Employer of Record in Spain: 19 Providers Compared (2026)

Employing someone in Spain: key facts

Spanish employment law runs on national statute (the Estatuto de los Trabajadores) with almost no regional variation in the rules below — the one exception is public holidays, where each autonomous community and municipality adds its own days.

Minimum wage

The Salario Mínimo Interprofesional (SMI) is set once a year for the whole country — there is no regional minimum wage in Spain.

Employer contributions

Rates below are for Régimen General, an indefinite contract, office/administrative staff — the “Cuadro II” work-accident rate applies only to roles working exclusively in an office.

MEI is the only one of these six contributions that has actually moved since 2021 — it was introduced in 2023 and has risen each year on a fixed glide path.

Working hours and overtime

• Standard working time: 40 hours/week, averaged annually (Art. 34.1 ET) — collective agreements may set a shorter figure.
• Overtime is capped at 80 hours/year (Art. 35.2 ET), reduced pro-rata for part-time work.
• The law sets no fixed overtime surcharge, only that the per-hour value can’t be lower than an ordinary hour, but most collective agreements set around a 75% premium; it can also be compensated with paid rest within 4 months.

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

Annual leave and public holidays

• Annual leave: minimum 30 calendar days/year (Art. 38.1 ET) — not “working days,” and not payable in lieu except on termination.
• Public holidays: 14 paid days/year under the national framework — up to 9 set nationally (2 of which each autonomous community may substitute), plus up to 2 community and 2 municipal holidays.
• Madrid’s 2026 calendar runs 14 holidays in total, including 2 city-specific days (San Isidro, La Almudena).

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30; Comunidad de Madrid, checked 2026-09-30.

Probation

Must be agreed in writing; collective agreements may set shorter periods. Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

Notice and severance

For contracts predating 12 February 2012, the pre-2012 period is compensated at 45 days/year and the post-2012 period at 33 days/year, added together, still capped at 24 months overall. Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

13th salary and bonuses

• Mandatory: a minimum of 2 extra statutory payments/year (“pagas extraordinarias,” summer and Christmas), each at least 30 days of base salary plus seniority supplements — a 14-payment year, one of the few EU countries with this floor.
• May be prorated into the 12 monthly payments only if the applicable collective agreement or an individual agreement allows it.

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

Mandatory benefits

• Universal public healthcare, funded through general taxation and Social Security contributions, not a separate per-employee premium.
• Employer-paid AT/EP work-accident cover is part of the Social Security contribution mix above, not a separate private policy.
• No legally mandated private health, life or pension insurance; private medical cover is a common market perk, not a statutory requirement.

Source: Seguridad Social, checked 2026-09-30.

Work permits

• EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no work permit.
• Non-EU hires generally need an “autorización de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena,” filed by the employer (not the worker) with the provincial Oficina de Extranjería; initial authorisation runs up to 1 year, tied to a specific employer, job and usually location. Resolution deadline is 3 months; administrative silence counts as a refusal.
• The Digital Nomad Visa (Ley 28/2022) covers non-EU remote employees or contractors of companies established outside Spain, with income at or above 200% of SMI (around EUR 2,442/month in 2026).

Source: Ministerio de Trabajo, checked 2026-09-30.

Currency and payroll

• Currency: Euro (EUR).
• Monthly pay is standard, but Spain runs a 14-payment system — 12 ordinary payments plus 2 mandatory “pagas extraordinarias” (Art. 31 ET) — unless an agreement allows prorating them into the 12 monthly payments.
• For Social Security contribution-base purposes, the two extra payments are always prorated across 12 months regardless of actual pay frequency (Art. 147 LGSS).

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

Is Employer of Record legal in Spain?

Grey area. Spain has no EOR-specific statute. Article 43 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores bans any company from supplying its workers to another company’s direction and control (“cesión ilegal de trabajadores”) unless it’s a duly licensed Empresa de Trabajo Temporal (ETT) under Ley 14/1994. In plain terms: a company can lawfully put its own workers under a client’s day-to-day direction only if it holds that specific staffing licence. EOR providers don’t hold an ETT licence — the model is built as an indefinite, direct-employment relationship, not a temporary “puesta a disposición” — so Spanish courts and the Labour Inspectorate look past the contract’s label to who actually directs, supervises, disciplines and integrates the worker, to decide whether an EOR arrangement is really a disguised, illegal transfer of workers (BOE, checked 2026-09-30).

A 2024 EU court ruling has widened the exposure. In Omnitel Comunicaciones (CJEU, Case C-441/23, 24 October 2024), the Grand Chamber held that a company can be classed as a temporary-work agency under EU law based on control and direction over the worker, with no administrative authorisation required — Spanish commentators read this as a possible opening for EOR-type arrangements, but as of 2026-09-30 Spanish domestic law and administrative practice haven’t changed to reflect it (EUR-Lex, checked 2026-09-30).

If an arrangement is reclassified, the consequences fall on the client, not only the EOR:

• Joint and several liability. The client and the EOR become jointly liable for all wage and Social Security obligations toward the worker, including retroactive amounts (Art. 43.3 ET).
• The worker’s election. The affected worker can choose to become a permanent employee of either the EOR or the client, at the worker’s own election (Art. 43.4 ET) — the client can’t pre-empt this by contract.
• Fines. Illegal transfer of workers is a “very serious” infringement under the LISOS, reported to carry fines from EUR 7,501 to EUR 225,018 depending on severity (economistjurist.es; lawants.com, checked 2026-09-30).

