if you de-
ners (Registro Central de Extranjeros). To do cide to live in Spain is your NIF (tax ID
this, you need to present your valid passport number), which you can get from the tax
or identity card and pay a fee. The office office (see the corresponding section be-
will give you a certificate of registration with low).
your NIE number (foreigner’s ID number).
This process has replaced the former Com- See also the section on Social Security for
munity resident’s card application. information on obtaining a Social Security
number and a health card.
For more information and to download the
registration form, go to:
http://servicioselectronicos.policia. Family members of european community
es:38092/portalCiudadano/extranjeria/ citizens. Residence cards
pr_cer_reg_ue.html
Foreigners who have links with Spain due The members of a community citizen’s
to financial, professional or social interests family who are not nationals of a member
must have a unique, exclusive, personal country may reside in Spain for more than
number called a NIE (Foreigners’ ID Num- three months. To be able to do so, they
ber) for the purposes of identification. This must obtain a “residency card for EU ci-
number is given to you automatically when tizen family members” from a Foreigners’
you register for the Register of Foreigners Office within three months of their entry
but you can also apply for it separately. For into Spain.
more information and the application form
for the number, go to: The office will give them a receipt imme-
diately, which serves as proof that their sta-
http://servicioselectronicos.policia. tus is legal until the card arrives.
es:38092/portalCiudadano/extranjeria/
pr_asig_no_nie_inst.html
10 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
In 2011, the number of men unemployed
3. JOB MARKET (2.8 million) significantly exceeded the
number of women (2.4 million), continuing
the trend observed since the beginning of
Ever since the start of the economic crisis the crisis. Unemployment is rising in al-
in 2008, the Spanish job market situation most all age groups. A total of 884,000
has been worsening; the number of people young people under the age of 25 are
employed has fallen and unemployment unemployed.
has risen sharply. After a continuous period
of growth in employment up to 2007, the The recession is also affecting foreigners
number of people employed fell from 20.4 who are working and/or looking for work in
million in the first quarter of 2011 to 17.8 this country. Their unemployment rate is
million by the end of 2010. In other words, 14 points higher than that of Spanish citi-
in three years 2.6 million jobs were lost. zens. Of the 5.3 million unemployed, 1.2
are foreign nationals.
Therefore, the number of unemployed has
risen from 2.1 million in the first quarter Although the destruction of jobs in Spain
of 2008 to 5.3 million in the last quarter has been widespread – in four years in
of 2011. During 2011, the process has more than 2.6 million jobs have been lost
accelerated, with the addition of 577,000 – it has not affected all the sectors of pro-
newly unemployed. But not all these newly duction equally. More than 55,000 jobs
unemployed are the result of job destruc- have been lost in agriculture. However, in
tion and company closures. We must also construction, 1.4 million people have lost
keep in mind the entry into the labour mar- their jobs: at this time, less than half of
ket of people who were previously inactive those who were employed at the beginning
(as a result of another member of the fa- of 2008 are still employed.
mily losing his or her job).
Industry has been the second worst affec-
In the last twelve months, the most noti- ted sector, with 790,000 jobs lost in the
ceable drop in the number of people with last 4 years. In contrast, the service sec-
jobs has occurred in the Community of Ma- tor has only lost 359,000 jobs, although it
drid (155,000 fewer employed), Catalonia must be said that half of these (212,000
(126,700) and Andalusia (99,500). jobs) were lost in 2011.
The Communities with the biggest increa-
ses in unemployment year on year have
been Andalusia (121,000 more unemplo- Employment opportunities
yed), Catalonia (88,700) and the Com-
munity of Madrid (81,300). The Basque
Country and the Foral Community of Nava- The perceptible change in the economic
rre have the lowest unemployment rates, at cycle in Spain in recent months is also
14%. At the opposite end of the scale, the affecting the demand for workers. Notable
Canary Islands and Andalusia have rates of changes can be seen in the sectors that are
over 30%. offering job opportunities. Breaking down
the data for the different sectors, it is pos-
Working in Spain 11 ToCNational Public Employment Service
sible to see that, in spite of the crisis, there
are areas of production in which jobs were 4. FINDING WORK IN SPAIN
created last year: agriculture, sanitation and
waste management, hotels, information and
communications technologies, real estate, Because of the economic crisis that is
education, healthcare and social services, affecting the country, among other rea-
and other personal care services. sons, finding work in Spain is not an easy
task. Therefore, you should use all the re-
The occupations listed below are those that sources available (acquaintances, family
are demonstrating better prospects for the members, the press, information centres,
creation of employment in recent months professional associations, etc.), as well as
since they have been able to grow even du- the EURES network and a large amount of
ring 2011 when there was a massive loss imagination and creativity.
of jobs. In comparison with previous years
of the crisis, growth is being shown in ma- You should also bear in mind that knowing
nagerial positions and positions related to Spanish is a basic requirement for working in
marketing and sales. Spain. The main systems for finding a job are:
99Administration and marketing de-
partment managers.
