Article
10 min read
How to Hire Using an Employer of Record in Spain (2025 Edition)
Employer of record
Author
Ellie Merryweather
Last Update
June 27, 2025
Table of Contents
What is a Spanish Employer of Record?
Top reasons to use an EOR in Spain
How to hire in Spain: Step-by-step guide
Employment compliance tasks an Employer of Record manages in Spain
How much does an EOR in Spain cost?
Which Spain EOR should you choose?
Is Deel Employer of Record a strong choice for hiring in Spain?
Hire employees in Spain confidently with Deel Employer of Record
Key takeaways
- Setting up a Spanish entity to hire local talent can take months and could cost up to €77,145 in legal, tax, and payroll setup.
- A Spain Employer of Record (EOR) covers social security, income taxes, contracts, and data protection under Spanish labour laws, ensuring full compliance without the headache.
- Deel EOR owns its Spanish entity for full control, supports hiring in 150+ countries, delivers transparent pricing, real-time compliance monitoring, and has top G2 ratings.
Hiring in Spain unlocks access to a skilled workforce and a gateway to the EU market. However, setting up a local entity involves complex company formation rules, legal entity registration, and juggling tax filings and social security contributions. These legal risks and administrative burdens can delay your hiring and drain resources before you onboard your first employee.
An Employer of Record (EOR) acts as the legal employer, handling payroll, taxes, social security, and compliance with Spain’s employment laws. This means you skip entity setup and focus on recruiting top talent. Deel’s global reach—covering 150+ countries—and transparent pricing ensure clear cost forecasts and real-time compliance monitoring.
What is a Spanish Employer of Record?
A Spanish Employer of Record is an organization that hires your talent in the country through its Spanish entity so that you can skip the long and costly incorporation process and onboard new employees fast and compliantly. The EOR signs employment contracts, withholds payroll taxes and social security contributions, and manages statutory filings according to Spanish labor laws.
You retain control over daily operations and performance management while the EOR acts as the legal employer, ensuring adherence to Spain’s employment laws, including working hours, sick leave, and employee benefits.
Deel’s Spain EOR service operates through its wholly-owned Spanish entity, guaranteeing compliance with national and regional regulations. Through the Deel platform, you automate employment contracts, payroll tax, and benefits management across 120+ countries, with real-time alerts from Deel Compliance Hub. This lets you enjoy the benefits of employment in Spain without the pain of entity setup.
Top reasons to use an EOR in Spain
Expanding into Spain with an EOR accelerates market entry while controlling costs and legal risks. You avoid entity formation delays and the steep learning curve of Spanish labor law. Key benefits include:
- Faster market entry: Hire employees within days, bypassing lengthy entity registration
- Risk mitigation: Transfer legal risks like payroll audits, severance claims, and misclassification penalties to the EOR
- Transparent pricing: Flat fees cover payroll, social security contributions, and employee benefits—no hidden markups
- Global scale: Leverage Deel’s operations in 150+ countries and unify your HR processes on one platform
- Compliance assurance: Stay updated on Spain’s labor code, public holidays, sick leave policies, and employment contracts
Continuous Compliance™
How to hire in Spain: Step-by-step guide
Use this 8-step checklist to onboard talent in Spain quickly and compliantly through your EOR.
1. Choose an EOR with a wholly-owned Spain entity
Select an EOR with a 100% owned Spanish subsidiary to ensure direct compliance with local regulators and avoid legal risks from indirect partnerships. Deel’s wholly-owned legal entity in Spain handles social security registrations, payroll tax filings, and compliance with employment laws.
Tip: Verify entity ownership in public registers before signing an agreement.
2. Book a demo and verify social proof
Schedule a demo to see the EOR’s platform in action and request case studies from companies hiring in Spain. Check case studies and client testimonials for EOR services in Spain. Scan reviews on G2 and Trustpilot, where Deel EOR holds a 4.8/5 average.
Tip: Request a customer reference in your industry to confirm Spanish payroll accuracy and compliance.
3. Request a transparent EOR quote
Get a detailed quote outlining gross salary, social security contributions, 14 monthly payments, and the EOR’s flat fee. Deel’s transparent pricing separates employer costs from service fees, eliminating surprise charges.
Tip: Use the Deel quote generator to compare offers side by side.
4. Submit a 12–24-month hiring plan
Share your workforce forecast so the EOR can plan payroll cash flow and compliance needs. Upload your hiring timeline and salary budgets on Deel for accurate cost projections and to avoid staffing bottlenecks.
