The cost of living in Spain is well below the European average, particularly outside of Madrid and Barcelona. However, the average salary is also quite low in comparison to the rest of the EU.
Currently the minimum monthly salary for full time employment is around €750 a month. Salaries are, of course, industry specific and vary based on experience and position held; but the current mean average salary in Spain is around €2,500 a month.
There are various different employment contracts in Spain but the following are the most common.
Permanent contracts (contratos indefinidos) are for any position for which there is no predetermined termination date, employees have considerably more security with this type of contract.
Short term or temporary contracts (contratos fijos) are used when the duration of employment is specified; this applies to those employed for contracted work or those brought in to cover maternity leave. Employment under these contracts cannot have a duration of longer than three years.
Once you have been offered a job and your contract has been completed and agreed, it must be submitted to the employment office, where a copy is kept. Although not always applicable, if you are required to undertake a probationary period when starting a job, the duration and conditions of it must be stated within the contract.
Within Spanish law it is stated that the maximum number of hours an employee is allowed to work must not exceed an average of 40 hours per week. Actual working hours cannot exceed 9 per day and for employees under the age of 18, this is reduced to 8 hours per day.
Traditionally, a Spanish working day has been divided into two parts, the morning from 10am - 2pm and then 4pm - 7pm. However, office hours in Spain are increasingly becoming more like those found in most other countries; with businesses operating between 9am and 4pm and long lunches and siestas becoming more and more uncommon.
The majority of people in Spain take their annual leave in August, so during this month many businesses adapt their working hours to a jornada intensiva from 8am to 3pm.
If an employee is expected to work overtime, then this must be included in their contract prior to commencement. The rate of pay for extra hours worked must be agreed in advance or alternatively it can be substituted for time off in lieu.
Legally speaking, an employee can only work a maximum of 80 hours of overtime during the course of a year.
In total, full time employees in Spain are entitled to a minimum of 22 days of paid holiday, which must be taken and cannot be substituted for remuneration. Spain also has 14 holidays, both national and local, that are not included in an employee’s paid holiday.
Additional days can be taken as holiday in the event of extraordinary situations. For example, in the instance of a marriage 15 days can be taken and for moving house one day is permitted.