Public employment services
99Production and operations managers.
99Managers and directors of other service The Spanish National Public Employment
companies. Service and the Autonomous Community
(regional) employment services have a net-
99Healthcare professionals. work of offices whose services all workers
can use.
99Company organization and marketing
specialists. All those over sixteen years of age can
register with the public employment ser-
99Sales people(except in shops and de- vices if they show a valid identity card or
partment stores). passport, as long as they have a fixed ad-
dress. To enter the professions that require
99Accounting, financial and production a diploma, it will be necessary to meet the
support services employees. requirements for exercising this profession
in Spain.
99Other administrative employees, without
customer service duties. The services that the employment services
provide are: job vacancies, vocational gui-
99Retail shop owners. dance, occupational vocational training,
processing applications for unemployment
99Other personal care workers. benefits, information on measures to pro-
mote employment, etc.
99Personal service workers.
12 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
The addresses of these offices can be of interest to help you decide on and/or de-
found in the telephone directory or on the velop your mobility plan.
National Public Employment Service web
site (www.sepe.es), which has links to the EURES has an Internet portal on which
Autonomous Community public employ- you can find information on mobility and
ment services. Some of these services have a data base of job vacancies in the mem-
information about job vacancies on their ber countries, as well as an application for
web sites. Many have useful information posting your CV online. You can access this
and addresses for finding work, as well as information at:
job search guides. To find the addresses of
the Autonomous Community employment http://ec.europa.eu/eures
service web sites, see the following direc-
tory:
https://sede.sepe.gob.es/ Placement agencies, recruitment
portalsedeestaticos/redirect. companies and temporary work agencies
do?page=cb01
The Public Employment Services have also Placement agencies are another interme-
set up a national web site where job vacan- diary in the Spanish job market. The natio-
cies from all over Spain can be found: nal and Autonomous Community employ-
ment services will give you information on
www.sistemanacionalempleo.es these companies and the services that they
offer.
There are also companies that specialize
EURES (European employment in human resources recruitment. They tend
services) to use the press and Internet to find appli-
cants.
EURES (European Employment Services) The names of temporary work agencies in
is a network for cooperation between the Spain always include the initials ETT (from
European Commission, the national em- the Spanish Empresa de Trabajo Tempo-
ployment services of the member states, ral). They hire workers directly and then
Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and sign an “availability contract” with the user
Iceland and, in the case of cross-border company, delegating the management and
areas, the organizations representing the control of the work to be performed to this
social interlocutors. company. These agencies are especially
useful when looking for temporary emplo-
It can be useful to contact the EURES yment.
network in your country. Find out about
EURES from your Public Employment Ser- www.empleo.gob.es/es/sec_trabajo/debes_
vice. They will give you information on job saber/ett-oia/index.htm
vacancies in Spain and other information
Working in Spain 13 ToCNational Public Employment Service
section. And, finally, there are Spanish pu-
Communications media blications that specialize in employment
and job offers.
All the Spanish national, regional and pro- El Mundo
vincial newspapers have a daily employ- www.elmundo.es
ment section, although more job vacancies
are published in their Sunday editions. Pu- El País
blic television also has special employment www.elpais.com
programmes. One well known programme
is “Aquí hay trabajo” (There’s Work Here), ABC
which is broadcast at 9:30 a.m. from Mon- www.abc.es
day to Friday on Channel 2 (RTVE).
La Razón
There is a growing trend for companies to www.larazon.es
use the Internet to publish their job vacan-
cies. They use their web sites to publicize El Periódico
themselves and there is usually a Human www.elperiodico.com
Resources section. You should look for a
link on company web sites that is labelled La Vanguardia
“Work with Us” or “Employment”. There www.lavanguardia.com
are also special employment web sites.
Busca medios
Some of the national newspapers are El www.buscamedios.com/recursos/empleo.
País, ABC, El Mundo, La Razón in Madrid, htm
and El Periódico and La Vanguardia in Bar-
celona. They all have a special job supple- Expansión y Empleo
ment in their Sunday edition. www.expansionyempleo.com
Newspapers are published in German,
English and French in the main tourist
areas of Spain. They also offer listings of Chambers of commerce
job offers where a knowledge of foreign
languages is usually an indispensable pre-
requisite. Chambers of Commerce, both in your home
country and in Spain, are another possible
The international press tends to publish source of information on the Spanish eco-
job offers for Spain, although these are nomy and companies. Of particular interest
mostly directed at managers or technical is their advice on how to become a self-
and professional personnel. employed worker.