Tip: Update your plan quarterly to reflect hiring changes.
5. Create the employment contract in the platform
Use the EOR’s contract generator to draft Spain-compliant contracts with probation up to six months, 14 salary payments, and statutory benefits. The EOR localizes, reviews, and securely stores contracts.
Tip: Customize benefits to align with your company culture.
6. Confirm the candidate's right to work
Upload and verify candidate documents—passport, NIE, or EU ID—via the Deel platform. The EOR ensures all immigration and work permit requirements are met.
Tip: Run background checks alongside onboarding for efficiency.
7. Run the onboarding workflow
With Deel EOR, every onboarding is adapted to local labor laws, supported by a dedicated onboarding manager. Within the platform, new hires can seamlessly verify identities and work-permit status, complete compliance documents and payroll information, and review and sign employment agreements.
Tip: Automate reminders for benefit opt-in deadlines to maximize employee satisfaction.
8. Maintain ongoing compliance
Monitor changes in Spain’s employment laws: termination rules, redundancy thresholds, severance formulas—and receive alerts via Deel Compliance Hub. The EOR files monthly tax returns, submits social security declarations, and handles audits.
Tip: With Deel, schedule routine compliance reviews with your dedicated EOR account manager.
Deel Employer of Record
Employment compliance tasks an Employer of Record manages in Spain
Your EOR handles these core compliance tasks with Spain-specific details for 2025:
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Statutory employer costs | Estimated employer cost at 31.98%, plus fixed fees. Includes pension funding and mandatory Work From Home Allowance. |
| Employment contracts & probation rules | Written contracts are required within one month of the start date. Standard probation period is 90 days, but it may last up to 180 days. |
| Pay and working hours | National Minimum Wage (SMI) applies to full-time employees working 40 hours per week, paid over 12 or 14-month instalments, at €1,262.28 per month. |
| Payroll compliance | Employers must withhold and remit monthly income tax and social security. Payroll records must be retained for four years. 14 payroll runs per year are standard. |
| Vacation and public holiday allowances | Employees are entitled to a minimum of 23 calendar days of paid annual leave, plus 10 national holidays. Employees in Spain also receive 2 regional holidays set by the local government, and 2 municipal holidays set by the town hall. |
| Income taxes | Employers withhold monthly income tax as part of payroll, collected by the Agencia Estatal de Administracion Tributaria (AEAT). Progressive rates apply, from 19% - 47%. |
| Expenses, allowances, and bonuses | Expenses and bonuses are taxed as income. Expenses may be exempt from tax if submitted with the appropriate documentation. |
| Maternity and paternity leave | Parental leave is up to 16 weeks per parent, compulsory for the first 6 weeks after a child is born for both parents, and paid at 100% of salary. An additional 8 weeks may be taken unpaid. |
| Sick leave and bereavement leave | Sick leave is commonly unlimited (365 days per year), funded partially by Spanish social security. Bereavement leave is typically 2 days, but may be extended to 4 if travel is required to attend a funeral. |
| Terminations and resignations | Fair dismissal must be based on economic, technical, or disciplinary grounds. Severance for unfair dismissal is 20 days' salary per year worked. Notice periods range from 15 days to 3 months. Consultation required for 10+ redundancies in 30 days. |
| Health & safety | Governed by Spain’s Ministry of Work, under the Normativa de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales. |
| Misclassification risk | Courts scrutinize contractor classification and can levy fines between €6,251 €187,515, depending on severity. Liability can be transferred through an EOR model. |
| Data protection & IP protection | GDPR compliance is mandatory. Standard Contractual Clauses apply for cross-border processing. Local data localization applies in sensitive industries. DPO appointment is mandatory for public entities. |
Discover how Momentu easily hires a a team of 7+ nationalities thanks to Deel
Momentu created a solution to give companies and their employees a tool that helps them manage their emotional health through personalized therapy sessions, coaching, group meditation and yoga spaces, and also interactive digital content.
Juan Pablo Montoya, co-founder, tells us that from the first moment his vision was to be throughout LATAM. This required building a remote team prioritizing the quality of talent hired, and not their location. This process, if done manually or with mix of tools, would be chaotic, expensive and problematic — especially when thinking about hiring therapists, coaches, nutritionists, etc.
“Since that first Deel hire, our relationship has not stopped and now our team is in Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia and 5 other countries, including Spain” -- Juan Pablo Montoya, Co-Founder at Momentu.
How much does an EOR in Spain cost?
