Spain Employment Advice: Payroll and Social Security

Employment advisory is the ongoing layer of the contract, monthly payroll and social security settlement; a tax pack does not become that layer because someone joins the workforce. Particular terms of the packs. This page decides the engagement. Registration, step by step, is already in hiring your first employee and in the Spanish labour resources.

It is limited to the state general scheme. It does not resolve a case in the Basque Country, Navarre or the Canary Islands, or a special scheme. It is not advice for your own staff. Family household service sits outside the pack, and the published sentence is quoted further down.

What does not move when the first person joins

This Act shall apply to workers who voluntarily provide their remunerated services on account of another person and within the scope of organisation and direction of another natural or legal person, called the employer or entrepreneur. Workers’ Statute, Article 1. An orderly quarter does not inherit the wage receipt.

There are boundaries you should not take as known. Excluded is activity limited, purely and simply, to the mere performance of the office of director or member of the administrative bodies in undertakings that take the legal form of a company, and always where their activity in the company consists only of carrying out duties inherent in that office. Workers’ Statute, Article 1. That exclusion is not decided by a pack label that says “administrator payroll”. The cross-over with contributions and IRPF is in corporate self-employed: contributions, IRPF and payroll. If you are unsure between TRADE and employment, use TRADE or an employment contract. This page starts from employment on account of another person.

If nobody provides remunerated services on account of another person, the tax engagement may be enough; if there is or will be a worker in the general scheme, the contract, payroll and social security call for an employment engagement separate from the quarter. Particular terms of the packs. The month of the books is another guide. The quarter is another.

The start day opens three tracks, not one formality

The day a person joins, three tracks open at once: the contract and its notification to the employment service, social security registration before work starts, and from that moment the month of payroll and contributions. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 32.

The map, without rewriting the registration, is in the Spanish guides: worker registration deadline, contribution account code, RED system and RED Directo and notifying the contract in Contrat@. Typical failures of calendar, basic copy and probationary period are in mistakes in the first 90 days.

The contract is not signed and then forgotten

The employment contract may be made in writing or orally. Workers’ Statute, Article 8. Article 8.2 lists those that must be in writing. Do not copy that list as a list of grounds: the employment contract is presumed to be agreed for an indefinite term. Workers’ Statute, Article 15. A fixed-term employment contract may be made only for production circumstances or to replace a worker. Workers’ Statute, Article 15. Persons hired in breach of this article shall acquire the status of permanent workers. Workers’ Statute, Article 15.

That formal requirement in Article 8 does not revive a ground for a temporary contract that Article 15 does not allow. The templates are at the SEPE. SEPE, contract templates. What the paper must say is in the Spanish guide on mandatory content of the employment contract.

Employers are obliged to notify the Public Employment Services, within ten working days following their conclusion, of the content of the employment contracts they enter into or the extensions of those contracts, whether or not they must be formalised in writing. Royal Decree 1424/2002, Article 1. Contrat@ is another channel, and another deadline: this application allows employers acting in their own name, and companies and chartered professionals acting on behalf of third parties, to notify the content of employment hiring to the Public Employment Services from their own office or professional premises. SEPE, Contrat@. Authorisation from the employment service is required. The adviser who sends the notification does not replace the obliged employer.

Collective agreement, working time and pay are not a decorative annex

The collective agreement governs the draft. The contract cannot worsen the statute or the agreement: by the will of the parties, expressed in the employment contract, its object being lawful, and provided that in no case may conditions less favourable to the worker, or contrary to the legal provisions and collective agreements set out above, be established. Workers’ Statute, Article 3. How to identify the agreement for the first worker is in the Spanish guide on the collective agreement for the first worker.

The maximum length of the ordinary working day shall be forty hours of effective work a week on average, calculated over the year. Workers’ Statute, Article 34. The agreement can set it lower. The daily record of start and finish feeds the hours on the payslip; the first setup is in the Spanish guide on the working-time record for the first employee.

The worker is entitled to two extra payments a year, one of them on the occasion of the Christmas holidays and the other in the month fixed by collective agreement or by agreement between the employer and the workers’ legal representatives. Workers’ Statute, Article 31. Nevertheless, it may be agreed in a collective agreement that the extra payments are prorated over the twelve monthly payments. Workers’ Statute, Article 31. The detail of that prorating is in the Spanish guide on extra payments and prorating.

Payroll is the control for each month

Settlement and payment of wages shall be made punctually and with supporting documents on the date and at the place agreed, or in accordance with custom. The period of time to which payment of periodic and regular remuneration refers may not exceed one month. Workers’ Statute, Article 29. Wages shall be documented by giving the worker an individual receipt justifying payment of them. Workers’ Statute, Article 29.