Professional newspapers and journals avai- Chambers of Commerce
lable in the EES can be a useful source of www.camaras.org/publicado
information about work in Spain, especia-
lly if they have a specialized job vacancies
14 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
Company information
www.camerdata.es Curriculum vitae and cover letter
One-stop business desk. Company creation
procedures Some companies provide an application
www.ventanillaempresarial.org form, but the more usual practice is to
send in a CV and a cover letter to apply for
a job. This can be done in reply to a job
vacancy or an advertisement in the press
Associations, professional associations or be an unsolicited application.
and trade unions
Cover letter
Other sources of information are profes- This is not just a simple formality: it is your
sional associations and trade unions. In visiting card and the first impression that
Spain, some professions have an official the company gets of you.
association to which it is necessary to be-
long in order to exercise that profession. Unless it is indicated to the contrary, the
letter and the CV must be written in Spa-
nish.
Unsolicited applications and personal The cover letter must be typed on the
contacts computer (word processed) and printed
on one sheet of A4 paper on one side of
the paper only. Be concise and use formal
Another possible method that you can use language. The contents of the letter must
is unsolicited or spontaneous application. be directly relevant to the position that you
In this case, the candidate sends a cover are applying for. Avoid standardised, “boi-
letter and a CV to the companies that, be- lerplate” letters.
cause of their type of activity, might be in-
terested in his or her profile, even though Curriculum Vitae
at that moment they may not have a speci-
fic recruiting process open. There are no strict rules on how to create
a CV but here is some advice that may be
Contacts and personal relationships can helpful. It must be well organized, clear
be very useful for finding employment If and concise. And word processed on the
you have friends or family in Spain, it is a computer. It should be kept to a maximum
good idea to tell them that you are looking of two pages in DIN A4 format.
for work since many vacancies are filled
through personal contacts and referrals. It is not necessary to include a photograph,
although this may be advisable for some
positions.
Do not attach diplomas and certificates un-
less this is required; these you can take to
Working in Spain 15 ToCNational Public Employment Service
the interview. Style: Direct language, and
preferably use simple sentences. Avoid 5. SOCIAL SECURITY, HEALTH AND
acronyms and abbreviations. UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Organization: Personal information: name,
nationality, postal address, telephone num-
ber (including the international prefix), e- Social security
mail address, etc.
Education and training: Include all your As long as certain requirements are met,
academic education and any additional the Social Security Administration guaran-
training. For positions where these may be tees Spanish citizens and, where appro-
evaluated, it is a good idea to include a priate, foreign residents of this country a
separate section listing your language and series of financial benefits and assistance
computer training. When listing your aca- to prevent, compensate for and overcome
demic education, only include the title of certain types of misfortune or specific si-
the highest degree that you have reached, tuations of need, such as illness, tempo-
together with the name of the institution, rary or permanent disability, retirement or
its location and the date when your studies the death of a family member.
ended.
The Spanish Social Security system is ma-
Experience: This may be organised in chro- naged and administered by, among others,
nological order, reverse chronological order three public bodies that belong to the Mi-
or by professional area. List the company, nistry of Labour and Social Security: the
position, dates and duties performed. National Institute of Social Security (Spa-
nish initials, INSS), the General Treasury
Other information: This is an optional, of the Social Security (Spanish initials,
open-ended section that can be used to TGSS) and the Marine Social Institute
include other information that could be (Spanish initials, ISM).
useful when doing the job; for example,
whether you have a driving license or are www.seg-social.es
willing to travel, etc. It is not usual to in-
clude references, although in this section Community Regulations on Social Security
you can put the phrase “References are are applicable to nationals of the member
available on request”. states of the European Union or of the Eu-
ropean Economic Space, whether emplo-
Model CVs and advice on how to write them yed by someone else or self employed, who
can be found on most Spanish public em- are or have been subject to the legislation
ployment web sites. of one or several of these states. Also in-
cluded are students, civil servants and
https://sede.sepe.gob.es/ stateless persons or refugees who are resi-
portalsedeestaticos/redirect. dents of one of the member states, as well
do?page=cb01 as their families and survivors. Because of
an agreement between the European Union
and Switzerland on the free movement of
16 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
individuals, these regulations also apply to fusions, etc., free of charge when they are
Swiss nationals. needed.
All workers who are employed by someone
else must register and pay monthly Social
Health care Security contributions through their em-
ployer. Self-employed workers pay directly
into the system. You will be given a Social
The quality of health care in Spain is quite Security card that entitles you to free hos-
good. There are both public hospitals (that pital and medical treatment.
belong to the Social Security system) and
private ones. The Spanish Social Security You can also take out private health insu-
health care network is organized into pri- rance by contacting one of the many private
mary care centres, called Health Centres, health companies existing in Spain. They
specialized care centres and hospitals. are listed in the telephone directory under
Spain has reciprocal health care agree- “Sociedades Médicas“ (Medical Compa-
ments with a number of countries (in- nies). In this case, the cost of treatment
cluding all the countries in the European is not refunded, except in certain cases of
Union). The citizens of these countries emergency.
need to apply for a European Health Card
in their home country to be able to use the Addresses of interest
public medical services in Spain.
