· 
· 
This section is included in the guide to inform the families of researchers who come to Spain on the real situation of the Spanish job market and on how to find work.
In order to make job mobility more flexible, new types of contracts were introduced in the mid-1990s: temporary, part-time and apprenticeship contracts. These types of contracts make it possible to hire personnel for limited periods of time. If the company feels that the individual is suited to the profile sought or if their services are still required beyond the period established in the contract, an open-ended contract is normally offered. According to the Employment Survey by the National Statistics Institute, the unemployment rate in Spain in 2006 was 8.51% of the employable population.
According to the Employment Monitoring Center at the Spanish Public Employment Service (INEM), of the four main activity sectors (agriculture, construction, industry and services), the services sector current has the greatest offer, demand and hiring levels. Construction and services hire a large number of foreigners. The economic activities with the greatest hiring levels are business activities, construction, hotels and restaurants, healthcare and social services, retail, public administration and education, among others.
There are a number of jobs that any foreigner established in Spain can find relatively easily as a freelancer, such as giving language classes, translating or working as a baby sitter, au pair, volunteer, etc.
If you meet the requirements to work in Spain (residence and work permits), there are a number of ways to search for and find work. One of the most expeditious is the EURES network, which offers practical information on how to find a job before traveling to Spain. Its website (www.europa.eu.int/eures) offers information in a wide variety of languages. EURES is a cooperation network (created on the initiative of the European Commission) among the Public Employment Services in each Member State, plus Norway and Iceland. You can access the database with jobs from 31 countries.
The Spanish Public Employment Service (known as INEM or the National Employment Institute) participates actively in job placement for the unemployed. This service offers training courses and information on job offers, vocational training or processing unemployment benefits. For more information on the services offered, visit the website, www.inem.es, or contact the INEM office nearest you. All EU citizens have the same rights as Spaniards. To access the services, you need only show your ID card or passport and have a Spanish address. Management of the active employment policies is decentralized and is carried out directly by the placement agencies in each of the Autonomous Regions. All of the Autonomous Region and Provincial placement agencies are listed on the INEM website, www.inem.es, in the "otras informaciones" ("other information") section.
This foundation manages several business apprenticeship programs for university graduates. It also publishes a guide on the leading companies offering employment. This guide also provides information and tips on finding work in Spain. There is also a list of companies that are recruiting personnel.
Website: www.fue.es
A relatively quick way to find work is through a temporary employment agency. These companies take a commission from the employee's salary. Many of their offers are for jobs that do not require a higher education (wait staff, cooks, sales staff, secretaries, domestic employees, etc.). The Department of Labor at the Ministry of Labor and Immigration (C/ Pío Baroja, 6. Madrid. Tel.: 91 363 18 00) provides a list of all TEAs in Spain. They are also listed in the Yellow Pages. The following is a list of websites for some of the larger temporary employment agencies.
| Agency | Website |
|---|---|
| Adecco | www.adecco.es |
| Randstad | www.randstad.es |
| Flexiplan | www.flexiplan.es |
| Manpower | www.manpower.es |
| Select | www.select.es |
| Nortempo Group | www.gruponortempo.com |
Many Spanish newspapers offer job search pages. Most of them have special supplements on Sundays (salmon-colored pages). El País, El Mundo, ABC or La Razón offer national coverage and regional supplements. The Catalonian newspapers La Vanguardia and El Periódico are very important locally and also offer an employment section. In the major tourist areas in Spain, newspapers published in English, German or French contain job offer sections for bilingual or multilingual people.
