EOR · EUR (€)

Employer of Record in Spain

Spain's severance culture catches first-time employers off guard: get a dismissal wrong and you can owe up to 33 days' salary per year of service. Add 14 salary payments a year instead of 12, and a payroll built for a different country's norms breaks fast. An Employer of Record builds the contract, the payroll and the exit terms correctly from the start.

Talk to us about Spain How our EOR works

xpath.global Employer of Record coverage — hire in Spain without a local entity

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Spain · EUR (€)

Why hire in Spain through an EOR

Spain offers a large, well-educated, multilingual talent pool at a lower cost base than France or Germany, which makes it a popular nearshoring and second-market choice for companies already in Western Europe. The catch is a labour code that assumes long-term indefinite contracts (contrato indefinido) as the default and penalizes fixed-term misuse — exactly the kind of detail that trips up a company running its first Spanish payroll without local guidance.

Employment law essentials in Spain

Probation periods run two months for most staff, up to six months for qualified technical roles. Statutory annual leave is 30 calendar days. Severance for objective dismissal is typically 20 days' salary per year of service (capped), rising toward 33 days for unfair dismissal — a significant liability if the paperwork or process isn't followed correctly. Most Spanish employment contracts pay salary in 14 instalments a year rather than 12, with two extra payments ("pagas extra") in summer and at Christmas — a detail that consistently surprises companies budgeting off a 12-month payroll model.

How it works

How hiring through an Employer of Record works

Five clean steps from candidate selection to compliant, ongoing employment — with xpath.global as the legal employer on record.

Diverse international team collaborating on cross-border hiring through an Employer of Record

The result

You operate as if the employee were on your internal team — without entity setup, cross-border compliance risk or payroll complexity.

01
Step 01
Select your candidate
Identify the person you want to hire — anywhere across Europe. We support hiring in 20+ European countries, whether it's a new recruit, a converted contractor or an internal transfer.
02
Step 02
Immigration & relocation readiness
Before the contract is signed, our in-house mobility team checks what's required for the move: work permits, visas, residence registration, posted-worker notifications, A1 certificates, home search, school support and settling-in. Because xpath.global combines EOR with global mobility, employment and relocation are orchestrated by one case owner — not bounced between vendors.
03
Step 03
Employment setup through xpath.global
Onboarding typically begins within a few business days of candidate confirmation. xpath.global drafts a locally compliant employment contract and hires the employee through our in-country entity — no need for you to open a legal presence.
04
Step 04
Payroll, taxes and benefits administration
We run payroll coordination, income tax, social security and statutory benefits in line with each country's labour law — plus supplementary benefits (private health, pension, equity) when your policy calls for them.
05
Step 05
Ongoing employment and HR support
xpath.global maintains continuous compliance, contract updates, leave, expenses and offboarding — while you manage the employee's day-to-day work exactly as you would with an internal hire.

Payroll, tax & immigration in Spain

Spanish payroll includes progressive income tax withholding and Social Security contributions split between employer and employee, with employer contributions representing a meaningful share of total cost — factored into pricing upfront rather than surfacing as a surprise later. EU/EEA nationals have free movement; non-EU hires need a combined work and residence authorization, processed through the employer.

How xpath.global's EOR works in Spain

Your case owner structures the Spanish contract correctly from the outset — indefinido by default, 14-payment payroll built in, severance exposure understood before you sign — with immigration handled by the same team if the hire needs a work permit.

Always-on compliance

Stay compliant while you grow — everywhere.

Contracts, minimum wage, statutory benefits, terminations and local labour law across 20+ European countries. Our compliance team monitors changes so your team never gets caught out.

Full employee lifecycle — hire, adjust, terminate
Regulatory monitoring and proactive alerts
200+ legal experts specialised by country
Data protection: GDPR, SOC 2 aligned processes

Talk to a specialist

20+

European countries covered

UK, DE, ES, FR, NL, IT, PL, RO…

200+

In-house legal and tax experts

Country-specialised, on your case

24×7

Dedicated customer support

One case owner, no ticket queues

120+

Currencies to pay your employees

Multi-currency payroll & FX

Pricing

Pay, manage and grow your global team.

Transparent, per-employee pricing across the services that surround the EOR relationship — employment, immigration, contractors and full mobility. All plans include a dedicated case owner and platform access.

Employer of Record

Employ talent across Europe without setting up a local entity.

Starting at

Tailored

per employee / month

Legal employment in 20+ European countries
Locally compliant contracts & onboarding
Payroll, tax & social security handled
Statutory + supplementary benefits
Automated compliance & filings
24/7 HR & legal expertise

Book a demo

Immigration Compliance

Employer of Record bundled with work authorization and visas — one case owner end-to-end.

Custom

Tailored

priced by scope

Legal employment in 20+ European countries
Locally compliant contracts & onboarding
Payroll, tax & social security handled
Work permit & visa processing
In-house immigration specialists
Family & dependant support
Posted-worker & A1 filings
Same case owner across EOR & immigration

Talk to us

Contractor Management

Engage and pay global contractors compliantly.

Starting at

Tailored

per contractor / month

Compliant contractor agreements
Payments in 120+ currencies
Misclassification risk checks
Automated invoicing & tax forms
Centralized contractor dashboard

Book a demo

Indicative pricing. Final quotes depend on country, role and volume — we confirm the exact monthly and one-off fees before you sign.

FAQs — Employer of Record in Spain

Is severance really that expensive in Spain?+

It can be, if a dismissal isn't handled correctly. xpath.global structures contracts and manages exits to keep severance exposure predictable and compliant with Spanish labour law.

Why does Spanish payroll show 14 payments instead of 12?+

Two extra statutory payments (pagas extra) are standard practice in Spain, usually paid in July and December. xpath.global builds this into your budgeting from the start.

Can xpath.global sponsor a non-EU hire in Spain?+

Yes — our immigration team manages the work and residence permit process alongside the employment contract.

Forward look

Spain continues to tighten enforcement against fixed-term contract misuse and false self-employment, both of which raise the cost of getting Spanish employment wrong without local expertise on the case.