The regional governments manage health Ministry of health, social services and
care through their own public health ser- equality.
vices as part of the national health sys- www.msps.es
tem. You can request lists of hospitals and
health centres at the local offices. Oficina de Información Administrativa y
Atención al Ciudadano (Office of Adminis-
Treatment is free under the public social trative Information and Customer Support).
security system. If specialist treatment is
required, the doctor will send the patient This information can be requested in per-
to a specialist with an official report. The son, in writing or by telephone from:
Spanish Social Security system’s phar-
maceutical benefits provide medicines to Paseo del Prado, 18-20 (planta baja).
users at reduced cost. This ranges from a 28014, Madrid.
40% reduction up to free medicines for Tel: 901 400 100
pensioners. Some medicines are not cove- Fax: 91 596 44 80
red by the Social Security system.
Links to the autonomous community health
Hospital treatment is free under the Social councils
Security system and patients also have a
right to receive certain services, such as Andalusia – Health Council:
prostheses, orthopaedic appliances, trans- www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud/sites/
csalud/portal/index.jsp
Working in Spain 17 ToCNational Public Employment Service
Aragon – Health, Social Welfare and Labour Murcia – Health and Consumer Affairs
Council: Council:
w w w . a r a g o n . e s / www.murciasalud.es/principal.php
departamentosorganismospublicos/
departamtos/sanidadbienestarsocialfamilia Navarre – Health Council
www.cfnavarra.es/Salud
Asturias – Health and Healthcare Services
Council: Basque Country – Health Department:
www.asturias.es/portal/site/astursalud www.osasun.ejgv.euskadi.net/r52-2536/es
Balearic Islands – Health, Family and Social La Rioja – Health and Social Services
Welfare Council Council:
www.caib.es/govern/organigrama/area. www.larioja.org
do?lang=es&coduo=11
City of Ceuta – Health and Consumer Affairs
Canary Islands – Health Council: Council:
www2.gobiernodecanarias.org/sanidad www.ceuta.es:8080/sanidad/principal
Cantabria – Health, Consumer Affairs and City of Melilla – Social Welfare and Health
Social Welfare Council: Council:
www.scsalud.es www.areasaludmelilla.es/asm/index.php
Castilla-La Mancha – Health and Social
Welfare Council:
http://sescam.jccm.es/web1/home.do Unemployment benefits
Castilla-Leon – Health Council:
w w w. j c y l . e s / w e b / j c y l / G o b i e r n o / e s / In Spain, those who work for someone else
Plantilla66y33/1284181083326/_/_/_ (except for civil servants and those who do
not pay contributions for unemployment,
Catalonia – Catalan Health Council: such as domestic employees) are covered
www.gencat.net/catsalut by compulsory insurance against loss of
employment. The contributions for this co-
Valencian Community – Health Council: verage are paid by the employers and the
www.san.gva.es workers.
Extremadura – Health and Social Policy The Spanish unemployment benefit system
Council has two levels of coverage:
www.saludextremadura.com
Contributory level benefits
Galicia – Health Council:
www.sergas.es All workers employed by someone else are
entitled to receive contributory level unem-
Community of Madrid – Health Council: ployment benefits if they have contributed
www.madrid.org/sanidad to the Social Security’s General Scheme for
18 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
more than 360 days and they have partially 99Apply to export your unemployment be-
or completely lost their job for reasons be- nefits. To do this, you need:
yond their control.
yy Passport or ID card.
Welfare level benefits and allowances
yy Official application form for benefits.
Workers who are legally unemployed and
registered with the Public Employment yy Form U2 or form E-303 proving your
Services but are not entitled to contribu- entitlement to benefits.
tory benefits or whose benefits have run
out can apply for an allowance or a welfare Remember that the process can take up to
level unemployment benefit if they meet two months. For further information, you
any of the conditions for specific special can find out the addresses of the offices by
groups (people with a low income, family phoning 901-119-999.
responsibilities, over 52 years of age, etc.).
Finally, if you do work in Spain, it is a good
Exporting unemployment benefits idea to ask the National Public Employ-
ment Office for a form U!, which has re-
If you are receiving benefits or an allowan- placed form E-301, before you leave this
ce for unemployment in your own country country. This form will show the periods
or in any other country in the EES, you can during which you have contributed in this
export them to Spain or another member country so that they can be taken into ac-
state for a maximum of three months in or- count when calculating other benefits in
der to seek employment, if you apply to do another EES country.
so in advance.
Before leaving, it is necessary to:
6. TAXES
99Have made yourself available to the pu-
blic employment service in your country
of origin for at least four weeks One of the most important things to do af-
ter arriving in the country is to register with
99Request form U2 if you are travelling the national tax office (Agencia Estatal
within the EU or form E-303 if you are de Administración Tributaria). Remember
going to another EES country or Swit- to bring with you the necessary tax docu-
zerland and to report the actual date on ments from your country of origin and the
which you are leaving certificates proving that you completed all
pending tax affairs before leaving.
