The Hardest Market ยท Spain
Spain's HR data
The rules and costs of employing people in Spain (Madrid), from official sources, in English and Japanese.
37%women in management (2024, ILO)
1.32รemployer's total cost on โฌ55,000 a year, as a multiple of salary
14public holidays (2026)
Employment rules
| Statutory annual leave | 30 calendar days (about 22 working days) |
|---|---|
| Public holidays (2026) | 14 days |
| Notice of dismissal | 15 days for objective dismissal; none for disciplinary |
| Severance required by law | 20 days/year (max 12 months); unfair 33 days/year (max 24 months) |
| Typical negotiated exit | No official benchmark; settlements often near 33 days/year |
| Probation | Up to 6 months (graduates/technicians), 2 months others |
| Working hours | 40h/week annual average; overtime max 80h/year |
| How hard is dismissal? | Moderate: employer can pay unfair-dismissal compensation instead of reinstating |
Employer contributions
| Common contingencies (employer) | 23.6% |
|---|---|
| Unemployment (employer) | 5.5% |
| Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) | 0.2% |
| Vocational training (employer) | 0.6% |
| Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (employer) | 0.75% |
| Work accidents and occupational disease (office staff) | 1.5% |
| Solidarity contribution (employer, tranche 1) | 0.96% |
| Solidarity contribution (employer, tranche 2) | 1.04% |
| Solidarity contribution (employer, tranche 3) | 1.22% |
Employee contributions
| Common contingencies (pensions, sickness) | 4.7% |
|---|---|
| Unemployment | 1.55% |
| Vocational training | 0.1% |
| Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) | 0.15% |
| Solidarity contribution (tranche 1) | 0.19% |
| Solidarity contribution (tranche 2) | 0.21% |
| Solidarity contribution (tranche 3) | 0.24% |
Take-home pay and employer cost by annual salary
| Annual salary | Employee contributions | Income tax | Take-home | Employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| โฌ35,000 | โฌ2,276 | โฌ5,897 | โฌ26,827 | โฌ46,253 |
| โฌ55,000 | โฌ3,576 | โฌ12,238 | โฌ39,186 | โฌ72,683 |
| โฌ80,000 | โฌ4,018 | โฌ22,129 | โฌ53,853 | โฌ99,871 |
| โฌ120,000 | โฌ4,110 | โฌ39,291 | โฌ76,599 | โฌ140,338 |
Single employee in Madrid city, Spanish tax resident for the full 2026 calendar year (the IRPF tax year), under 65, no dependants, open-ended (indefinido) contract in an office job, salary only paid evenly (12 payments, or 14 with the two extra payments prorated for social security), no bonus, no other income. Only the general deductions apply: employee social security, the โฌ2,000 'otros gastos', the reduction for earned income and the personal minimum. Local resident case; the 'Beckham' inbound-worker regime (flat 24%) is not modelled.