Glossary of domestic employment in Spain

The contribution base is the amount on which Social Security contributions are calculated. For domestic workers it follows brackets based on monthly pay with the extra payments spread over twelve months: in 2026 it runs from €306 (pay up to €329) to €1,424.40; above that, actual pay is used, up to a maximum of €5,101.20.

Disciplinary dismissal is the employer's decision to end the contract over a serious and culpable breach by the worker, such as repeated absences, disobedience or abuse of trust. It is given in writing, with the facts and the effective date. If fair, there is no severance or notice, only the final settlement; if unproven, it is unfair.

The 20% reduction is the discount every household employer gets on its common-contingencies contribution, the main part of the total, in force since 1 October 2022. It cuts what the family pays for that item from 23.60% to 18.88%, and it does not affect the worker's share or the MEI.

If the contract ends because the employer dies, retires or becomes incapacitated, the worker is entitled to one month's salary on top of the final settlement, and she may claim unemployment benefit. If someone else becomes head of the household and she keeps working there for at least 7 days, the contract is presumed to continue.

The employment contract of a domestic worker must be in writing if it is part-time, permanent-seasonal (fijo-discontinuo) or fixed-term for more than four weeks, and whenever either party asks. Without a written agreement it is presumed permanent and full-time. Any salary in kind, on-call time and overnight stays must also be set out in writing.

When a fixed-term contract ends, the worker receives severance of 12 days' salary per year worked, pro rata. If the contract has lasted more than a year, whoever ends it must give 15 days' notice. If she keeps working past the maximum term without notice, the contract is deemed permanent unless proven otherwise.

Extra payments are two bonuses a year that every domestic worker is entitled to; unless agreed otherwise, they are paid at the end of each half-year, in proportion to the time worked. Their amount is agreed, but over the year she must receive at least the minimum wage in money: €17,094 in 2026 for full-time work.

The final settlement (finiquito) is the document and the amount the worker receives when the contract ends: unpaid salary, holiday earned but not taken, and the part of the extra payments not yet paid; severance is added when it applies. The employer must hand over the proposed settlement when giving notice that the contract is ending.

Health and safety in domestic work is governed by Royal Decree 893/2024: the employer must assess the risks of the job, provide protective equipment free of charge and inform the worker about the risks. These duties have applied since 15 November 2025, six months after the INSST published its free risk-assessment tool (Prevención10).

A domestic worker is entitled to 30 calendar days of holiday a year, which may be split into several periods, one of at least 15 consecutive days. Dates are agreed; failing agreement, the employer sets 15 days and she chooses the rest, known two months in advance. During her holiday she need not stay in the house.

An hourly housekeeper is a live-out worker paid for each hour actually worked, with everything included: her share of extra payments and holidays is built into the hourly rate. In 2026 the minimum is €9.55 an hour, paid in money. She must be registered with Social Security, and contributions paid, from the first hour.

Import@ss is the online portal of the Social Security Treasury (TGSS) for carrying out procedures remotely. Through it, a household employer can register and deregister the worker, report changes in pay or hours and check payments and debts with Social Security. Access is through Cl@ve, the Spanish government's identification system.

IRPF is Spain's personal income tax. A private individual who employs a domestic worker does not have to withhold IRPF from her pay, because households are not among the withholders listed in the Income Tax Regulation. The worker declares those earnings in her own tax return when she is required to file one.

The large-family rebate is a 45% discount on the employer's contributions for hiring someone whose only job is caring for the family members. The family must hold large-family status when hiring, and it covers one carer only. The rule does not say whether it adds to the 20% reduction; our calculators apply it instead.

A live-in housekeeper lives in the home where she works. Her maximum working week is 40 hours; she has two hours a day for meals that do not count as work, and her rest between working days can drop to 10 hours. She cannot be told of her dismissal between 17:00 and 8:00, except for very serious misconduct.

A live-out housekeeper works in the home during her hours and goes back to her own home afterwards, without staying overnight. She may work full-time, up to 40 hours a week, or part-time. If she is paid by the hour, her minimum is the domestic hourly wage, which already includes extra payments and holidays.

The intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI) is an extra contribution that earns no benefits and goes to the Social Security Reserve Fund. In 2026 it is 0.90% of the contribution base: the employer pays 0.75% and the worker 0.15%. It admits no reductions or rebates, domestic employment included.

The minimum wage (SMI) is the lowest pay the Government sets each year. In 2026 it is €1,221 a month over 14 payments, or €1,424.50 over 12, and €17,094 a year, for full-time work; fewer hours are paid pro rata. For hourly domestic work, the minimum is €9.55 an hour.

Notice is the advance warning before the contract ends. If the family ends it for justified cause, it must give 20 days' notice when the job has lasted over a year and 7 otherwise, or pay those days. During the notice period, a full-time worker has 6 paid hours a week to look for another job.

On-call time is time the worker spends at the family's disposal without doing actual work, such as waiting in the house. Its length and pay are agreed. Unless it is compensated with rest, it cannot exceed 20 hours a week on average over a month, and it is paid at least at the ordinary hourly rate.

Overnight stays (pernocta) mean the worker sleeps in the family home, which is usual for live-in staff. The contract, or the written information she receives, must set out the arrangement, and the Social Security registration states whether overnight hours have been agreed and what they are paid per hour.

