Probation period for a domestic worker in Spain: how long it lasts and how to use it

The legal part is short. What decides whether a hire lasts two months or six years is what you do during those first weeks, and hardly anyone talks about that.

What the probation period does not suspend

It is worth clearing this up first, because this is where the costly mistakes happen.

Social Security registration is compulsory from the very first hour, during the probation period too. There is no grace period, no minimum number of hours and no ‘let's see how it goes and register her later’. Having her work without being registered is a serious infringement by the employer, punishable by a fine of €3,750 to €12,000 per worker, plus the unpaid contributions with a surcharge.

The salary is the same. There is no reduced probation salary. The 2026 minimum applies: €1,221 gross a month over 14 payments, or €9.55 an hour.

Holiday accrues from day one, at 2.5 calendar days per month worked. If the relationship ends during the probation period, those days are included in the final settlement.

The risk-prevention obligation applies as well. The risk assessment required by Royal Decree 893/2024 has been required of every household employer since 14 November 2025, with no need to wait until the probation period is over.

How it is agreed

It must be set out in writing in the contract, with its exact length and, if agreed, the notice period for ending it. If the contract does not mention it, there is no probation period, and from day one the relationship follows the ordinary termination rules, which since 2022 require a legal ground.

Two points worth knowing:

The two months are a maximum, not an obligation. You can agree a shorter period. With short schedules, such as two afternoons a week, two months amount to about seventeen afternoons of actual work, so the maximum usually makes sense. With a full-time schedule, many families can tell whether it works much sooner.

Sick leave only pauses the probation period if both parties agree. If it matters to you, put it in the contract.

The domestic worker contract template includes the clause and explains how to fill it in.

The six signs to watch in the first three weeks

Of everything you can observe, these six predict better than anything else whether the relationship will work in the long run. None of them has anything to do with how well she cleans.

Initiative without instructions. Does she see what needs doing, or wait to be told? It is not a question of attitude: some households prefer to give instructions, and some people work better that way. What matters is that the two match.

How she reacts to the first correction. It is the most telling sign of all. A minor correction (a product that shouldn't be used on that surface, a garment that is ironed differently) reveals more in thirty seconds than an entire CV. Look for someone who takes it without tension and without submissiveness.

Sustained punctuality. Everyone is punctual in the first week. The third week is the one that tells you something.

Care for other people's belongings. How she treats the things in the house, including those with no obvious value.

Reporting the unexpected. If something breaks, if she is running late, if she can't get everything done: does she say so or hide it? Someone who tells you about a small problem will tell you about a big one.

Fit with whoever spends most time at home. Not with whoever does the hiring. If there are children, elderly people or other staff, that is the relationship that shapes daily life.

The week-three conversation

It is the step almost nobody takes, and the one that saves the most hires.

After three weeks, sit down for fifteen minutes and go over three things: what is working, what needs adjusting and what she needs from you. In that order.

It serves two purposes at once. It corrects in time whatever can be corrected, which is usually almost everything. And it establishes that in this house things get talked about, which will hold true for the next five years.

If that conversation shows that the problem cannot be fixed (the fit isn't there, or the house needs a different profile), you are still within the probation period and there is still time to end things well. Once the two months are over, there isn't.

How it ends during the probation period, and what changes afterwards

During. Either party can end the relationship, giving whatever notice was agreed, which cannot exceed seven calendar days. No justified ground is needed and no severance pay is due. You must still pay the final settlement (the salary earned, the pro rata share of the extra payments and any untaken holiday) and report her deregistration to Social Security within six calendar days of the end date.

Afterwards. Everything changes. Since the 2022 reform, the employer can no longer end the contract without a reason (the old desistimiento): the family needs a legal ground. The general grounds in the Workers' Statute still apply, such as disciplinary dismissal or the end of a fixed-term contract, plus three grounds specific to domestic work, set out in Article 11.2 of Royal Decree 1620/2011 and valid provided they are justified: lower household income or higher expenses due to an unforeseen change in circumstances, a substantial change in the household's needs, or conduct by the worker that reasonably and proportionately justifies a loss of trust.

If you rely on one of these three grounds, you must give notice in writing, stating the ground, and at the same time make severance pay available to the worker: 12 days' salary per year of service, capped at 6 months' pay. The notice period is 7 days, or at least 20 if the relationship has lasted more than a year. Without the written notice or the severance pay, the termination is presumed to be a dismissal; if it is ruled unfair, the figure is 33 days per year, capped at 24 months' pay. There is more detail in how to dismiss a domestic worker in Spain.

That difference is exactly why those two months deserve to be taken seriously.

Reasons that never justify ending the probation period

In case it needs saying, none of these justifies ending the probation period: pregnancy, sick leave, nationality, family circumstances or exercising an employment right. Ending it because of pregnancy is void (Article 14.2 of the Workers' Statute), and so is any discriminatory decision (Law 15/2022 on equal treatment) or one that penalises someone for exercising a right. Void, not merely unfair: the consequences are far more serious.

At Maids & Co we check references and experience before the family interviews anyone, precisely so that those two months are spent settling in, not discovering things that should have been checked beforehand. Registration, the contract and payslips are the family's responsibility; if you prefer, our labour and legal team can handle them for you.

Tell us what you need.

This content is for information only and was updated in September 2026. It is not a substitute for personalised employment advice.