On arriving in Spain, it is necessary to:
On arrival, do not forget that you may need
99Register as a job seeker with the Spa- to open a bank account and remember to
nish Public Employment Service office put aside enough money to be able to pay
nearest your home in Spain within seven your taxes.
days of leaving your country of origin.
Working in Spain 19 ToCNational Public Employment Service
99It is presumed, unless proven to the
Direct taxes contrary, that the contributor is norma-
lly resident in Spain when, according to
the previous criteria, his or her spouse,
Individual income tax (irpf) from whom he or she is not legally se-
parated, and their under-age dependant
Personal income tax (spanish initials, irpf) children normally reside in Spain.
is a personal, direct tax on individual inco-
me that varies according to personal and Who is not obliged to declare?
family circumstances.
Contributors whose entire income from
What does the irpf understand by income? work comes from one payer and is less
than 22,000 euros per annum. When this
All returns, gains and losses on assets, re- income comes from more than one payer,
gardless of the place where this occurred 11,200 euros per annum.
and of the contributor’s place of residence.
When are income tax declarations made?
What is taxed?
This tax is declared in the months of may
Only the available income of the contribu- and june of the following year. Not submit-
tor, which is the result of subtracting the ting a declaration or doing so outside the
personal and family minimum from the to- established time limit leads to penalties
tal income. being imposed, as for other taxes.
Who is obliged to pay taxes? Special tax scheme for non-resident
income tax (irnr).
Individuals who have their normal residen-
ce in Spain. It is understood that the con- This tax (Spanish initials, IRNR) is a direct
tributor has his or her normal residence in tax on the income earned in Spain by in-
this country: dividuals or entities that are not resident.
99When the individual remains in Spain The parameters that define which IRNR
for more than 183 days in a calendar scheme is applicable to contributors are:
year.
99Non-residence in Spain.
To determine this period, sporadic abs-
ences will be counted, except when the 99The existence of income earned in this
contributor proves that his or her tax re- country.
sidence is in another country.
99Proof or not of the existence of perma-
99When, directly or indirectly, the main fo- nent settlement.
cus or base of the individual’s activities
or economic interests is in Spain. 99The existence or not of an applicable
double taxation agreement (Spanish
initials, CDI) between Spain and the
20 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
country of residence of a non-resident applied vary from 4% for goods considered
of Spain. to be necessities to the normal rate of 18%.
To decide the overall tax liabilities of non- Tax on asset transfers and documented
residents, it is necessary to consider both legal actions
tax legislation and the various treaties and
international agreements that have been This is a tax on the transfer “inter vivos”
signed by the Spanish government and are of assets and rights with an onerous eco-
currently in force. nomic value and on documents for legal
actions that have been formalized or have
Companies tax a legal effect in spain. The applicable rate
varies according to the type of asset trans-
Whether or not these taxes are imposed is fer or the legal action documented (notari-
decided by residence in spain. Companies zed, mercantile, administrative or judicial
are considered resident if they meet the fo- actions).
llowing requirements:
Special taxes
99They were constituted in accordance
with spanish law The special taxes (Spanish initials, IE) in-
directly tax, once only, the consumption of
99Their registered address is in spain specific goods, including the manufacture,
importation and, where appropriate, entry
99Their real headquarters are in spain into the country of taxable products. These
taxes include:
Inheritance and gift tax
99The special tax on certain forms of
This is a tax on acquiring goods and rights, transport (Spanish initials, IMT).
either by being the successor to it (Inhe-
ritance) or by receiving free title “inter vi- 99The special taxes on manufacturing:
vos” (Gifts). The tax on alcohol and alcoholic bevera-
ges, tax on hydrocarbons, tax on tobac-
www.agenciatributaria.es co manufacturing and tax on electricity.
99Special tax on coal.
INDIRECT TAXES
Local taxes
Value added tax (IVA)
VAT (Spanish initials, IVA) is a tax on the de- Tax on economic activities (IAE)
livery of goods or the performance of services
by business people and professionals and on This tax (Spanish initials, IAE) is levied on
the exporting of goods, apart from certain the exercise of any business, professional
legally established exemptions. The rates or artistic activity.
Working in Spain 21 ToCNational Public Employment Service
Property tax (IBI)
7. LIVING CONDITIONS
This tax (Spanish initials, IBI) is levied on
the ownership of property.
In general terms, we can say that living
Mechanical vehicle tax (IVTM) conditions in Spain are acceptable and
that the population enjoys indispensa-
This tax (Spanish initials, IVTM) is levied ble social services, such as universal free
on the ownership of mechanical vehicles health care and education.
that are suitable for use on the public
highways. In recent years, the price of housing rose
considerably, which made housing costs
Tax on construction, installations and the biggest household expense. In 2006,
worksites housing accounted for over 30% of the to-
tal family budget, although this decreased
This tax is levied on any construction, ins- during 2009.
tallation or work site for which a town plan-
ning permit is required. So that you can have an idea of the general
cost of living in Spain, we have selected
Tax on the rise in value of urban land the prices of some commonly used articles.