Many newspapers offer a digital edition, which also provide job offers or links to employment search portals. The following are some web addresses:
| Newspaper | Website | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| El País | www.elpais.es | National paper. Look in "Trabajo". |
| ABC | www.abc.es | Links to employment websites |
| El Mundo | www.elmundo.es | Links to the El Mundo employment pages |
| La Razón | www.larazon.es | Medio nacional. |
| Segunda Mano | www.segundamano.es | Look in the "Trabajo" section. |
| Sur in English | www.surinenglish.com | Diario Sur's English website. |
There are also several websites in Spain that specialize in online job searches. The following is a list of the addresses for official pages.
| www.inem.es | Public Employment Service in Spain. |
| www.europa.eu.int/eures | EURES network. European Professional Mobility Portal. |
| www.administracion.es | Information on looking for work |
| http://www.060.es/te_ayudamos_a/trabaje_en_la_administracion/index-ides-idweb.html | Citizen's Portal public employment pages. |
| www.060.es/todo_sobre/buscar_trabajo/index-ides-idweb.jsp | Employment information pages. |
The consular sections at many foreign embassies offer practical information on finding work in Spain, as well as lists of companies from their respective countries established here that are recruiting or in need of personnel.
One way of getting a job is through an apprenticeship at a company. This method is common among young students or recent graduates. Work is normally done for free or for a very low wage. Schools and Colleges tend to have apprenticeship offers posted on their bulletin boards. The Employment Guidance and Information Centers at the universities or the University-Business Foundation offices around Spain are another good option.
Student associations are an underused but very valid option:
If you are willing to work for solidarity causes, Spain has a number of NGOs that accept volunteer help from nationals and foreigners. Most of these jobs are not paid. Some of the most well-known that are looking for volunteers are Ayuda en Acción, Médicos del Mundo, ANDE or Amigos de la Tierra. The Spanish Development NGO Coordinator's website provides volunteer and job offers.
http://www.congde.org/home_dos.htm
Although the minimum age to work legally in Spain is 16, parental consent is required until the age of 18.
Pursuant to the European Directive applied in Spain, the maximum legal duration of the working day is 40 hours a week; the maximum number of ordinary working hours is 9 hours a day.
Legally, overtime cannot be required, nor can it exceed 80 hours a year. The must also be compensated, either economically or by way of time off. It is important for you to know your rights in this respect. Paid vacation must not be less than 30 calendar days (including Saturdays and Sundays). Workers have the right to 14 holidays (12 national holidays and 2 local holidays). Leave is granted at 100% pay for marriage (15 days), maternity (16 weeks) and paternity (15 days).
The minimum wage is established by the government each year based on cost of living and inflation.
The minimum wage in 2008 for any job has been set at €20/day or €600/month, depending on whether the salary is paid by day or by month. Certain sectors have collective bargains that establish the minimum salaries, which can never be less than those established by the Government.
In Spain, workers receive a salary that is normally divided into 14 annual payments: 12 monthly pays and two extra pays (in summer and at Christmas) in the same amount as the monthly pays. However, this is optional and the same salary can be collected in 12 monthly pays.
Spanish law recognizes verbal contracts, though most of them are written. The latter are required in the cases of apprenticeships, training, services, part-time, open-ended discontinuous, relief or temporary contracts (whenever the latter is for a duration of more than one month). In any case, you may always request a written contract, even after the working relationship has already begun.
Before signing a contract, you should review the hiring terms and conditions to ensure that they are the same as those agreed upon. It is important to understand all of the points included in the contract, especially the payment method and frequency, duration of the working day, advance notice periods in the case of contract termination and the applicable collective bargain, since, in the event of termination, the law will be applied according to the contract stipulations. If you do not speak the language in which it is written, the employer may provide a translation, but it is not required. You can always have a copy of the contract translated to your own language before signing it.
Employment contracts can be for an indefinite period of time (open-ended contract) or for a specific period of time (temporary contract). In the latter case, the duration of the contract must be indicated in writing (and it can be expressed in such a way as to be valid until completion of the work or service). It can also establish a trial period, which must never exceed 2 months, except in the case of qualified technicians, in which case the maximum duration is 6 months (or 3 months if the company has fewer than 25 employees). If a trial period has been agreed upon, it must be reflected in the contract in writing.
