Spanish employment contracts: probation, hours, holiday

A Spanish employment contract is shorter than most newcomers expect. That is not sloppiness: most of the terms are not in the contract at all. They are in the Workers' Statute and in the sector's collective agreement, the convenio colectivo — on Mallorca usually the hospitality agreement for the Balearic Islands. Read only the contract and you do not know your terms.

The contract types

Since the 2021 labour reform the open-ended contract is the default. A fixed term needs a stated reason, and that reason must appear in the contract.

• Contrato indefinido — open-ended. The normal case, seasonal work included.
• Contrato temporal — fixed term, only with cause: a temporary rise in production, or covering a named person.
• Contrato fijo-discontinuo — open-ended with recurring inactive periods. The season contract on Mallorca; it has its own article here.
• Contrato formativo — training and work experience, with its own rules on duration and pay.

Probation: what article 14 allows

Probation must be agreed in writing. If it is not in the contract, there is none. The collective agreement may set its own limits; where it is silent, the statutory maximums apply.

• Six months at most for qualified technical staff (técnicos titulados).
• Two months at most for everyone else.
• In firms with fewer than 25 staff, three months at most for anyone who is not a técnico titulado.
• On fixed-term contracts of six months or less, one month at most, unless the collective agreement says otherwise.

During probation either side may end the relationship without notice and without giving reasons. That runs both ways — yours included.

Holiday: 30 days, but which days?

Dates are agreed between employer and employee within whatever the collective agreement says about annual planning. In a seasonal economy that means, in practice: not in August.

What to check before signing

1. 01Which convenio colectivo applies? It governs pay, allowances, hours and holiday.
2. 02Which categoría profesional is stated? It sets which pay scale applies to you.
3. 03Is the salary quoted over 12 or 14 payments? The difference is substantial.
4. 04How many weekly hours, and is it full time or part time (jornada completa or parcial)?
5. 05If fixed term: which cause is named? Without a stated cause the fixed term can be challenged.
6. 06If the employer provides accommodation: what happens to the room when the job ends?