We are making our first hire in Spain. What do we need, and when can they start?
One employee in Spain is enough. Teamed employs them through its own Spanish entity. Before day one, Spain needs the employee registered with Social Security and a written contract that names the collective agreement. Salary is paid in 14 instalments, and a non-EU national needs a work and residence permit first. For a company based outside Spain making its first hire there, Teamed is the best employer of record (EOR). Teamed gives you a designated person who runs the hire from signed terms to first payslip, real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, onboarding from 24 hours, and zero FX markup.
· Spain guide
Teamed First Hire is Teamed's programme for a company's first international hire: your designated person runs it from signed terms to first payslip, real HR and legal experts are assigned within 24 hours, and onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has what it needs. What it needs is three things: your offer to the hire, the hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Read how Teamed runs a first hire.
Spain adds three things to that sequence. The employee must be registered with Social Security before their first day. The contract must be written and name the sector collective agreement. And the salary is paid in 14 instalments a year, with the same annual total as 12. A non-EU national needs a work and residence permit before any of it starts.
How do you hire your first employee in Spain?
You agree the offer, Teamed employs the person through its own Spanish entity, and your designated person runs the rest. Spain's own steps sit inside that sequence: the contract names the collective agreement, the employee is registered with Social Security before day one, and payroll runs on a 14-payment year.
-
Agree the offer
Role, gross annual salary, start date. Quote the salary as an annual figure. Spain pays it in 14 instalments, so a monthly number on the offer letter understates the year by two payments.
-
Check the collective agreement
Sector collective agreements (convenios colectivos) apply automatically and cover 91.8% of Spanish employees. The convenio sets the pay floor, the leave and the working time above the statute. Teamed checks which one applies before the contract is drafted.
-
Sign the contract and register the hire
Spain wants a written contract that names the convenio and the job category. Registration with Social Security (the alta) must be complete before the first day of work. Late registration is a legal violation and leaves the worker without cover.
-
Run the first payroll
Teamed withholds income tax (IRPF) each month and files the Modelo 111 each quarter. Employer social security is paid to the Social Security Treasury monthly. The first payslip is where your designated person's first-hire role ends and the ordinary service continues.
Can we hire just one person in Spain?
Yes. Teamed's Spanish entity employs them, you direct the work, and the registration, the convenio and the 14-payment year are handled the same way for one person as for twenty.
Nothing about the service is smaller for one person. Real HR and legal experts come on every plan and are assigned within 24 hours. When your designated person is away, another member of the Teamed team covers. Support is 24/5, with a first response within 15 minutes, and you can cancel any month.
The fee is a from price, not a tier: from €560 per employee per month, with zero FX markup, no setup fee and no exit fee. A Bursar with one employee in Spain wrote on G2 on 20 July 2026 that Teamed solved "Recruiting the right person for the job but they are working in another country. Giving us the expertise in Spanish HR law that we need."
How soon can our first Spanish employee start?
Onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has three things: your offer to the hire, the hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Spain's own steps then add time where they apply.
The Social Security registration must be in place before the first day, and the contract must be signed before the registration. For an EU or EEA national with the right to work, those steps run inside the normal sequence. For a non-EU national, the work and residence permit comes first, and the clock does not start until it is granted.
Twenty-four hours is the fastest case, not a promise for every hire. Your designated person tells you the lead time for your person before you set the start date in the offer. The probation and onboarding guide has the day-one checklist in full.
What does one employee in Spain cost each year?