Logically, prices can vary according to the
This tax is levied on the increase in the va- shop in which they are purchased and the
lue of urban land that occurs when proper- geographical region.
ty is transferred.
Accommodation
Rent for a two bedroom flat:
Addresses of interest €600-800/month
Rent for a three bedroom flat:
€800-1,200/month
Ministry of Finance and Public
Administrations. The most expensive cities are Madrid, Bar-
Calle Alcalá 9 celona and San Sebastian. The cheapest
Tel.:91 585-80-00 are Badajoz and Caceres.
Paseo de la Castellana 162
Tel: 91 583 74 00 Household expenses
www.minhap.es
Average monthly household expenses ac-
National Tax Agency (Delegación Agencia cording to the National Institute of Statis-
Estatal de Administración Tributaria) tics:
Calle Infanta de las Mercedes, 37
28080 Madrid Water: €13/month
Tel: 91 583 70 00 Electricity: €36/month
www.agenciatributaria.es Telephone: €60/month
22 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
Some of these services are billed every two Car rental
months.
1 day €73.16 (mid-range car)
Transport
Hotels
Bus/metro: Single ticket: €1.50 / €2.00,
depending on the journey (data for Ma- Single room in ** hotel: €70
drid). Single room in *** hotel: €100
A ten-trip “metro-bus” ticket costs €12 Miscellaneous
(data for Madrid).
Local or regional newspaper: 1.30
A card permitting unlimited travel for a Aspirins (1 box of 20 tablets): 3.50
month on the metro, city buses and local
trains (RENFE) costs €51.30 (data for Ma- Minimum Wage for 2012
drid).
Gross/month €641.40
95 octane unleaded petrol (litre): €1.50 Gross/day €21.38
98 octane unleaded petrol (litre): €1.51 Gross/year €8,981.84
Diesel A/Biodiesel (litre): €1.40
For further information, see the National
Supermarket products Institute of Statistics (Spanish initials,
INE) web site:
Milk (1 litre): €0.70-1.30
Bread (400 gr.): €0.95 www.ine.es
Eggs (dozen): €1.60-1.80
Sugar (1 kg.): €1.10
Apples (1 kg.): €1.80
Water (1.5 litres): €0.40-0.60 8. WORKING CONDITIONS
Leisure
Nationals of the member countries of the
Cinema ticket (Madrid): €7-8 European Economic Space and Switzer-
Soft drink: €2.10 land have the same rights as Spaniards for
Coffee: €1.10-1.50 wages, working conditions, training, Social
Beer (glass): €1.50-2.50 Security, trade union membership, social
Hamburger + chips + soft drink: €5.80 and tax advantages, etc.
Menu of the day In Spain, the minimum working age is
sixteen, although minors under the age of
From €9 eighteen need the authorization of their pa-
rents or guardians, unless they are eman-
cipated.
Working in Spain 23 ToCNational Public Employment Service
in writing of his or her new status as a
Employment contracts. permanent employee of the company
during the ten days following the end of
the periods indicated above.
Duration
99Casual contracts due to production cir-
Employment contracts can be indefinite cumstances: This type of contract has
(permanent) or have a specific duration the aim of responding to special market
(temporary). If the contract does not ex- situations, an accumulation of tasks or
pressly say anything to the contrary, it is an excess of orders. The maximum leng-
presumed that it is permanent and full th of this contract is six months within a
time. period of 12 months.
Types of contracts 99Interim contracts: To substitute for a
worker who is entitled to return to that
position. The contract must specify the
Permanent contracts worker substituted and the reason for
the substitution.
A working relationship is agreed to, without
setting a time limit. It can be formalized in Training contracts are also temporary:
words (verbal contract) or in writing and be
full time or part time. 99Training and Apprenticeship Contracts:
Under this type of contract, workers
Fixed term contracts (temporary) must receive the theoretical and practi-
cal training needed to work competently
Temporary contracts can be made in the in an occupation or job that requires a
following cases: certain level of qualification. They may
be signed with workers over the age of
99Contracts for a particular task or service: 16 and under 25 who do not have the
To carry out one specific task or service diploma or certificate of professionalism
that is limited in time, although it may required to sign a practical experience
be of an uncertain length. contract. Until 31-12-2013, this type
of contract may be signed with workers
This type of contract may not be for up to the age of 30. The maximum age
more than three years, but may be ex- limit does not apply when the contract
tended for up to twelve months more by is signed with unemployed workers who
collective agreement. After this time, enter employment workshop program-
the workers take on the status of perma- mes as student-workers or with the han-
nent employees of the company. If it is dicapped. Some groups can also be con-
for less than a year, to rescind the con- tracted for training even though they are
tract fifteen days’ notice must be given over the age limit. This type of contract
before the end of the task or service. If may not last for less than 12 months
the employer does not give this notice, or more than two years, although it may
the worker is entitled to compensation. be extended for a further 12 months in
The employer must give the worker proof some cases.
