Hiring in Spain: routes, costs and employment rules
EREditorial team · Updated 14 Oct 202611 min read19 providers compared across EOR, COR and global payroll20 sources
€4,355 employer cost a month before the EOR fee, €40,000 salaryNot all-in: what it leaves out is under the cost table.
≈31% employer contributions on top of salary
€1,221.00 minimum wage a month in 2026
19 EOR providers covering Spain
Someone can work for you in Spain as your own employee, as an Employer of Record's employee or as a self-employed autónomo. On a €40,000 salary, employer contributions come to ≈31% of pay.
Short answer
Spain has no employer-of-record regime, so an EOR hire stands or falls on who actually directs the person's work.
Before any EOR fee, a €40,000 hire costs about €4,400 a month; one provider quotes €299, the rest price in US dollars.
Accident insurance is not in the contribution figure: its rate follows the company's activity code and the person's occupation.
Severance turns on the type of dismissal: 33 days' salary per year of service when unfair, 20 days for an objective dismissal.
Nobody: a services contract with a self-employed autónomo
When the contract is signed
On the terms of the contract
Ruled out where the person works inside your organisation and under your direction.
In Spain the route has to fit how the person will work day to day, because the law looks past the paperwork. Hiring someone in order to place them temporarily with another company is lawful only through an authorised temporary-work agency, and a provider that merely supplies the worker falls into unlawful transfer [1]. The EOR page sets out where that line sits. A self-employed contract fails the same way when the person works within your organisation and under your direction [2], which the contractors page covers. Your own company employs directly, so neither question arises, but it starts with Social Security: the employer files each employee’s registration, and a late one has no retroactive effect [3].
What one hire costs
Monthly cost of an employee on €40,000 a year: the cost before the EOR fee.
Assumes: Permanent full-time contract in the general regime (Régimen General), standard rates for common contingencies and unemployment.
Cost before the EOR fee, a month€4,355
Gross salary€3,33377%
Employer contributions€1,02223%
Percentages are shares of the total, not of salary.
What one hire costs
Item
Rate
EUR / month
Gross salary
—
3,333
Common contingencies (contingencias comunes)[4][5]
Solidarity contribution, first tranche (up to 10% above the cap)[8][9]
0.96%
0
Solidarity contribution, second tranche (10% to 50% above the cap)[8][9]
1.04%
0
Solidarity contribution, third tranche (more than 50% above the cap)[8][9]
1.22%
0
Cost before the EOR fee
4,355
Plus the EOR fee, not in this total. Published fees per employee: €299 a month (one provider, EUR); US$99 to US$699 a month (16 providers, USD). We add a fee to the total only when at least 3 providers publish one in EUR, and we do not convert currencies.
Caps and tranche limits are 12 times the 2026 monthly ceilings of EUR 5,101.20, 5,611.32 and 7,651.80, taken for a regular monthly salary with the two extra payments spread over the twelve months. Excludes accident and occupational-disease insurance (AT/EP), which depends on the company's activity code and the employee's occupation; the office-staff rate of 1.50% applies only to work done exclusively at the company's own office premises. The minimum contribution bases are not modelled.
Required by law[11]Two extra payments a year (Christmas and one other month); a collective agreement may spread them over the twelve monthly payments.
Pay frequency
Monthly[12]The pay period for regular remuneration may not exceed one month.
Working time and leave
Maximum working week
40 hours[13]An annual average, not a limit for each week. Up to 80 overtime hours a year; each paid at no less than an ordinary hour or compensated with paid rest.
Statutory paid leave
30 days[14]Thirty calendar days (días naturales), not working days; a collective agreement or the contract may give more.
Public holidays
14 days[15]Statutory ceiling of 14 paid holidays a year, of which two are local; the actual calendar is set each year by the national government, the autonomous communities and the municipalities.
Probation and severance
Maximum probation
6 months[16]6 months for qualified technicians; 2 months for other staff, 3 in firms under 25 staff. A collective agreement can set other limits.
Severance
Unfair dismissal - 33 days of salary per year of service, up to 24 monthly payments; objective dismissal - 20 days of salary per year of service, up to 12 monthly payments, with 15 days' notice.[17]Periods under a year are prorated by month. Contracts signed before 12 February 2012 follow a transitional rule not covered here.
Work visas
Spain: work visas and permits
Visa or permit
Who it is for
Residence and work authorisation for employed work (cuenta ajena)[18]
Non-EU nationals hired by an employer in Spain. The employer applies with the employment contract, the national employment situation is taken into account, and the permit takes effect once the worker has the visa and is registered with Social Security.
Highly qualified professional residence authorisation (including the EU Blue Card)[19]
Non-EU professionals a company needs for highly qualified work; the company or the professional applies. The Blue Card asks for a degree of at least three years or five years' equivalent experience (three for IT professionals) and a contract or firm offer of at least six months.
International teleworker visa and residence authorisation (digital nomad)[20]
Non-EU nationals who work remotely for companies located outside Spain; graduates of recognised institutions or professionals with at least three years of experience. It does not allow employment by a company in Spain.
Registering as an employer
3 steps before the first payroll; what each involves and its source are on the payroll page.