Open-ended contracts: these contracts are not limited as regards the duration of the services provided. Open-ended contracts are not often signed from the beginning, rather following a trial period or even upon completion of a temporary contract.
Training contracts: these contracts enable employees to receive the theoretical and practical training they need to perform successfully on the job. The duration cannot be less than 6 months or more than 2 years, unless a sector-wide Collective Bargain establishes other durations (never more than 3 years). Compensation cannot be less than the minimum wage proportional to the amount of time worked. The time dedicated to theory training must take place during the working day, and it cannot be less than 15% of the maximum working day established in the collective bargain. A trial period of no more than 2 months may be established.
Once the maximum duration for a training contract has expired, the worker cannot be re-hired under this type of contract by the same or another company.
Once the contract has ended, the employer must provide the worker with a certificate indicating the theoretical and practical training received.
Apprenticeship contract: these contracts are meant to give college graduates professional on-the-job training, in line with their studies. Their use is limited to workers who completed their studies or had them recognized (when they were taken abroad) no more than 4 years prior. As with the training contracts, their duration cannot be less than 6 months or more than 2 years. The trial period is a maximum of 1 month for lower-level undergraduates (associate's degree) and 2 months for upper-level undergraduates (bachelor's degree). During the first year, compensation cannot be less than the minimum wage or 60% of the salary established by collective bargain for a worker doing the same type of work their first year; 75% the second year. Once the maximum duration for an apprenticeship contract has expired, the worker cannot be re-hired under this type of contract by the same or another company.
If at the end of the contract the worker continues to work for the company, a new trial period cannot be established and the duration of the apprenticeship will count towards seniority in the company.
If the apprenticeship contract is entered into with research personnel in training, as defined in Royal Degree 63/2006, dated 27 January (published in the Official Spanish Journal (BOE) on 3 February), the company's Social Security contribution for common contingencies will be discounted by 30%, for one year, if the requirements established in the Royal Decree are met. At the end of the contract, the employer is required to issue a certificate indicating the duration of the apprenticeship, the job or jobs held and the main duties carried out in each of them.
Work contracts: these contracts are for a job or a service of an indefinite duration provided independently within the company. It can be full-time or part-time. If the duration is more than 1 year, 15 day's advance notice must be given to terminate the contract. Once the job or service has been completed, if it has not been terminated expressly and the worker continues to provide services, the contract will be extended tacitly for an indefinite period of time, unless there is proof of the temporary nature of the service provided.
Once the contract (which must always be in writing) has been terminated, the worker has the right to compensation equivalent to the proportional part of 8 day's salary per year worked.
Part-time contracts: these contracts are entered into when the service is provided for less than a full working day. The number of hours worked per day (week, month or year) must be less than 77% of the full working day established in the applicable Collective Bargain or the maximum legal working day (40 hours per week) and must be indicated in writing in the contract. Overtime is not allowed. Extra hours may be agreed upon, as long as they equal less than 15% of the total number of hours worked. Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time employees. The number of hours worked are used to determine the amount of time the worker has a right to for Social Security benefits (maternity, temporary disability, retirement, etc.).
Temporary contracts: when contracts are not open-ended, employers are required to provide information on permanent job vacancies so that temporary workers are given the same opportunities as the rest of the employees in the company.
See the "Research Contracts" section in the "Conducting research work in Spain" chapter.
See the "Research Contracts" section in the "Conducting research work in Spain" chapter.
The Ministry of Labor and Immigration website, (www.mtin.es/guia/es/entrada.htm) offers a Labor and Social Affairs Guide with very useful information on types of contracts, looking for work, unemployment, salaries, working conditions, etc.
The Spanish Public Employment Service (INEM) website, www.inem.es, has a special "Employment" area with a "Citizens Services" section that is very clear and easy to use.
The Social Security website (www.seg-social.es) also offers very practical information on this subject. If you prefer to contact Social Security by phone, these are the numbers:
Benefits and pensions: 900 16 65 65
Affiliation, registration, deferrals, work history, network system:
901 50 20 50