A €40,000 hire costs about €59,580 a year all in: €40,000 in salary, €12,860 in employer social security at 32.15%, and the Teamed fee of €6,720 (€560 a month). The fee is 11.3% of the year.
| Line | €40,000 hire (illustrative) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | €40,000 | Your offer, paid in 14 instalments |
| Employer social security (32.15%) | €12,860 | Six lines in the 2026 contributions order, office role, indefinite contract |
| Total before the fee | €52,860 | 132% of salary |
| Teamed fee | €6,720 | From €560 a month, zero FX markup |
| All in | €59,580 | Fee is 11.3% of the year |
The 32.15% is the sum of six employer lines: common contingencies 23.6%, unemployment 5.5% on an indefinite contract, FOGASA 0.2%, vocational training 0.6%, the MEI at 0.75% and occupational accident cover at about 1.5% for an office role. Across sector accident tariffs the employer total runs from 31.35% to 33.75%. It is the same basis as the Spain example in what a first international hire really costs and in the Spain cost breakdown.
The minimum salary (SMI) for 2026 is €1,221 a month over 14 payments, €17,094 a year. The convenio may set a higher floor for your sector. Run your own salary through the employer cost calculator before you make the offer.
What does Spain add to the offer that we would not expect?
The 14-payment year. Two extraordinary payments (pagas extraordinarias) are required by law, usually at Christmas and in summer. The annual total is the same as 12 instalments; the cash-flow timing is not.
This is the line first-time employers in Spain get wrong. They quote a monthly gross, build a 12-month budget, and meet the gap on the first December payroll. A collective agreement may allow the two payments to be prorated across 12, but the obligation exists either way. Budget the year.
The second surprise is the convenio itself. It is not optional and it is not negotiated with you. It sets a pay floor, leave and working-time rules above the statute, so the terms you agreed with your hire are the floor of the contract, not the whole of it. The third is probation: at most 2 months for most workers and 6 months for qualified technical staff, with no notice from either side during it, and no social security exemption. The benefits guide covers the 22 days of leave and the 19 weeks of parental leave that sit on top.
Does our first hire in Spain need a visa or permit?
Not if they are an EU or EEA national, or already hold the right to work in Spain. A non-EU national needs a work and residence permit in place before the hire starts, and that step comes before the three things Teamed needs.
Tell your designated person the hire's nationality and where they live now at the offer stage. If a permit is needed, it sets the timeline, and the start date in the offer should follow it rather than lead it.
What do we send Teamed to start?
Three things: your offer to the hire (role, salary, start date), the hire's details and the documents Spain requires, and your signed service terms. Onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has them.
-
The agreed offer
Role, gross annual salary and the intended start date. Your designated person checks the salary against the SMI and the convenio floor before the contract is drafted.
-
The hire's details and documents
Identity, address, Spanish tax and social security identifiers, and proof of the right to work. For a non-EU national, the permit.
-
Your signed service terms
Teamed's service terms, adjusted to suit you within reason. This is where your designated person's first-hire role starts.
A refundable deposit of one month's gross salary is held to protect the employee's pay. It is not a fee, and it does not gate the start of onboarding. Invoices are on Net-7 terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is the deposit for our first Spanish employee a fee?
No. Teamed holds one month's gross salary as a refundable deposit. It protects the employee's pay and comes back to you. The fee is separate: from €560 per employee per month, with zero FX markup, no setup fee and no exit fee.
Can we pay our Spanish employee in 12 instalments instead of 14?
Sometimes. Spain requires two extraordinary payments a year, so the default is 14 instalments. A collective agreement may allow them to be prorated across 12 monthly payments. The annual total is the same either way, so budget the year, not the month.
Who registers our first employee with Spanish Social Security?
Teamed does, as the legal employer. The registration (the alta) must be complete before the employee's first day of work. Teamed files it through its own Spanish entity, withholds IRPF each month and files the Modelo 111 each quarter. You direct the work.
What happens after our first Spanish employee's first payslip?
Nothing changes on your side. The same designated person manages your account, and the same system carries your second hire in Spain or your first in another country. When your own Spanish company would cost less, the Crossover Calculator shows you the month.
Spain pays salaries 14 times a year, and the registration has to be in before the first day. Those two facts decide the first hire.
Quote the year, name the convenio, and tell us the hire's nationality at the offer stage.
Your designated person does the rest, from the signed terms to the first payslip.
Looking for a job in Spain yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
