Cost to hire · Spain
What does an employee in Spain actually cost?
Employer contributions in Spain add up to 30.65% of gross pay before caps.
Total annual employer cost
| Line | Rate | Applied to | Annual |
|---|
Show the formula
annualGross = monthlySalary × instalmentsPerYear
for each statutory contribution:
base = min(annualGross, statutory cap)
amount = base × rate
totalEmployerCost = annualGross + Σ amountsRates and caps come from the sources cited below. Nothing else is added.
The contributions, line by line
These are the statutory employer-side charges. They sit on top of gross salary — the employee's own deductions come out of the gross figure and are not an additional cost to you.
| Contribution | Employer rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Common contingencies Applies up to the maximum monthly contribution base of €5,101.20 (2026). | 23.60% | €5,101 / month |
| Unemployment Rate shown is for indefinite contracts. Temporary contracts pay more. | 5.50% | €5,101 / month |
| Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) | 0.20% | €5,101 / month |
| Vocational training | 0.60% | €5,101 / month |
| Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) Employer share of the 0.90% MEI for 2026; the employee pays 0.15%. | 0.75% | €5,101 / month |
A worked example
At a gross monthly salary of €4,000, an employer in Spain pays €62,712 per year in total: €48,000 in salary across 12 instalments, plus €14,712 in contributions. That is a multiplier of 1.31× the quoted salary.
Change the salary in the calculator above to run your own figure — the example and the calculator use the same code.
Salary instalments
Spanish contracts commonly quote 14 payments ("14 pagas"), but this normally divides the SAME annual salary into fourteen instalments rather than adding two months of pay. Treating it as extra cost overstates the total by about 17%. Confirm whether a quoted figure is annual or monthly.
Leave you must budget for
Statutory paid leave is 22 working days, alongside roughly 14 public holidays. Statutory minimum is 30 calendar days, which works out to 22 working days.
Paid leave is not a separate line of cost — it is time not worked inside a salary you are already paying — but it changes effective cost per working day, which matters when you compare countries.
Where this gets it wrong
- Occupational accident and illness (AT/EP) contributions are additional and vary by business activity. They are not included in the rates above.
- All rates shown assume an indefinite contract under the General Regime. Temporary contracts carry higher unemployment rates and a surcharge.
- Collective bargaining agreements (convenios) can add obligations above the statutory floor, and they are sector- and region-specific.
- This model covers statutory employer contributions. It does not price benefits you choose to offer, recruitment, equipment, or the fee an employer-of-record provider charges on top.
Sources
Last verified September 7, 2026.