The minimum wage is EUR 1,221 a month (EUR 40.70 a day), paid from 1 January 2026 under Royal Decree 126/2026; for annual comparison it may not be taken below EUR 17,094.[10]
The maximum monthly contribution base for the general regime is EUR 5,101.20; the intergenerational equity mechanism is 0.90% (0.75% employer) and a solidarity contribution applies to pay above the maximum base.[5][7][8]
Who can employ for you in Spain
All 19 EOR providers we track that cover Spain, ranked by our EOR score. How we score
Startups, growing companies and enterprises, the three segments Pebl writes a page for
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: we list Pebl for contractor management, not COR
Top pro
Own SOC 2 Type 2 report and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, both on Pebl's security page
Top con
No live support channel named: Pebl lists its Alfie AI assistant, in-house experts and a Help Center; its pages say 24/7 support and do not say who answers
Its Spain page leaves open whether the employing entity is its own or a partner's.
7.4Our score 7.4 of 10Limited dataOur EOR score
EOR price from
US$459per employee a month, billed annually
EOR countries160 claimed, 106 documented
Onboarding2–3 days
ServicesEOR · COR · Contractors · Payroll
Best for
Companies from startups to enterprises, going by Multiplier's segment pages
Not for
Buyers who need the deposit amount before signing: Multiplier calculates it per contract
Top pro
Own SOC 2 (Type I and II), SOC 3 and ISO 27001:2022 on its security page; the AWS certifications listed there are kept apart as the host's
Top con
The "from" prices assume an annual contract. Monthly EOR costs $499 on Core and $559 on Growth, about 11% of countries are priced differently, and compliance-mandated add-ons come on top of EOR and COR
Companies from startups to enterprises: Playroll has pages for each, and its case studies include startups under 100 staff and mid-market firms of 100 to 1,000
Not for
Contractors who want to be paid other than through Payoneer, the only payout route Playroll uses
Top pro
Its own country pages document EOR hiring in 151 countries + 6 territories, against a claim of 180+
Top con
A refundable deposit of one month's salary per EOR employee; the unused part comes back within two months of the last working day, or once claims are settled if that is later
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
A company register entry shows its own entity in Spain.
6.6Our score 6.6 of 10Our EOR score
EOR price from
US$599per employee a month
Entity in Spain
Own entity
EOR countries180 claimed, 151 documented
Minimum termNone
ServicesEOR · Contractors
Best for
A first hire in one new country or a team spread over many, at a startup, mid-market firm or enterprise (G-P has a page for each)
Not for
Buyers who rank EOR providers mostly by the monthly fee
Top pro
G-P claims EOR in 180+ countries; its Globalpedia country guides document 148 countries + 3 territories one by one
Top con
EOR from $599 per employee a month; 15 of 20 other EOR prices in US dollars that we compare start lower; volume discounts are offered but not quantified
Startups, scaling companies and enterprises, the three groups Native Teams writes for
Not for
Buyers who want to read the EOR or COR agreement before talking to sales: the terms of service are the only contract text online
Top pro
EOR from $99 per employee a month, below all 20 other per-employee EOR prices in USD we compare
Top con
The terms of service are the only contract text online. The EOR and COR agreements are not published, and the terms say a separate signed contract takes precedence
Small businesses, including teams under 10 employees, startups and enterprises: the segments Rippling has pages for
Not for
Buyers who want to compare an EOR price before a sales call
Top pro
Contractor onboarding in 185+ countries and payments in 50+ local currencies, per its contractor page; 160 countries + 2 territories are documented here
Top con
No price for EOR, contractor management or global payroll: the pricing page asks for a custom quote
Enterprise-level companies, the audience Atlas's enterprise page names
Not for
Buyers who need a Contractor of Record: under Atlas's AOR the contract stays between the client and each contractor
Top pro
EOR in 141 countries + 5 territories documented here, against a claim of 160+ with wholly owned entities
Top con
At $599 per employee monthly, the EOR price is above 15 of the 20 other USD EOR prices we compare and equal to 4; local employer services, FX and benefits premiums are billed on top
The first Contractor of Record providers from the contractors page, which also covers the employee test, tax and how to pay.
The first 3 of 13 COR providers we score: those working in Spain first, each by our COR score. Working in Spain: 9 (1 by their COR coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
The first global payroll providers from the payroll page, which also covers set-up, registrations and filings.
The first 3 of 14 global payroll providers we score: those working in Spain first, each by our global payroll score. Working in Spain: 11 (2 by their global payroll coverage list, the rest inferred from their EOR coverage). How we score
Enterprise teams and small and growing businesses (SMEs), in RemotePass's own words
Not for
Buyers who must review EOR contract terms up front: no EOR agreement is public
Top pro
EOR from $349 per employee a month with tax included; 13 of 20 other EOR prices in dollars start higher
Top con
No EOR agreement is public: the Terms say EOR runs under a separate Consultant Agreement "available on the Site", which we did not find. The public legal documents are the Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Acceptable Use Policy
€1,221.00 a month, set by Royal Decree 126/2026 from 1 January 2026. The decree also fixes an annual floor of EUR 17,094, which is the monthly figure times fourteen: twelve monthly payments and the two extra ones.
Are the 13th and 14th salary payments mandatory in Spain?
Yes. The Workers' Statute gives two extra payments a year, one at Christmas and the other in a month set by collective agreement. An agreement may spread them over the twelve monthly payments, which is why a monthly figure says little until you know the pattern.
How much notice does an employer give when dismissing someone in Spain?
There is no general statutory notice period. An objective dismissal carries 15 days' notice and severance of 20 days' salary per year of service; a collective agreement or the contract may add notice.
How does a company in Spain hire a non-EU national?
The employer applies for a residence and work authorisation with the employment contract, and the national employment situation is taken into account. Highly qualified staff have their own route, including the EU Blue Card. The digital nomad visa does not allow employment by a company in Spain.
