Littler International Guide - Spain Spring 2026
- Publisher:
- Littler Mendelson
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-07
Description:
The Littler International Library provides a comprehensive, comparative analysis of international employment and labor laws for corporate counsel, cross-border legal practitioners, and HR professionals. The content is organized in a question-and-answer format with each country publication responding to the same series of questions, facilitating comparison across jurisdictions. Written by selected attorneys and scholars from around the globe and edited by the attorneys of Littler's International Practice Group, this library covers more than 45 countries/territories.
Littler Int'l Guide - Spain About the Authors
Littler Int'l Guide - Spain Disclaimer / Acknowledgements / Notices
§ 1 SETTING UP BUSINESS & STRUCTURING THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
- Is outsourcing allowed, and what are the legal considerations to reduce a company’s exposure to liability?
- Is a business without a physical presence in the country required to create a local entity to engage local workers?
- What are the major laws that govern the employment relationship?
- What categories of workers are recognized, and what tests do courts or agencies use to evaluate these categories?
- Are there emerging categories of workers based on technological innovations or economic changes?
- What legal claims can be brought for misclassifying a worker?
- Is a business permitted to engage a third-party entity to either assume the role of employer or to employ individuals locally? If so, are there restrictions on these arrangements?
- What rights, protections, or entitlements are attached to each category of worker?
§ 2 PRE-HIRE & HIRING
- Is an employer required to provide information on pay or pay ranges when advertising a job?
- Are there any notices that employers must provide to employees upon hiring? If so, what are the notices?
- Must an employer or a foreign national obtain any prior approval (e.g., a visa, work permit, or sponsorship license) from a government authority before a foreign national can work in the jurisdiction?
- Is an employer permitted to carry out background checks on an applicant or to ask an applicant about certain topics?
- Is an employer required to hire particular groups of people in preference to others?
§ 3 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
- Can e-signatures be used to execute employment contracts or other employment documents?
- Are fixed-term employment contracts permissible?
- What terms of employment are recommended to include in a written employment contract?
- Is an employer required to provide an employee with a written employment contract or other written document? If so, what terms of employment are required to be included?
- Are probationary periods allowed, and if so, do restrictions apply?
- Can an employer change the terms or conditions of employment unilaterally (i.e., without the employee’s agreement)?
- Is there a language requirement for written employment contracts or other employment documents?
- Are post-employment restrictive covenants enforceable? If so, under what conditions?
§ 4 WORKING TIME & COMPENSATION
- Is there a limit to the number of hours an employee can work daily and/or weekly? Can an employee opt out of such restrictions?
- What general activities constitute compensable working time?
- What is the required schedule for paying wages, and in what form and currency must wages be paid?
- Is there a national minimum wage?
- What are the employer and employee payroll contributions?
- What elements are considered part of a salary?
- If an employee works overtime, how is it compensated?
- What bonuses, if any, are mandated? What bonuses are customary?
- Are there required rest, meal, or other break periods during the workday?
- Are there any rules related to pay equity and/or pay transparency?
§ 5 TIME OFF FROM WORK
- What are the national (bank) holidays? What are the requirements if an employee works on such holidays?
- Is there a required day of rest? What are the requirements if an employee works on that day?
- Is an employee entitled to annual leave or vacation?
- Is an employee entitled to time off if they are sick, including for medical leave?
- What requirements are there for employees with infants (e.g., breaks for breastfeeding, day care entitlements, part-time work)?
- Is an employee entitled to caregiver leave (e.g., to care for a close relative)?
- Is an employee entitled to leave related to the birth of a child?
- Is an employee entitled to other types of leave?
§ 6 DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT
- Are employers required to investigate allegations of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation?
- What characteristics or categories of individuals are protected under the antidiscrimination laws?
- Are there any types of prohibited discriminatory conduct against other groups?
- Is an employer required to make adjustments for an employee based on the employee’s religion?
- What types of conduct are prohibited in relation to these protected categories?
- What prohibitions exist regarding retaliation/reprisal?
- Are there legal justifications for otherwise impermissible discrimination?
- Is an employer required to make adjustments for an employee based on the employee’s disability?
- May individual persons be liable for discrimination, harassment, or retaliation?
- Is an employer required to provide training on prevention of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation?
- What types of harassment are prohibited under the law?
§ 8 PRIVACY & PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Are there any data privacy laws protecting the personal data of employees or job applicants?
- What are an employer’s obligations when processing (i.e., collecting, storing, using, handling, etc.) personal data of employees or job applicants?
- Are there any special requirements related to sensitive personal data of employees or job applicants?
- What rights do employees and job applicants have with respect to their personal data?
- Is an employer permitted to transfer the personal data of its employees or job applicants?
- What are the penalties for failure to comply with the data privacy laws?
- In the event of a data breach involving personal information of an employee, what are the employer’s obligations?
§ 9 WORKERS’ REPRESENTATION, UNIONS & WORKS COUNCILS
- Does the law prohibit or otherwise limit workers’ right to strike in specific industries, job positions, or circumstances?
- Do workers have a fundamental right of association and representation regarding their working conditions?
- What are the types of worker representative bodies recognized in the jurisdiction?
- When is an employer required to recognize a worker representative body?
- Do workers acquire special rights, protections, or obligations by being a member of a worker representative body?
- Is the employer required to bargain with, consult, and/or inform the worker representative body? If so, under what circumstances?
- What are the primary mechanisms of action (e.g., strikes, picketing, etc.) workers may use to advocate for their collective rights or working conditions?
§ 10 INDIVIDUAL DISMISSALS & COLLECTIVE REDUNDANCIES
- What general costs will an employer pay for dismissing an employee?
- What obligations apply when an employee resigns?
- On what grounds can an employer dismiss an employee?
- Does the employer have to inform the employee of the grounds for dismissal?
- Is an employee’s release of claims in a separation agreement enforceable?
- What process must an employer follow when dismissing an individual employee?
- For collective redundancies, are there additional or different rules?
- What penalties apply for an employer’s alleged noncompliance in dismissal situations?
§ 11 EMPLOYMENT & CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS
- What are important legal considerations within the context of a business sale?
- Are there additional important legal considerations within the context of a share sale or indirect share sale?
- Are there legal obligations to inform, consult, and/or reach agreement with employees, worker representative bodies, or any government agency in certain corporate transactions?
- Are there any other issues that may give rise to a material liability, a material legal risk, or a material delay because of the transaction?
- Are there any legal restrictions that prevent or restrict the use of secondment or transitional services arrangements?
§ 12 EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES & LEGAL LANDSCAPE
- May an employer compel employees to arbitrate employment disputes?
- What are the primary mechanisms to resolve employment disputes?
- What government bodies enforce the major laws that govern the employment relationship?
- Can an employee bring claims on behalf of other workers (i.e., class or collective action)?
- What are the five most common mistakes foreign employers make and what can be done to help avoid them?
- What are the most important characteristics of the legal culture relating to employment?
- Littler Int'l Guide - Spain Glossary of Terms
- Littler Int'l Guide - Spain ABOUT THE LITTLER INTERNATIONAL GUIDE
