Working in Spain – SMI 2026, contracts, the 40-hour week, holidays and qualifications
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
The minimum wage has risen, the shorter working week has not arrived and birth leave is longer. Here is what working in Spain means in 2026: the SMI 2026, the contract you are likely to sign, your hours, holidays and notice, and how to get a foreign degree recognised.
Working in Spain in 2026 comes with a higher floor and the same hours. The SMI 2026 (salario mínimo interprofesional, the statutory minimum wage) is €1,221 a month in 14 payments, or €17,094 a year full time – 3.1 per cent more than in 2025 – under Real Decreto 126/2026, published on 19 February 2026 with effect from 1 January. The 37.5-hour week did not happen: Congress rejected the bill on 11 September 2025. And since 31 July 2025, each parent gets 19 weeks of birth leave.
INE, the national statistics institute, put unemployment at 9.87 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, and the Seguridad Social (social security) counted more than 3,550,000 foreign nationals among its affiliated workers in August 2026.
SMI 2026: what is the minimum wage in Spain?
| SMI 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per month, in 14 payments | €1,221 |
| Per day | €40.70 |
| Per year, full time | At least €17,094 |
| Domestic workers paid by the hour | €9.55 per hour actually worked |
| Fixed-term work of up to 120 days with one company | At least €57.82 per working day, including Sundays, holidays and extra payments pro rata |
Source: Real Decreto 126/2026 (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
The SMI applies in every sector, regardless of sex or age. Only pay in money counts, and it is paid pro rata for shorter hours. You also get two extra payments (pagas extraordinarias) a year, one at Christmas, which a collective agreement may spread over the 12 monthly payments. For a work permit, a part-time job must pay at least the full-time SMI over the year, and a digital nomad must earn 200 per cent of the SMI a month (part 2).
INE puts average gross pay in 2024 at €29,540.26 a year and the median at €24,497.17; hospitality paid least, at €17,653.42.
| Region | Average gross annual pay, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Basque Country | €35,170.28 |
| Comunidad de Madrid | €34,410.01 |
| Navarre | €32,605.28 |
| Catalonia | €31,730.05 |
| Comunitat Valenciana | €26,816.98 |
| Canary Islands | €25,120.38 |
| Extremadura (lowest) | €24,979.44 |
Source: INE, annual wage structure survey 2024, published 28 May 2026, read 23 September 2026.
That average also sets the EU Blue Card threshold since June 2026: €41,356.36 a year, or €33,085.09 for shortage occupations and people who qualified in the last three years.
Which employment contract will you get in Spain?
Since the 2021 labour reform, a contract is presumed indefinido (permanent); a fixed-term one needs a precisely stated reason – 'circumstances of production' or replacing a worker. Part-time, fijo-discontinuo, training and fixed-term contracts over four weeks must be in writing, or the job is presumed permanent and full-time. Your employer must register you with the Seguridad Social before you start.
| Contract | Key rules |
|---|---|
| Fixed-term, production circumstances | Up to six months, or a year if the sector agreement allows; for foreseeable peaks, 90 days a year at most (120 in agriculture). More than 18 months in 24 at one company on two or more such contracts makes you permanent |
| Fijo-discontinuo (permanent intermittent) | For seasonal or intermittent work |
| Formación en alternancia (work and training) | Three months to two years; at least 60 per cent of the agreement rate in year one and 75 per cent in year two, never below the SMI pro rata |
| Práctica profesional (first job after studies) | Six months to a year, signed within three years of finishing your studies |
| Trial period | Unless the collective agreement differs: six months for qualified technicians, two for others (three in firms with fewer than 25 staff), one on fixed-term contracts of up to six months |
Source: Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
Check which convenio colectivo (collective agreement) covers your sector: it binds every employer and worker in its scope, union members or not, and stays in force while a new one is negotiated.
Leaving a job: notice and severance
| Situation | What you are owed |
|---|---|
| End of a fixed-term contract (not training or substitution) | 12 days' salary per year worked, pro rata |
| Dismissal for objective causes | Written notice, a 15-day notice period and 20 days' salary per year of service, up to 12 months' pay |
| Dismissal ruled unfair | The employer chooses within five days: take you back, or pay 33 days' salary per year of service, up to 24 months' pay |
Source: Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
Contributory unemployment benefit (paro) requires at least 360 days of contributions; part 9 explains the rest.