Spain’s employer costs cover social security, healthcare, and pension. You also pay 14 salary payments and statutory employee benefits, like 30 days of vacation. With an EOR, you pay these employer costs plus a transparent service fee.
Deel’s transparent pricing eliminates surprises. You pay one flat rate per employee, covering gross salaries, statutory social contributions, payroll taxes, contracts, and compliance.
| Factor | Your own Spain entity | Deel EOR |
|---|---|---|
| One-off costs | €38,195 | €0 |
| Annual, recurring costs | €38,950 | €0 |
| Deel Employer of Record service fee | N/A | €6,195 / Worker |
| Estimated total annual costs | €77,145 | €6,195 |
| Time to first hire | 2 months | 1 business day |
Which Spain EOR should you choose?
Evaluate prospective Employer of Record providers in Spain on these criteria to ensure a seamless expansion:
- Entity ownership
A wholly-owned local entity eliminates legal ambiguity. Deel operates through its own Spanish subsidiary, offering direct regulatory compliance and faster response times. - Compliance expertise
Look for real-time compliance monitoring, local labor law updates, and audit support. Deel Compliance Monitor tracks changes and sends alerts, so you never miss a tax filing or social security deadline. - Platform breadth and global reach
You want more than just payroll. Deel’s unified platform covers hiring, contractor management, visa and work permits with Deel Mobility, global payroll in 120+ countries, and benefits packages via Deel Engage. This all-in-one solution scales with your business.
Is Deel Employer of Record a strong choice for hiring in Spain?
Deel is a top EOR service in Spain, combining local expertise with global reach. Its wholly-owned Spanish entity ensures full compliance with complex employment laws, while you avoid costly and time-consuming entity setup.
- Operates through wholly-owned legal entities in Spain for direct regulatory compliance
- Covers employer costs, including social security contributions and salary payments
- G2 leader recognized for user satisfaction and reliability
- Supports hiring in 150+ countries, enabling seamless global expansion
- Automates contract creation with Spain-specific probation and benefits terms
- Offers real-time compliance alerts via Deel Compliance Hub
- Simplifies payroll tax with monthly income tax and social security withholdings
- Transparent pricing with no hidden fees—flat monthly rates cover all statutory costs
- Protects your intellectual property and ensures GDPR compliance
- Speeds up hiring from months to days by removing entity formation delays
With Deel, you gain a trusted partner to hire compliantly and quickly in Spain.
Hiring globally is complex, but Deel makes compliance seamless—even as regulations change across countries like Spain, South Africa, and Turkey.
—Floor van Haaren,
Co-Founder at Cocoroco.com
Discover how Cocoroco leveraged Deel EOR and Deel Contractor to scale its global talent marketplace in Spain and beyond.
Hire employees in Spain confidently with Deel Employer of Record
Ready to hire in Spain without the hassle of entity setup? See how quickly you can onboard top talent. Deel’s platform lets you launch hires in days, not months, accelerating your growth in this key European market.
Deel offers transparent pricing so you know your full costs upfront—no surprises or hidden fees. Our flat-fee model covers payroll, taxes, social security, benefits, and compliance, making budgeting simple. Schedule your 30-minute demo now and start hiring in Spain with confidence.
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FAQs
How fast can I onboard employees in Spain using Deel?
Typically within days, as Deel’s wholly-owned entity removes entity setup delays.
Do employees need a Spanish bank account?
Yes, a local bank account is required for payroll deposits, which Deel helps set up.
What type of employment contract is used?
Deel provides written contracts compliant with Spanish labor laws, including probation periods up to six months.
How does tax withholding work?
Deel withholds income tax and social security contributions monthly, ensuring full compliance with payroll tax rules.
When are payroll deadlines?
Payroll runs monthly, including 14 payments per year (12 monthly plus two extra).
What benefits are included?
Statutory benefits such as paid vacation, sick leave, parental leave, and pension contributions are managed by Deel.
Is there a probation period?
Yes, probation can last up to six months, depending on the role and contract.
How does Deel handle compliance updates?
Deel’s Compliance Hub provides real-time alerts on changes in Spanish labor laws and tax rules.
Can I hire part-time or contractors through Deel in Spain?
Deel supports both employee and contractor hiring with full compliance features.
What are the risks of misclassification?
Misclassification penalties in Spain are severe; Deel’s EOR model transfers employment risk to ensure compliance.
About the author
Ellie Merryweather is a content marketing manager with a decade of experience in tech, leadership, startups, and the creative industries. A long-time remote worker, she's passionate about WFH productivity hacks and fostering company culture across globally distributed teams.