24 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
99Work experience contracts: With this 99Domestic.
type of contract, workers acquire the
professional experience corresponding 99Contracts signed with workers hired in
to their studies. They can be signed Spain to work for Spanish companies
with workers who have a university de- abroad.
gree or an intermediate or advanced
level vocational training diploma or the 99Contracts for a specific length of time
equivalent that equips them to exerci- that is more than four weeks.
se their profession, if it has not been
more than five years since the end of In all cases, the employer is obliged to in-
their studies or since these documents form the corresponding employment office
were co-validated in Spain. This type of of the written or verbal contract.
contract can last for seven years if the
worker is disabled. Probationary period
Other types. Contracts can set a period of probation
during which either party can end the
Domestic work contracts, relief contracts, contract without having to give a reason,
contracts for permanent-intermittent workers without having to give notice and without
and part-time contracts. compensation.
Formalizing a contract The maximum length of time permitted
for this is six months for technicians with
Employment contracts can either be ver- diplomas and two months for all other wor-
bal or in writing, although in Spain the vast kers (three months in companies with less
majority tend to be written. If the contract than 25 workers).
is verbal, the parties can require at any
time during the validity of the contract that During the probationary period, the wor-
it be formalized in writing. kers have the same rights and obligations
as workers on the payroll and this period is
The following types of contract must always counted when calculating the time spent
be in writing: working at the company (length of service).
99Practical experience.
99Training. Workdays, holidays and leaves of
absence
99Contracts for a particular task or service.
99Part time contracts. Workday
99Permanent intermittent. The maximum length of the normal working
day is 40 hours per week of average, effec-
99Relief. tive work calculated annually.
Working in Spain 25 ToCNational Public Employment Service
The number of normal working hours can
never be more than nine a day, unless there Wages
is a collective agreement or an agreement
between the company and the workers’ re-
presentatives establishing a different dis- Wages are established by collective agree-
tribution of daily work. In all cases, the rest ment or individual contracts and comprise:
time between workdays (a minimum of 12
hours) and the weekly rest time (an uninte- 99Basic wage
rrupted day and a half) must be respected.
99Bonuses: for length of service, overtime,
Workers under the age of eighteen cannot profit sharing, bonuses for distance and
do effective work for more than 8 hours transport, etc.
a day, including, where appropriate, the
hours given over to training and, if they are 99Job bonuses: hardship, toxicity, danger,
working for various employers, the hours shift work, night work, etc.
worked for each one of them.
99Production bonuses, board and lod-
Holidays gings, etc.
Annual holidays can be agreed individually Workers must be paid at least once a month
or collectively and their annual length may and it is the employer who withholds taxes
not be less than 30 days, including satur- and Social Security from the workers’ wages.
days and sundays.
One unusual aspect of wages in Spain is
There are also twelve national public holi- that workers are entitled to at least two ex-
days and two local public holidays per year. traordinary paychecks annually, normally
one for Christmas and the other in summer.
Leaves of absence
They can also be prorated monthly if this is
Workers are also entitled to 15 days off for agreed in a collective agreement.
marriage and 16 uninterrupted weeks off
for maternity, adoption or foster care (and The government sets the minimum wage
an additional two weeks for each child af- (Spanish initials, SMI) annually. This is the
ter the second for a multiple birth, adop- minimum amount below which it is illegal
tion or foster care). The father can take off to contract a worker.
part of this time if both parents work.
In 2012, the minimum wage for any activi-
Therefore, on the birth of a child, adop- ty in agriculture, industry and services was
tion or the start of foster care, the father 21.38 euros per day or 641.40 euros per
is entitled to suspend his contract for thir- month, with no discrimination for age or
teen uninterrupted days of paternity leave, sex. The annual amount including bonuses
which may be extended by an additional may not be less than 8,979.60 euros for a
two days for each child after the second for full legal working day. For those wor-
the birth, adoption or foster care of several king less than a full day, the wages are re-
children. duced in proportion to the time worked.
26 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
Female and male domestic employees who 99Legally binding, objective reasons.
work by the hour receive a minimum of
5.02 euros per hour worked, including the If the contract is terminated or the worker
proportion due for extraordinary bonuses is dismissed, the employer must notify the
and holidays. worker in sufficient time before the end of
the working relationship (give him notice).
Up to date information on the minimum This period can be between 15 and 30
wage can be obtained at: days, depending on the type and length of
www.meyss.es/es/Guia/texto/ the working relationship.
