Housekeeper without a contract: risks and fines 2026

Is it legal to have a housekeeper without a contract?

No. The relationship between a family and the person who works in their home is a special-category employment relationship (Royal Decree 1620/2011) and, like any other, it requires registering the worker with Social Security (Seguridad Social) and drawing up a contract. There is no minimum number of hours that lets you skip registration: even if the housekeeper works just two hours a week, you must register them from the very first hour. Since 1 January 2023, it is always the employing family who arranges the registration and pays the contributions (the self-affiliation option that used to exist for jobs of fewer than 60 hours a month has been abolished).

In most cases the contract must be in writing. Without a contract or registration, the family cannot prove the agreed terms and is left fully exposed: working off the books saves no money, it simply shifts all the risk onto the employer.

Fines and penalties for having a housekeeper without a contract

Depending on the case, the penalties are set out in the Spanish Act on Infringements and Penalties in the Social Order (Ley sobre Infracciones y Sanciones en el Orden Social, LISOS) and in the Spanish Immigration Act (Ley de Extranjeria, LOEX). This is not a single fine: several infringements can stack up, and every one of them is imposed per worker affected.

Failure to register with Social Security: 3,750 € to 12,000 €

This is the most common infringement and the most serious financially. Failing to apply for the registration of the person who works in your home is a serious infringement (Article 22.2 of the LISOS) which, following the tougher rules brought in by Law 10/2021 on remote working (in force since 1 October 2021), is penalised in bands: from 3,750 to 7,500 € in the minimum band, from 7,501 to 9,600 € in the medium band and from 9,601 to 12,000 € in the maximum band. The amount applies per unregistered worker.

Failure to put the contract in writing: 751 € to 7,500 €

This is a separate infringement and can run alongside the previous one. Failing to put the contract in writing when this is compulsory is a serious infringement in the employment order (Article 7.1 of the LISOS), penalised at 751 to 7,500 €. In other words, a single irregular situation can trigger both the fine for failure to register and the fine for failure to provide a contract at the same time.

Back contributions and the late-payment surcharge

This is where the most widespread error online creeps in: there is no such thing as a 10% surcharge on the worker's salary for a year. What actually happens is that the General Treasury of Social Security (Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social, TGSS) claims the contributions that were never paid, retroactively for up to four years, plus a late-payment surcharge (between 10% and 20% depending on the case) and interest for late payment. This is an amount that is added on top of the LISOS fine.

Employing a foreign national without authorisation: 10,001 € to 100,000 €

Take care: having a housekeeper without a contract is not the same as engaging a foreign national who has no residence and work authorisation. This second scenario is governed by the Spanish Immigration Act: it is a very serious infringement (Articles 54-55 of the LOEX) penalised at 10,001 to 100,000 € per worker, on top of paying the corresponding contributions. If your concern is the person's immigration status, we explain it in detail in our guide on reporting the hiring of a domestic worker without papers. It is worth knowing that there are now routes to regularisation, such as the residence permit through the arraigo sociolaboral route (Royal Decree 1155/2024) or the extraordinary regularisation under Royal Decree 316/2026, whose applications are accepted until 30 June 2026.

Civil and criminal liability if there is an accident in the home

This is the most underestimated risk. If the worker has an accident in your home (a fall while cleaning windows, a cut, a back injury) and is not registered, the family pays out of its own pocket for the medical costs and any compensation, because there is no cover from Social Security or from the work-accident insurer (mutua). On top of this, because there is no registration, the family is directly liable for paying the benefits (Article 167.2 of the LGSS, the General Social Security Act, on employer liability for failure to register and pay contributions). In the most serious cases, concealing the employment relationship can amount to an offence against workers' rights (Articles 311 and 312 of the Spanish Criminal Code).

What the worker loses (and why they can make a claim)

Without registration or a contract, the housekeeper is left without the protection the law grants them. And, if it comes to it, they can claim all of those rights before the Labour Inspectorate (Inspeccion de Trabajo) or the courts, with the employment relationship recognised and the family obliged to pay what was never paid:

• Unemployment benefit, which domestic workers have been entitled to since October 2022 (Royal Decree-Law 16/2022).
• Cover from FOGASA (the Wage Guarantee Fund) in the event of the employer's insolvency.
• Sick leave for illness or accident, whether ordinary or work-related.
• Contributions towards their state pension and the rest of the Social Security benefits.
• Final settlement and severance pay on termination of the contract: 12 days' salary per year worked, up to a maximum of 6 months' pay (Article 11.2 of Royal Decree 1620/2011, as worded by Royal Decree-Law 16/2022).
• Paid holiday and the statutory extra payments (pagas extraordinarias).

Who can report it, and who is penalised?

Anyone can bring the facts to the attention of the Labour Inspectorate (Inspeccion de Trabajo), including the worker themselves (which is the most common scenario when the relationship ends badly). Liability falls entirely and always on the employing family; the worker is not penalised, but instead recovers their rights. It is therefore worth remembering that, with Royal Decree-Law 16/2022, withdrawal without cause (desistimiento) no longer exists: to end the relationship you must cite a valid reason (the most common being loss of trust), in writing and with the corresponding compensation.

How to regularise your housekeeper

The good news is that putting things in order is simple and far cheaper than risking a fine. These are the steps:

• Register the worker with the Special System for Domestic Employees of the TGSS, with effect from the very first hour of work (how to arrange the registration).
• Sign a written contract setting out the agreed terms (sample contract).
• Pay at least the 2026 Spanish minimum wage (SMI): 1,221 € a month over 14 payments (17,094 € a year), or 9.55 € per hour actually worked for live-out work paid by the hour (Royal Decree 126/2026, +3.1% backdated to 1 January) (how much a housekeeper earns).
• Apply the reductions and allowances currently in force on the contribution: a 20% reduction in the employer's contribution for common contingencies and an 80% rebate on the unemployment and FOGASA contributions, which considerably lower the real cost (how much Social Security costs).

An important note: in domestic employment, personal income tax (IRPF) is not a compulsory withholding. The family is not obliged to deduct tax from the payslip, although this can be agreed voluntarily with the worker (more on IRPF in domestic employment).

We take care of the registration and the contract

At Maids & Co we handle the Social Security registration, the contract and the payroll for you, so that your housekeeper is 100% above board from day one and entirely risk-free. Check our prices and forget about fines, surcharges and paperwork.