Overtime is any work beyond the maximum working week of 40 hours. It is paid at no less than the ordinary hourly rate or compensated with paid rest; without an agreement, it is compensated with rest within the following four months. It is voluntary unless agreed and cannot exceed 80 hours a year for full-time work.

The payslip (recibo de salarios, or nómina) is the document that shows each month's pay. The household employer must give it to the worker in the form they agree or, failing agreement, as the standard payslip of the Workers' Statute. It lists the salary, any extra payments and the contributions deducted.

A placement agency is a public or private organisation that puts people looking for work in touch with those offering it. To operate, it files a formal declaration with the public employment service and may not charge the worker anything. In domestic employment the family hires directly and remains the employer.

Pro-rating means spreading the two extra payments across the twelve monthly payments instead of paying them separately. The yearly total does not change: at the 2026 minimum wage, €1,221 over 14 payments equals €1,424.50 over 12. It requires agreement, and the contribution base is always calculated with the extra payments pro-rated.

The probation period is the initial stage in which either party may end the contract without giving a reason or paying severance, though never because of pregnancy, which would make the decision void. In domestic work it must be agreed in writing, lasts 2 months at most, and notice to end it cannot exceed 7 calendar days.

Resignation (baja voluntaria) is the worker's decision to leave the job. It entitles her to the final settlement, but not to severance pay or unemployment benefit. She must give the notice set by local custom, because domestic employment has no collective agreement; that is why it is worth fixing the notice period in the contract.

Rest between working days is the minimum break between one working day and the next: 12 hours. For a live-in worker it can be cut to 10, with the difference made up within periods of up to four weeks. She also has two hours a day for main meals, which do not count as work.

Salary in kind is the part of the pay given as board or lodging, common with live-in staff. The agreed percentage may be deducted, within two limits: the deductions cannot exceed 30% of the total salary, and the worker must receive at least the minimum wage in money.

Severance pay compensates for the end of the contract, on top of the final settlement; none is due on resignation or fair dismissal. By cause: 12 days per year for termination for justified cause or when a fixed-term contract ends, 33 for unfair dismissal, and one month's pay if the employer dies, retires or becomes incapacitated.

Sick leave (incapacidad temporal) is when illness or an accident keeps the worker from working. For common illness or a non-work accident, the employer pays days 4 to 8 and, from day 9, Social Security or the mutual insurer pays her directly. A live-in worker may stay housed for at least 30 days, unless hospital care is recommended.

Contributions are what is paid to Social Security each month for the worker, on her contribution base. In 2026, for common contingencies, the rate is 23.60% for the employer, before its reduction, and 4.70% for the worker; unemployment, FOGASA, workplace accidents and the MEI come on top. The employer pays in both shares.

Deregistration (baja) is the notice to Social Security that the employment has ended. The employer must file it within 6 calendar days of the last working day; until 31 July 2026 it was 3. If it is filed late, contributions remain due until the Social Security Treasury (TGSS) learns that the work has ended.

Registration (alta) is the step by which the employer tells Social Security that the worker is starting. The employer files it before the first day, even for a few hours a week. It states the agreed hours and pay and, where they apply, salary in kind and any agreed on-call or overnight hours.

The special employment relationship for domestic work links the head of a household, as employer, with the person who works for them in the home for a wage: housework, caring for children or older people, gardening, driving and similar tasks. It does not cover staff employed by a company or au pair arrangements.

The Special System for Domestic Employees is the part of the General Social Security Scheme covering workers hired directly by the head of a household. It has its own rules: contributions by salary bracket, reductions for the employer and, since 1 October 2022, contributions for unemployment and to FOGASA, the wage fund.

Termination for justified cause lets the family end the contract if its income falls or its costs rise unexpectedly, if its needs change substantially, or if the worker's conduct justifies a loss of trust. It requires a letter stating the cause, notice, and 12 days' pay per year (capped at 6 months' pay) made available when it is given.

The 80% rebate is the discount every household employer gets on its unemployment and FOGASA (wage fund) contributions, in force since 1 October 2022. On a permanent contract, the family pays 1.10% for unemployment instead of 5.50%, and 0.04% to FOGASA instead of 0.20%.

Unemployment benefit (paro) protects a worker who loses her job through no choice of her own, including termination for justified cause. Domestic workers have paid unemployment contributions since 1 October 2022. To claim it, she needs at least 360 days of contributions in the previous six years and must apply within 15 working days.

An unfair dismissal is one that is not justified or not properly made in writing. The employer chooses between taking the worker back or paying severance of 33 days' salary per year worked, capped at 24 months' pay. Since September 2022, the same rule applies to domestic work as to any other job.

A domestic worker's weekly rest is 36 consecutive hours, which as a rule cover Saturday afternoon or Monday morning plus the whole of Sunday. If she does not work full-time, the pay for that rest is reduced in proportion to the hours worked. She also keeps the public holidays and leave set by the Workers' Statute.

Withdrawal (desistimiento) was the household employer's option to end the contract without giving a reason, paying 12 days' salary per year worked. Royal Decree-Law 16/2022 abolished it from 9 September 2022: a justified cause or a dismissal is now needed, and a withdrawal letter giving no cause is presumed to be a dismissal.

A domestic worker's maximum working week is 40 hours of actual work, on the schedule the parties agree. On-call time may be agreed on top, and it is not actual work. Once her hours, and any on-call time, are over, the worker is not obliged to stay in the house.