How Spanish salaries are advertised — and what you actually take home
Careers · · SpainJobs
Gross annual, twelve or fourteen payments, the convenio, and the deductions between the advertised figure and your bank account.
A Spanish job advert says 30.000 € brutos anuales. That number is not your salary in the sense you are used to, and the gap between it and your bank balance has three separate causes.
GROSS, ANNUAL, AND OVER HOW MANY PAYMENTS
Bruto means gross, before tax and social security. Anual means for the year. So far, familiar.
The part that catches people out is pagas — the number of payments the year is divided into. Fourteen payments is common in Spain: twelve monthly, plus extra payments usually in summer and at Christmas. The annual total is the same either way, but 30.000 € over fourteen payments is a smaller monthly figure than over twelve, and the two extra payments arrive at fixed times.
Ask which it is. It is a normal question and a recruiter will answer it without blinking.
WHAT COMES OFF
Two deductions. Social security contributions — your share, with the employer paying a considerably larger share separately — which fund healthcare, unemployment protection and pension. And IRPF, income tax, withheld at source at a rate estimated from your expected annual income and personal circumstances.
The IRPF rate is an estimate during the year and squares up in the annual declaration, which means a refund or a bill depending on how the estimate went. If your circumstances change — a child, a mid-year job change, a second employer — the estimate can be some way off.
Income tax in Spain has a national component and a regional one, so the total rate varies by autonomous community.
THE CONVENIO
Most Spanish sectors are covered by a collective agreement — a convenio colectivo — negotiated between employer associations and unions, usually per sector and per province. It sets minimum pay by role, working hours, overtime treatment, holiday entitlement and more.
This is more useful than it sounds. The convenio for your sector and province is a public document. Reading it before you negotiate tells you the floor for your role, which is a considerably stronger position than guessing.
Above the convenio floor sits the national minimum wage (SMI), revised most years, which is the absolute legal minimum for any contract.
THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT SALARY
Some benefits are near-universal and worth counting. Public healthcare comes with contributions. Statutory paid holiday is 30 calendar days a year, plus public holidays, which vary by region and city. Some employers offer meal vouchers or a meal allowance, private health insurance, or transport allowances, and these have tax treatments that make them worth more than the equivalent cash.
THE QUESTIONS THAT GET YOU THE REAL NUMBER
Is that figure gross annual? Over how many payments? What convenio applies? Is the variable component included in the figure you quoted? What benefits sit on top?
Four questions, asked in one message, and you have the actual offer.
This is general information about how Spanish payroll works, not tax or legal advice. Your own situation may differ.