On the payslip, earnings sit next to two different deductions: the contribution borne by the worker, and the withholding. All tax and social security charges payable by the worker shall be met by the worker, and any agreement to the contrary is void. Workers’ Statute, Article 26. Agreeing that the company “swallows” the withholding does not erase the duty to withhold.

Persons or entities referred to in Article 76 of these Regulations who pay or satisfy the income provided for in Article 75 shall be obliged to withhold and pay into the Treasury, as a payment on account of the recipient’s Personal Income Tax, in accordance with the rules of these Regulations. Personal Income Tax Regulations, Article 74. Taxpayers who carry on economic activities, when they pay income in the course of those activities, are among those obliged persons. Personal Income Tax Regulations, Article 76. Legal persons and other entities are too. A freelancer with staff and a company with staff can both be payers. The rate does not come from the name of the pack.

Taxpayers shall communicate to the payer the personal and family situation that affects the amount excepted from withholding, the determination of the withholding rate or the adjustments to that rate, the payer also being obliged to keep the duly signed communication. Personal Income Tax Regulations, Article 88. In business practice that communication is modelo 145. Without it, the payer applies the rate that corresponds without those circumstances. How to ask for it and keep it is in the Spanish guide on modelo 145 for the employer. Do not calculate a percentage here: it depends on the pay, the duration and what the person has communicated.

Incidents that change the payslip before the month closes

Hours worked over the maximum length of the ordinary working day, fixed in accordance with the previous article, shall be treated as overtime. Workers’ Statute, Article 35. The number of overtime hours may not exceed eighty a year, save as provided in paragraph 3. Workers’ Statute, Article 35. How they are paid or taken as rest, and how the payslip is checked, are in the Spanish guides on overtime on the payroll and how to review the payslip before paying. The contribution base is not the withholding on account. The caps for the year are in the Spanish guide on payroll contribution bases in 2026. The contribution is the result of applying the rate to that base. General contribution regulations, Article 6.

Social security contributions are compulsory. General contribution regulations, Article 6. The calendar is not the VAT calendar. Unless settlements for longer or shorter periods are expressly established or authorised, on the terms and conditions set by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, contribution settlement periods shall refer to complete calendar months, even if the accrual of those contributions and/or their payment is made over periods other than months. General contribution regulations, Article 16. Registration on a day in the middle of the month does not settle the month. It leaves separate segments.

In the Direct Settlement System, the Social Security General Treasury calculates. The official page describes, among the contribution steps, confirmation of the settlement and obtaining of the Nominal List of Workers and of the Contribution Settlement Receipt calculated by the TGSS for payment by direct debit or electronic payment. TGSS, Direct Settlement System. That receipt is the RLC and that list is the RNT. How to read them is in the Spanish guide on RLC and RNT when closing social security contributions.

Depending on the type of taxpayer concerned, the frequency and manner of filing modelo 111 shall be those that apply in each case. AEAT, modelo 111 instructions. Quarterly self-assessment: during the first twenty calendar days of April, July, October and January, for the withholdings and payments on account corresponding to the immediately preceding calendar quarter. AEAT, modelo 111 instructions. In the table in those instructions, large companies and public administrations with a budget above 6 million euros file modelo 111 every month. AEAT, modelo 111 instructions. Limited liability companies that are not treated as large companies, and natural persons unless they are assigned to the DCGC, are listed with quarterly frequency, together with other cases in the same table. AEAT, modelo 111 instructions. How the boxes line up is in the Spanish guide on modelo 111 for payroll. A month of contributions that has not been confirmed can sit inside a quarter of withholdings already filed. If the tax pack already handles modelo 111 and modelo 190, Pack NÓMINAS does not repeat them.

Prior registration does not archive the month

Employers, as a prior and indispensable requirement for starting their activities, must request the Social Security General Treasury to register them in the corresponding Scheme of the social security system. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 5. Employers shall be obliged to notify the start or, where applicable, the cessation of the provision of services by workers in their undertaking so that those workers are, respectively, registered or deregistered in the Scheme in which they are included according to the activity of that undertaking. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 29. The contribution account code, if it does not exist yet, is requested in that registration: the Spanish guide on the contribution account code.

Applications for registration must be submitted by the obliged parties before the worker begins to provide services, and in no case may they be submitted earlier than 60 calendar days before the date planned for that start. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 32. Applications for deregistration and for changes to workers’ data must be submitted within six calendar days following the day work ceases or the day on which the change occurs. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 32. The TGSS publishes the same window for the General Scheme: prior registration up to 60 calendar days before, and six calendar days for deregistrations and changes. TGSS, filing deadlines.

