Employment contracts
TL;DR
- Spanish employees are entitled by law to two pagas extraordinarias a year (ET art. 31) — one at Christmas, the other as fixed by the convenio colectivo.
- "14 salary payments" is the common pattern, not a universal rule: the convenio can prorate the pagas across 12 monthly payslips instead.
- Your nómina (payslip) splits into devengos (what you earn) and deducciones (IRPF withholding plus your share of Social Security).
- The convenio colectivo of your sector sets the floor under your contract: salary tables, hours, supplements, paga dates.
- When the contract ends you sign a finiquito — the final settlement of unused holidays, the accrued share of pagas and any pending salary.
Facts verified 10 August 2026 against the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE) and seg-social.es
A Spanish employment contract comes with two documents you will read for years: the contract itself, signed once, and the nómina — the payslip that lands every month and that almost no newcomer can decode on the first try. This page explains the parts of the Spanish system that differ from what you may be used to: why annual salary is often split into 14 instalments, what each line of the nómina means, and what the finiquito is when you leave.
Updated 10 August 2026
Key facts
| Default contract form | Contrato indefinido (open-ended) |
|---|---|
| Extra payments | Two pagas extraordinarias per year — ET art. 31 |
| Prorating of pagas | Allowed if the convenio colectivo provides for it |
| Payslip | Nómina: devengos minus deducciones = líquido a percibir |
| Sector floor | Convenio colectivo — salary tables, hours, supplements |
| On termination | Finiquito — final settlement, signed at exit |
Why Spanish salaries come in 14 payments — usually
Article 31 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores entitles every employee to two pagas extraordinarias per year: one at Christmas, and one in the month fixed by the applicable convenio colectivo — in practice usually summer. That is where the famous "14 salary payments" pattern comes from: twelve monthly wages plus two extra instalments.
But the same article lets the convenio agree to prorate the pagas across the twelve ordinary payslips. In that case you are paid 12 times, each payslip slightly higher, with a line "prorrateo de pagas extraordinarias" doing the arithmetic. Neither version pays you more than the other — the annual total is identical. So when a job offer quotes "€30,000", the first question is not the amount but the split: en 12 o en 14 pagas? The answer is in the convenio, not in the employer’s preference alone.
How to read your nómina, line by line
The nómina has a fixed anatomy: a header identifying you, the company and the convenio; the devengos (everything you earn); the deducciones (everything withheld); and the difference — líquido a percibir, what actually reaches your account.
| Nómina line | What it is |
|---|---|
| Salario base | Base pay for your category, set by the convenio’s salary table |
| Complementos salariales | Supplements — seniority, position, nocturnality, languages |
| Prorrateo de pagas extra | If pagas are prorated: their monthly share, added here |
| Total devengado | Gross for the month — the sum of all earnings |
| Retención IRPF | Income tax withheld on account, at your personal percentage |
| Aportaciones a la Seguridad Social | The employee’s share of contributions: common contingencies, unemployment, training |
| Total a deducir | All withholdings summed |
| Líquido a percibir | Net pay — devengado minus deducciones |
Two things surprise newcomers. First, the IRPF retención is personalised: it depends on your salary and family situation, so two colleagues with equal gross can have different nets — the difference settles in the annual tax return. Second, the bottom of the nómina usually also shows the employer’s Social Security contributions. They are not deducted from you; they sit on top of your gross and explain why hiring in Spain costs an employer visibly more than the salary — a line worth understanding before you become the employer yourself by setting up an S.L. company.
The convenio colectivo: the floor under everything
Almost every line above traces back to the convenio colectivo — the sector- or company-level collective agreement. It sets the minimum salary tables per category, working hours, the number and dates of pagas, supplements and leave beyond the legal minimum. Your contract can improve on the convenio; it cannot undercut it. Identifying your convenio (it is named on the nómina header) is the single fastest way to check whether an offer is at, above or below the sector floor.
The rules on this page assume a Spanish employer running Spanish payroll. If your employer is abroad and you are the one in Spain, the setup is different — that scenario is covered in working remotely from Spain for a foreign employer.
The finiquito: how a contract ends on paper
Whatever the reason a contract ends — resignation, dismissal, end of a temporary contract — the employer must present a finiquito: the final settlement document. It liquidates everything accrued but not yet paid:
- Unused holiday days, paid out in cash
- The accrued proportion of pagas extraordinarias not yet received
- Pending salary for days worked in the final month
- Any severance (indemnización), where the type of termination carries one
Check the arithmetic before signing — the days of holiday and the paga proportions are where errors live. Signing marks that you received the document; if you dispute the amounts, you can sign adding the words "no conforme", which preserves your right to claim afterwards. A finiquito is not a waiver of a wrongful dismissal challenge, but a clean signature with no reservation makes any later claim harder.
⚠ Scams to avoid
- "We’ll pay you in cash until the paperwork is ready." There is no legal in-between: work before the contract is registered and the alta with Social Security is filed means you are uninsured, unprotected and accruing nothing — no paro, no pension, no accident cover.
- Split salary — part on the nómina, part in an envelope. The undeclared part does not exist for severance, unemployment benefit, sick pay or your mortgage application. You carry the whole downside of the employer’s tax saving.
- "Sign the finiquito now, we’ll transfer later." The finiquito is signed when the amounts are settled and paid, not as a blank receipt. Refuse pressure to sign an undated or unpaid settlement.
FAQ
Are 14 salary payments mandatory in Spain?
The law (ET art. 31) guarantees two pagas extraordinarias per year on top of the twelve monthly wages, but the convenio colectivo can prorate them into the monthly payslips. So 14 instalments is the common pattern, 12 with prorated pagas is equally legal — the annual total is the same.
What is a finiquito?
The final settlement signed when an employment contract ends: unused holidays, the accrued share of pagas extraordinarias, pending salary and any severance. Check the figures before signing; you can sign "no conforme" if you disagree.
Why is my net salary so much lower than my gross?
Two withholdings: the IRPF retención (income tax on account, at a personalised rate) and your share of Social Security contributions. Both appear as deducciones on the nómina; the employer’s own contributions are extra and are not taken from your pay.
Do I need a NIE to sign an employment contract?
Yes. The employer needs your NIE to register the contract and your Social Security position — and the right to work comes from your residence or work authorisation, not from the NIE itself.
Sources:
Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 31 (BOE-A-2015-11430) — pagas extraordinarias and prorating by convenio, retrieved 10 August 2026; seg-social.es — employee contribution concepts on the nómina; Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal and Ministerio de Trabajo guidance on the finiquito and final settlements.
Reviewed by the Happy Residence S.L. team. Every statement on this page is checked against the official source on the date shown above.
We are an administrative assistance service, not a public administration.