Types of employment contracts in Spain

There are now only four types of employment contracts in Spain. To determine the main characteristics of each one of them, an annex is necessary.

The Spanish Government has simplified and reduced the types of contracts that have existed so far. The reduction concludes in four different types of employment contracts: indefinite, temporary, apprenticeship, and internship. Each type of contract has its own particular clauses and circumstances necessary for inclusion in an annex to the contract to adapt the standard types to each specific case.

For example, in an indefinite contract with a disabled person, the standard contract will include general information about the company and the employee, but the changes to employment contracts now require an annex relating to this group.

If the employee does not sign the correct annex and, for example, he or she signs the circumstances of production clause in a temporary contract instead of signing the temporay contract clause, the employee may demand permanent/indefinite employment. This situation may arise in cases of inappropriate use of a particular type of contract, and the employer would then prove the temporary nature of the contract.

The Spanish Public Service of Employment has issued a publication that helps explain through a questions and answers system the contract and annex that best suits the employer-employee relationship.