Logo Guide to Business in Spain

1Introduction

Employment contracts are generally regulated by the provisions of Legislative Royal Decree 2/2015, of October 23, approving the Workers’ Statute (WS).

A major characteristic of Spanish labor legislation is that important employment issues can be regulated through collective bargaining, by means of collective labor agreements, that is, agreements signed between workers’ representatives and employer representatives that regulate the employment conditions in the chosen sphere (areas within a company, company-wide or industry-wide).

In the last years, Spanish Labor legislation has adapted and updating through legislatives modifications in order to be more flexible and to increase improve the labor market in terms of employability and investment. The latest labor reform has modified the regime of fixed-term contracts (to simplify the variety contracts and reduce the temporality rate) and training contracts (to provide an ideal framework for the incorporation of the youth into the labor market) and has enhanced the use of the discontinuous permanent contracts. Likewise, the legislation has included been including progress regarding social rights and equal treatment and opportunities in the labor market.

Moreover, legislation relating to foreign enterprise and investment has also moved with the times, as shown by recent regulations governing work permits for digital nomads.