Employer of Record
Spain requires every hire to be registered with Social Security before their actual first day of work, and payroll runs on a monthly cycle reconciled through a separate annual tax filing each January. Share the role, the offer details and your intended start date, and PIO confirms the available arrangement for that hire, then coordinates the contract, payroll and leave around it.
Practical points to line up before you hire in Spain.
Every hire has to be registered with Social Security (afiliación y alta) before their actual first day of work, not simply before payroll starts — build the registration step into the onboarding timeline so it isn't a last-minute scramble.
Source:Social Security: Useful Information (Employer Registration)Royal Decree 84/1996 on Social Security Registration and Worker Affiliation
Payroll withholds income tax (IRPF) every pay cycle, and employers separately file an annual informative return (Modelo 190) each January reconciling the year's withholdings with the tax authority — plan for both the recurring and the annual filing.
Source:Form 190
An indefinite, full-time role can start on a verbal agreement, but Spanish law requires written form for training, part-time, fixed-discontinuous, relief and remote-work contracts, and for any fixed-term contract lasting more than four weeks. Get the paperwork matched to the actual contract type, not just the job title.
Ending employment for economic or organizational reasons requires 15 days' written notice (or pay in lieu) plus severance due at the same time. We help you plan an exit that keeps the timeline and documentation in order.
Once your hire is confirmed, here's what we help you coordinate.
You stay in control of the decisions that are yours to make.
A straightforward path from sign-up to your employee's first day.
Share the role, the work location and your target start date, and we'll confirm the available arrangement for that hire.
Once confirmed, we help coordinate the information, contract and payroll setup needed within your arrangement.
You manage the day-to-day relationship; we help coordinate the recurring administration within your arrangement.
Yes — share the role, the offer details and your intended start date, and PIO confirms the available arrangement for that specific hire before onboarding begins, then coordinates the contract, payroll and leave around it.
Spanish law requires the affiliation/registration request to be filed before the employee's actual start of service, not merely before the first payroll run. Registration is what establishes the worker's Social Security coverage and the employer's contribution account, so it needs to happen early in onboarding, not as a follow-up step.
Source:Social Security: Useful Information (Employer Registration)Royal Decree 84/1996 on Social Security Registration and Worker Affiliation
Not automatically — an indefinite, full-time role can start on a verbal agreement, but the Workers' Statute requires written form for training, part-time, fixed-discontinuous, relief and remote-work contracts, and for any fixed-term contract lasting more than four weeks. If the required written form is missing, the law presumes the contract is indefinite and full-time instead.
Income tax (IRPF) is withheld from wages on the regular payroll cycle, and separately, employers file an annual informative return (Modelo 190) each January summarizing the whole year's withholdings for the tax authority. Both the recurring withholding and the annual filing need to be accurate.
Source:Form 190
For an employer-led termination on economic or organizational grounds, the Workers' Statute requires 15 days' written notice (or pay in lieu) together with the severance due at the same time. Missing the notice doesn't invalidate the termination on its own, but it does mean owing wages for the notice that was skipped.
You provide the role details, compensation and any company-specific policies. We coordinate the local employment contract, onboarding paperwork and ongoing payroll administration around what you decide.
Practical guidance is grounded in these official references, but local law and public requirements can change and should be reconfirmed. Your PIO contract and quote govern only PIO's service scope, terms and fees.
Sign up to start an EOR hire in Spain. Share the role, the work location and your target start date, and we'll confirm the available arrangement — or book a demo first to talk it through with our team.