For information on wages, go to: If the reason is dismissal based on a deci-
www.tusalario.es/ sion by the employer due to the fact that
the worker has not fulfilled his or her obli-
gations, the worker must be notified in wri-
ting of the reasons and the date on which
Termination of an employment the dismissal takes effect.
relationship
If the worker does not agree with the deci-
sion, he or she must make an application
Work contracts can be terminated due to: for reconciliation to the local Autonomous
Community Mediation, Arbitration and Re-
99Mutual agreement between the two par- conciliation Department within 20 working
ties. days, prior to taking the claim to the Social
Court.
99Reasons validly expressed in the con-
tract.
99The end of the time agreed to or the Self-employed workers
completion of the task or service that
was the object of the contract.
If you wish to become self-employed in
99Resignation of the worker. Spain and carry out an independent eco-
nomic activity, you must be over eighteen
99Death, retirement or permanent, total years of age and comply with a series of
or absolute disability on the part of the formalities:
worker or the employer.
99Register the start of activity with the
99Circumstances beyond anyone’s control census at the Tax Office (form 036 or
037):
99Dismissal
www.aeat.es
99At the request of the worker, with a jus-
tified reason.
Working in Spain 27 ToCNational Public Employment Service
99Register with the Social Security’s Spe-
cial Scheme for the Self-Employed at 9. ACCOMMODATION
your local provincial Social Security
office:
www.seg-social.es Renting
99Register with the appropriate professio-
nal association, when this is required to If you plan to rent a flat during your stay
exercise your profession. in Spain, it is advisable to go to an estate
agency or consult the classified advertise-
If you will have business premises, you ments for rentals in the newspaper.
must apply for a municipal licence to open
them and report the opening of this work- You will find estate agencies listed in the
place to the Autonomous Community la- Yellow Pages of the telephone directory.
bour authorities.
www.paginasamarillas.es
If you wish to start a company, the process
can be somewhat complicated if you are There are several web sites that can help
not familiar with the Spanish civil service, you to find accommodation, such as:
as several national, regional and local de-
partments are involved. www.fotocasa.es
www.tucasa.com
You can get guidance and information www.idealista.com
from the “one-stop business desks” of the www.globaliza.com
Chambers of Commerce. They do not take http://casas.facilisimo.com
care of any administrative paperwork but www.portae.com
the information that they provide is exce- www.enalquiler.com
llent.
The local press also includes advertise-
You can consult the following web sites: ments of flats for rent and in many cities
there are free newspapers listing property
www.creatuempresa.org/ for sale and rent.
www.camaras.org
www.ventanillaempresarial.org It is necessary to sign a rental contract with
the owner. A rental contract is valid in any
If you prefer to get help from a private pro- form, including verbal, but it is advisable
fessional who will do all the paperwork for to have it in writing. There is an official
you, go to a Gestoría (an agency that ob- contract form that you can buy in any es-
tains official documents for clients). tanco (tobacco shop).
The renter is required to put down a depo-
sit in cash equivalent to one month’s rent.
In almost all blocks of flats, expenses and
community services such as the doorman,
28 Working in Spain ToCNational Public Employment Service
cleaning, garden, swimming pool, etc., are
shared among the neighbours. You will have Buying property
to check your rent contract to see if these
expenses are included in the rent or not.
If you are going to buy some property, the
purchase must be made in front of a notary.
Any bank or savings bank will give you infor-
Temporary accommodation mation on mortgage costs and procedures.
House prices in Spain are quite high
Those who are interested can go to a tourist although they have fallen considerably in
office, which can give you a list of available the past year.
temporary accommodation.
At the present time, many estate agencies
The Institute for Youth has cooperation in the EES are involved in buying Spanish
agreements with town councils to offer properties. In Spain, you can go to a local
homes for short term rent to young people estate agency. You can also request infor-
under the age of 30 who have a low income mation on buying property in Spain from the
and have moved away from their normal Foundation Institute of Foreign Owners.
homes for reasons of work or study or to
participate in events, cultural activities or If you wish to find out about current market
sporting activities, etc. These homes can prices for new housing, the Evaluation So-
be newly built or restored buildings in the ciety makes a massive study of the market
old quarter of the town. to analyze new free market housing develo-
pments that are being built in all the pro-
www.injuve.es/portal.portal.action vincial capitals.
Some Autonomous Communities have a European Citizens
service called the Young People’s Home (Foundation Institute of Foreign Owners)
Exchange, where you can obtain general Tel: 96 584 23 12 Fax: 96 584 15 89
information on renting, buying and selling e-mail: ifpo@ctv.es
property, specialized legal information, www.c-euro.org
press releases on housing for rent and sha-
red rooms and, above all, a list of flats that Evaluation Society
are available for rent to young people at pri- http://web.st-tasacion.es/
ces lower than the market rate because of
an agreement with the owners. You can find Yellow pages
further information about services for young www.paginasamarillas.es/
people from the Autonomous Communities.
Youth Institute (Spanish initials, INJUVE).
Sectorial Programme Service
Tel: 91 363 75 93
Fax: 91 402 21 94
www.injuve.es/portal.portal.action
Working in Spain 29 ToCYou can also read