Registrations whose applications were submitted before the provision of services take effect, as regards the rights and obligations inherent in that registered status, only from the day on which the activity starts. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 35. Registration requested late has another regime in that same article, including a caveat if the contributions were paid within the regulatory deadline. The detail is in the provision and in the Spanish registration guide.

If the persons and entities on whom such obligations fall do not comply with them, the interested parties may themselves directly request their affiliation, registration, deregistration or data change, without prejudice to enforcement of the liabilities those persons and entities have incurred, including, where applicable, payment of benefits at their expense, and to the imposition of the sanctions that may be appropriate. General Social Security Act, Article 16. There is no euro table there. If the matter is already an inspection, see labour inspection and the Tax Agency.

Where the tax packs fall short

The prices shown are monthly and are stated exclusive of VAT; VAT will be added at the rate in force (currently 21%) on the corresponding invoice. Particular terms of the packs. Do not work out a VAT-inclusive total here. The fee is the published one, plus the tax.

In the freelancer packs the exclusion is worded like this, and it is charged separately: Employment management and payroll (Pack NÓMINAS). Particular terms of the packs. That wording applies to ADVISE, to DO IT and to ALL IN. The fact that ALL IN includes the holder’s income tax return, with the limits the text itself publishes, does not bring a payroll into that pack.

In STARTER and in GROWTH, the Excluded section says Payroll and employment management (Pack NÓMINAS). Particular terms of the packs. GROWTH can add the bookkeeping kept by the firm and still leave an employee’s payslip outside that fee.

SCALE includes the administrator’s payroll. Particular terms of the packs. And it excludes, charged separately, additional employee payrolls (Pack NÓMINAS). Particular terms of the packs. It also excludes the income tax return of the administrator or shareholder, and the text states that it is not included in any company pack, including SCALE. Particular terms of the packs. The premium label does not bring in the staff or the administrator’s income tax return.

Representation does not stretch on its own either. To that end, the client shall grant the representation or authorisation needed for TAX FACTORY, S.L. to act in the client’s name before the AEAT, the Social Security General Treasury and the other competent bodies, within the scope of the pack contracted. Particular terms of the packs. A power of attorney for the Tax Agency does not affiliate anyone or settle contributions if the pack contracted is not the employment one.

What Pack NÓMINAS says, with its published figures

Price: 65 €/mes + IVA (base), plus 16 €/mes + IVA per worker. No lock-in. It includes its own assigned employment adviser, distinct from the tax adviser. It may be contracted together with any tax and accounting pack or independently. Particular terms of the packs. The employment adviser is not the person who closes the quarter. If the tax side is already looked after, ask whether the employment side is contracted.

What is included, on the published terms, is this:

Complete payrolls every month.
Social security contributions filed.
Registrations, deregistrations and changes for workers.
Basic contracts and registration with the SEPE.
Monthly incidents (sick leave, holidays, overtime, and so on).
Modelo 111 and modelo 190 (if there is no tax pack with TAX FACTORY, S.L.).
Basic employment advice.
Monitoring of contract end dates.

Particular terms of the packs. “Basic contracts” and “basic employment advice” are not an open clause. Modelo 111 and modelo 190 come in only if you do not already have a tax pack with TAX FACTORY, S.L. If you do, do not pay for them twice.

Unless something else is stated, the client must provide the necessary information and documentation before day 10 of the settlement month. Particular terms of the packs. That day 10 is a cut-off in the engagement, not the legal deadline for registration or for contributions. If the information is not provided before day 10, TAX FACTORY, S.L. does not guarantee filing on time, and the surcharges, interest or penalties arising from that delay or from incorrect data provided by the client shall be the client’s sole responsibility. Particular terms of the packs. In a hypothetical example, bringing the month’s hours on the 12th can fall outside that engagement window even if the Social Security General Treasury’s deadline is still open.

Services indicated as excluded in each pack are not included in the fee and may be contracted and invoiced separately, subject to prior acceptance by the client. Particular terms of the packs. They do not activate by themselves.

When the tax pack is enough, and what responsibility is not handed over

If there are no people working on account of another person, the tax pack may be enough. A TRADE, a supplier, or an administrator who is paid only for the office is not staff just because you call them a team. Employment advisory does not manufacture a payslip that does not exist.

If you are going to hire in the general scheme, registration, the contract and the first month need an employment engagement before the first day. Prior registration does not wait for the quarter. Notification of the contract has ten working days from the date it is concluded. No more than one month may pass between payments of periodic wages.