No litigated Spanish court case specifically targeting an EOR (as opposed to a classic PEO/ETT dispute) has been found as of 2026-09-30 — the grey-area verdict rests on legal commentary about how Art. 43 would likely apply, not a settled judgment.

Who actually employs your hire in Spain

Vendors describe their Spain operation inconsistently — some name an owned entity outright, most say nothing at all. Here’s what each vendor’s own Spain-facing page, or a public registry, actually shows:

Eleven of these 19 don’t say whether Spain is served by their own entity or a partner’s. That matters more here than in most countries: given Article 43’s licensing requirement, whoever actually employs the worker also carries the cesión ilegal exposure. Before signing, ask the vendor directly: “Is the entity that will employ my hire in Spain yours, is it a licensed ETT, and can you name it?”

How to choose an EOR in Spain

Worried specifically about the cesión ilegal risk? Safeguard Global is the only vendor here whose Spanish entity’s own registered name declares ETT status — the licence Article 43 actually requires for lawfully supplying workers, rather than the general consulting or HR-provision registration every other checked vendor uses.

Want a provider that addresses the risk openly rather than staying silent? Borderless AI’s own Spain page discusses cesión ilegal de trabajadores directly, cites a 2025 Madrid court ruling, and says it may recommend an ETT route to some clients instead of its own EOR service.

Weighing the lowest headline price? Skuad discloses $249/month, the lowest Spain-specific figure in this set — but its own Spanish entity is registered under the code for a placement agency, not the one used for a licensed ETT, which is worth raising before signing.

Hiring a non-EU national who needs a work permit? No vendor here confirms by name that it can be the sponsoring employer for Spain’s residence-and-work authorisation — general Spanish immigration rules require a compliant, registered employer, but no source ties that specifically to an EOR. Confirm this directly with whichever vendor you choose.

What it costs to employ someone in Spain through an EOR

Figures below assume a Madrid-based, office/administrative role on an indefinite contract under the Régimen General, 2026 rates — employer Social Security contributions only, excluding the EOR’s own fee, voluntary benefits and IRPF withholding (which falls on the employee, not the employer).

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30. MEI is the only one of these contributions that has moved since 2021 — it was introduced in 2023 and has risen on a fixed glide path since, from 0% to 0.75% employer share by 2026; the other five rates have stayed flat across the same period.

The EOR’s own fee is on top of the above. Published Spain-specific figures in our data range from $249/month (Skuad, discounted from $399) to €6,195/year (≈€516/month) at Deel; G-P, Atlas HXM and Justworks quote a flat $599/month, which is their global list price restated on their Spain pages rather than a Spain-specific number. Safeguard Global, Remote, Oyster, Multiplier, Papaya Global, Rippling, Native Teams, RemotePass, Playroll, Rivermate and Pebl publish no Spain price at all.

Hidden costs, where actually published: Borderless AI states no setup fee and no security deposit — “$0” against an industry norm it cites of $7,000–$20,000. RemoFirst states no setup fee, no minimum term and no termination fee, though these are global claims, not Spain-specific. No other vendor in this set discloses a setup fee, deposit, minimum term or termination fee for Spain — where the table above shows nothing, treat it as unpublished, not zero.

When you don’t need an EOR

• A genuinely independent contractor. Cheaper and closer to the real relationship if the person sets their own hours and tools and can serve other clients. See how to pay contractors in Spain and our hiring guide.
• Your own Spanish entity. The route with the clearest legal footing if the arrangement looks like ordinary, client-directed employment — it removes the cesión ilegal question entirely, at the cost of setting up and running payroll yourself.

What changed in 2026

• 2026-01-01 — SMI rises 3.1% to EUR 1,221.00/month on 14 payments (EUR 17,094/year); published 2026-02-19 with retroactive effect to 1 January.
• 2026-01-01 — New Social Security contribution order: MEI rises to 0.90% total (0.75% employer share); maximum monthly contribution base rises to EUR 5,101.20, from EUR 4,909.50 in 2025; cuota de solidaridad brackets on pay above that base also rise.
• 2026-01-01 — AT/EP work-accident contributions are re-mapped to the new CNAE-2025 activity classification; the office-only (“Cuadro II”) rate carries over unchanged at 1.50% — this is a reclassification, not a new 2026 increase in the rate itself.
• 2026 (exact date unconfirmed) — A stricter, digital/interoperable “registro horario” (time-tracking) regulation was in urgent parliamentary processing, with press reports pointing to a possible summer-2026 entry into force; final enactment couldn’t be confirmed as of 2026-09-30.

Source: BOE, checked 2026-09-30.

Numbers vendors haven’t updated

• Oyster, RemoFirst, Playroll and Remote People all state the SMI as EUR 1,184/month on 14 payments — the 2025 rate. The actual 2026 rate is EUR 1,221/month (BOE, checked 2026-09-30).
• Deel states the SMI as EUR 1,262.28/month — a figure that doesn’t match either the 2025 or the 2026 official rate.
• Skuad states a minimum annual wage of EUR 14,000/year — the 2022 annual SMI figure, three years out of date against 2026’s EUR 17,094/year.

How we built this page

Facts were collected and checked on 2026-09-30 against the BOE (Spain’s official gazette), the Ministerio de Trabajo and Comunidad de Madrid’s published calendar. Vendor entity claims were checked against Spanish commercial registries where one could be found and matched to an EOR-relevant activity code, and against each vendor’s own Spain-facing page otherwise; where a vendor states only a global entity model, we recorded Spain as not disclosed rather than assuming. The ranking above puts confirmed, Spain-specific own entities first, with a licensed ETT entity ranked above an unlicensed one given Article 43’s requirements. Nobody pays for placement on this page.