Working hours, holidays and leave in Spain
| Rule | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Working week | At most 40 hours of effective work, averaged over the year |
| Working day | Normally no more than nine hours of ordinary work, and at least 12 hours between one day and the next |
| Break | At least 15 minutes when a continuous day is longer than six hours |
| Time record | Your employer must record your start and finish times every day |
| Overtime | At most 80 hours a year |
| Weekly rest | At least a day and a half without interruption (two days under 18) |
| Paid holiday | At least 30 calendar days; cannot be replaced by money; you learn your dates at least two months ahead |
| Public holidays | At most 14 paid days a year, two of them local |
| Birth leave | 19 weeks for each parent (32 for a single parent) since 31 July 2025; the first six weeks after birth are compulsory for the biological mother |
Source: Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
A separate 35-hour bill was rejected on 20 October 2025. Holidays depend on your region: in 2026, 1 November is a Sunday, and only nine regions, among them Madrid and Andalusia, move it to Monday 2 November – Catalonia and Valencia do not (part 14).
How do you get foreign qualifications recognised in Spain?
For university degrees, Real Decreto 889/2022 offers three procedures. Homologación and equivalence are applied for only through the electronic office of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
| Procedure | What it gives you | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Homologación | The right to practise a regulated profession in Spain | Only for professions listed in the decree's annex |
| Declaración de equivalencia | Certifies the academic level of your degree (Bachelor's or Master's) | An official degree of at least three years or 180 ECTS; for a Master's, one year or 60 ECTS |
| Convalidación | Credits to continue your studies | – |
Source: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and Real Decreto 889/2022 (BOE), read 23 September 2026.
Documents must be legalised or apostilled unless they come from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. The ministry must decide within six months, or you may treat the application as rejected; a firm offer of a highly qualified job gets a fast track. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals in a regulated profession use the Directive 2005/36/EC route, run by the ministry responsible – the Ministerio de Sanidad for health.
Where do you find work in Spain?
SEPE, the state employment service, runs Empléate, a free portal that also gathers offers from the regional employment services, and gives access to EURES, the European job-mobility network. Registering as a job seeker is regional: in the Comunidad de Madrid you must live in the region, and non-EU nationals need recognised access to the labour market. Madrid's offices work preferably by cita previa (appointment), booked online or on 012.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compare your offer with the SMI 2026 and your sector's collective agreement | Before you sign |
| 2 | Get a part-time or fixed-term contract in writing | When you sign |
| 3 | Check that your employer has registered you with the Seguridad Social | Before your first day |
| 4 | Apply for recognition of your degree if your profession is regulated | Early – the ministry has six months to decide |
| 5 | Register as a job seeker with your regional employment service | If you are looking for work |
Source: Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Real Decreto 126/2026, Real Decreto 889/2022 and Comunidad de Madrid, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- SEPE – Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal – Ofertas de empleo · sepe.es
- SEPE – Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal – Empleo en Europa (EURES) · sepe.es
- Comunidad de Madrid – Oficina de empleo · comunidad.madrid
- Comunidad de Madrid – Tu Oficina Virtual de Empleo · comunidad.madrid
- SEPE – Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal – Prestación contributiva · sepe.es
- INE – Nota de prensa EPA 2º trimestre 2026 · ine.es
- BOE – Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015), texto consolidado (última actualización… · boe.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 1065/2025, de 26 de noviembre (contrato formativo) · boe.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 126/2026, de 18 de febrero, salario mínimo interprofesional para 2026 art. 1 and final provision · boe.es
- Congreso de los Diputados – open data (downloaded 23 Sept 2026) – Proyectos de Ley · congreso.es
- Congreso de los Diputados – open data (downloaded 23 Sept 2026) – Proposiciones de Ley · congreso.es
- BOE – Ley Orgánica 11/1985 de Libertad Sindical, art. 1 · boe.es
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Portal Valida-TE · ciencia.gob.es
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Portal Valida-TE · ciencia.gob.es
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Portal Valida-TE · ciencia.gob.es
- BOE – Real Decreto 889/2022 (texto consolidado) · boe.es
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Portal Valida-TE · ciencia.gob.es
- INE – Encuesta Anual de Estructura Salarial (EAES) 2024, datos definitivos · ine.es
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.