If you already have staff on STARTER, GROWTH or a freelancer pack, that staff sits outside the tax fee. SCALE covers only the administrator’s payroll. From the first employee payslip, or from the second if the administrator already occupies their own payroll, the published engagement is Pack NÓMINAS.

If the case is already a disputed dismissal, a redundancy procedure, an inspection or a request from the Social Security General Treasury, it is not in the monthly fee either. It is quoted separately.

The client is responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of the information provided and for the consequences of providing it incorrectly, incompletely or late. Particular terms of the packs. TAX FACTORY, S.L. is answerable for professional diligence in performing the contracted service and for damage directly attributable to it by wilful misconduct or its own negligence. Particular terms of the packs. Neither sentence transfers a claim against the firm to the Social Security General Treasury.

Hiring help does not surrender the status of employer. Leave in writing who prepares the payslip, who confirms the settlement and who answers a request, because the request is not in the fee.

What the payroll pack does not put in the fee

Complex dismissals and disciplinary letters, disputed final settlements, labour inspections, Social Security requests, ERE and ERTE, equality plans and harassment protocols, occupational risk prevention and household employees fall outside the Pack NÓMINAS fee and are charged separately. Particular terms of the packs. The published list uses those headings, and under the household heading it adds that this is an independent service. Do not soften them. A final settlement for a peaceful, documented departure is not the same as a disputed one; the text only takes the disputed final settlement out of the fee. If yours is already in dispute, do not treat it as included.

Prevention is charged separately. In the employment relationship, workers have the right to their physical integrity and to an adequate policy of occupational risk prevention. Workers’ Statute, Article 4. The first engagement is in the Spanish guide on risk prevention with the first worker.

Family household service is a special employment relationship. Workers’ Statute, Article 2. The terms leave it outside Pack NÓMINAS. Do not use an employee’s contract for it: the Spanish guide on household employees.

Before you sign the engagement

Bring the collective agreement you think applies, or the doubt about which one it is. The working time and the pay you intend to offer, even as a draft. The real start date. And say whether that person will be the only one, whether the administrator already has payroll inside SCALE, or whether the case is family household service.

With that you can see whether the tax pack is enough, whether you need Pack NÓMINAS before the first day, or whether the case is already charged separately. The service is at employment advisory and the figures, without rounding, are in the pack terms.

If the next step is to carry out the registration, go back to hiring your first employee and the Spanish labour index. If the step is to decide the engagement, look at which layer is written into the fee you already pay.

Frequently asked questions

Does a tax pack include employment advisory if I hire someone?

No. In ADVISE, DO IT and ALL IN, employment management and payroll are left out as Pack NÓMINAS. In STARTER and GROWTH the exclusion is called “Payroll and employment management (Pack NÓMINAS)”. SCALE includes the administrator’s payroll and leaves out additional employee payrolls. Someone joining the workforce does not turn the tax engagement into that layer. Particular terms of the packs.

No. Registration requested before the start takes effect from the day the activity begins. Contribution settlement, save for the regulatory exception, refers to complete calendar months. Periodic wages cannot be paid over a period longer than one month either. Registration opens the relationship with the Social Security General Treasury; it does not replace the payslip, the incidents or the close of that month. General contribution regulations, Article 16.

What does Pack NÓMINAS cover, and what is charged separately?

The published fee is 65 €/mes + IVA as the base, plus 16 €/mes + IVA per worker, with no lock-in, and with its own employment adviser, distinct from the tax adviser. It covers payroll for the month, social security contributions, registrations, deregistrations and changes, basic contracts and registration with the SEPE, monthly incidents, basic employment advice and monitoring of end dates. Modelo 111 and modelo 190 are included only if you do not have a tax pack with TAX FACTORY, S.L. Complex dismissals, disputed final settlements, inspections, Social Security requests, ERE, ERTE, equality plans, a harassment protocol, occupational risk prevention and household employees are charged separately. Particular terms of the packs.

Does hiring employment advisory transfer my obligations as an employer?

No. The regulations require the employer to notify the registration, deregistration and affiliation of anyone who joins their service. The pack terms leave the truthfulness of the data with the client and limit TAX FACTORY, S.L. to the scope of the pack contracted. The engagement splits the tasks. It does not change your position before the Social Security General Treasury or before the worker. Registration and affiliation regulations, Article 29.

Is the quarterly modelo 111 enough to run payroll?

No. Modelo 111 pays in withholdings and payments on account, and its deadline is monthly or quarterly depending on the type of person obliged. Contributions are settled by calendar months and confirmed on the receipt calculated by the Social Security General Treasury. If your tax pack already files modelo 111, Pack NÓMINAS does not include it again. A closed quarter does not prove that the month of wages and contributions is done. AEAT, modelo 111 instructions.