How to Hire an Hourly Housekeeper in Madrid (2026)

In Madrid, hiring by the hour is the most common way into domestic help: families who do not need a full-time role, households whose children are already at school, flats that need upkeep and ironing two or three days a week, or people who have just moved to the city and want to start with something steady but contained.

It is also where families improvise most. Because it is only a few hours, many assume the legal obligations are lighter. They are not: they are exactly the same, scaled to the hours worked. If you have just arrived in Spain, this is usually the first employment relationship you will ever be responsible for as an employer.

What counts as hourly work in domestic employment

We are talking about live-out staff who do not reside in the home and work part of the week. Legally it is not a separate category: it is the special employment relationship for domestic service, governed by Royal Decree 1620/2011, on a part-time basis.

The one thing that works differently here is pay. Under the live-out hourly system it is standard to agree an hourly rate that already includes every element, that is, the proportional share of extra payments and holiday. That must be stated explicitly in the contract.

What an hourly housekeeper costs in Madrid in 2026

The legal minimum: €9.55 per hour

Royal Decree 126/2026 set the 2026 Spanish minimum wage (SMI) at €1,221 gross a month over 14 payments, backdated to 1 January. For live-out staff paid by the hour the minimum is €9.55 per hour actually worked, an amount that already includes the proportional share of extra payments and holiday. The full breakdown is in the official 2026 wage table and the figures by arrangement in our guide to how much a housekeeper earns in Spain. That is the legal floor, not the market rate.

The market rate in Madrid

From our experience running selection processes in the capital, the usual Madrid range in 2026 sits between €14 and €18 an hour, depending on three factors:

• Area. Centro, Chamberí, Salamanca, Chamartín and the north-west — Pozuelo, Aravaca, Majadahonda — sit at the top of the range, reflecting expectations and commuting costs, and in developments such as La Moraleja or La Finca the rate can reach €20 an hour.
• Duties. Cleaning and ironing is not the same as a role that also covers cooking, running the shopping, childcare or coordinating other household services.
• Profile. Proven experience, languages, availability and checkable references raise the rate — and also the stability of the arrangement.

The total cost to the family

On top of the salary come Social Security contributions. The 2026 rates under the Special System for Domestic Employees are:

On top of those rates come the general 20% reduction on the employer share of common contingencies and the 80% rebate on unemployment and FOGASA. The contribution base starts from the pay actually received and is then slotted into the bands Social Security sets each year, so the amount rises in steps rather than strictly in proportion to the hours.

A worked example. Ten hours a week — around 43 a month — at €15 an hour comes to roughly €650 of monthly salary, with contributions payable by the family of around €150. For your own case our cost calculator gives the exact figure, and the final amount is confirmed in Import@ss when you register the worker.

One note that only applies in Madrid: if the role is to care for children or a dependent relative, the Community of Madrid still offers a direct grant of up to €4,000 reimbursing part of the contributions paid the previous year.

How to hire, step by step

1. Define what you actually need before searching

This is the step most often skipped and the one that most determines the outcome. Before meeting anyone, be clear on which days and time slots, which tasks are included and which are not, how much autonomy you expect, whether there will be access to keys, whether there are children or pets, and how much flexibility you need when things come up. A well-defined profile cuts the search time substantially.

2. Select and verify

Interview, check that the paperwork is in order, and verify references by speaking directly to previous employers. A written reference without a conversation is not a check. If the candidate is a foreign national, review the requirements for hiring a foreign domestic worker first.

3. Put the contract in writing

Always compulsory. Without a written contract the relationship is presumed permanent and full-time, which leaves the family exposed to any claim — and the fines for not having one stack on top of those for failing to register. It must set out the parties, the address where the work is done, duties, hours and schedule, salary and method of payment, the hourly rate stating whether it includes extra payments and holiday, the probation period (two months maximum) and the term. We have a contract template explained clause by clause.

4. Register with Social Security

This causes more confusion than anything else, because many guides still repeat outdated information. There is no minimum-hours threshold. Since 1 January 2023 the employer is solely responsible for registration and contributions, whether the worker does two hours a week or forty. The old option for the worker to cover her own contributions below 60 hours a month was abolished by Royal Decree-Law 16/2022.

It is done through Import@ss, the online portal of the Social Security Treasury (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social, TGSS). It can be requested up to two months in advance and, at the latest, on the start date itself. If she works in several households, she must be registered by each employer. Here is how to register a domestic worker step by step.

5. Pay contributions and issue a payslip every month

The contribution is collected by direct debit each month. On top of that, you must provide a payslip or individual receipt for every payment. Not providing one is an infringement, and stating amounts different from those actually paid is a more serious one.

6. Meet the health and safety obligations

Since 14 November 2025, under Royal Decree 893/2024, every employer must hold a risk assessment for the role together with planned preventive measures — hourly arrangements included. It can be done free of charge on Prevencion10.es. Since May 2026 the employer must also provide the worker with preventive training — a free course on eFundae with an official certificate — under the SEPE Resolution of 8 May 2026. We set it out in our guide to the RD 893/2024 health and safety rules.

Rights that apply to hourly work too

Working few hours does not reduce rights: it scales them. The limits on working time are the same, applied to the hours contracted.

• Holiday: 30 calendar days a year, in proportion to the hours worked.
• Extra payments: two a year, unless spreading them across the year is agreed in writing, which is the norm in an hourly rate.
• Weekly rest: 36 consecutive hours.
• Unemployment benefit: since the 2022 reform domestic workers pay unemployment contributions and can claim the benefit on the general conditions.
• Sick leave, with the particularities of this special system.
• Notice and severance if the contract is terminated.

Five mistakes we see often in Madrid

• Paying cash with no registration or contract. The highest financial risk there is: fines, back contributions with surcharges and no cover at all if there is an accident in the home.
• Believing the 60-hours myth. It disappeared more than three years ago.
• Hiring without checking immigration status. Particularly relevant in Madrid. Verify the residence and work permit before closing anything.
• Not writing down which tasks are included. Arguments about windows, terraces, wardrobes or ironing always start with a generic contract.
• Setting the rate at the legal minimum where the market is clearly above it. The usual result is a vacancy nobody takes, or a quick departure.

Agency or search on your own?

Searching on your own is perfectly possible and, for a few hours a week, many families do exactly that. The difference is time and risk: screening applications, interviewing, verifying real references and checking paperwork takes weeks and offers no guarantee if the person does not fit. We compare both routes in hiring directly or through an agency.

At Maids & Co we do that screening, interview every candidate in person, speak to their previous employers and present only profiles we have assessed. You can see the terms of our hourly housekeeper service in Madrid — no cost until you hire, with a replacement guarantee for the first six months.

This article is for information purposes only and does not replace tailored legal or employment advice.