Working for a Spanish Employer as a Briton: Permits, Pay, Rights

Working for a Spanish employer as a Briton depends on one date: whether you lived in Spain legally before January 1, 2021. Residents from before that date keep the right to work, while arrivals now need a Spanish work authorization first. After that, the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores), the main employment law, governs your contract, pay, hours and leave. The sections below run through the permit routes, the contract rules, Social Security, withholding, unemployment benefit and the UK side. This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice; verify current requirements with the relevant Spanish authority or a licensed professional.

Are you allowed to take a job in Spain as a Briton?

It depends on which group you belong to. The Withdrawal Agreement is the treaty that protects Britons who settled in the EU before the end of 2020.

Resident in Spain before 2021. GOV.UK says you do not need a work permit or visa if you have lived in Spain legally since before January 1, 2021. The Ministry of Inclusion’s Brexit questions and answers guide (September 2024) says the agreement protects the right to keep working as before. Your residence document is covered in our guide to the Withdrawal Agreement residence card.

Arriving now. GOV.UK states that working for a Spanish company on a Spanish contract requires a visa, a work permit and a residence permit, even for a short period. The Ministry’s pages on the two main routes, Hoja 12 and Hoja 66 (the ministry’s numbered information sheets), exclude only citizens of EU, EEA and Swiss states. They do not mention Britons or the UK, so a Briton arriving now falls under the general rules for non-EU nationals. A British worker posted to Spain by a UK company after January 1, 2021 also needs the permits of Spanish immigration law, according to the same Brexit guide.

How do the two work permit routes compare?

Sources: Hoja 12 and Hoja 66, both last updated in May 2025.

On the ordinary route the employer must be registered with Social Security and up to date on tax and contributions, and the applicant must have no criminal record in Spain or in the countries of residence over the last five years. Part-time work must pay at least the full-time minimum wage on an annual basis.

The highly qualified salary threshold

The Blue Card, the EU highly qualified work permit, needs a minimum salary. The sources disagree. GOV.UK’s travel-for-work page, last updated March 19, 2026, still prints 40,077 euros for technicians and 54,142 euros for managers “as of 2022”. The large-companies unit’s June 2026 notice sets 41,356.36 euros as the general threshold and 33,085.09 euros as the reduced one, based on the national average wage published on May 28, 2026. It allows the reduced figure for shortage occupations in groups 1 and 2 of the national occupation classification and for recent graduates (qualification within 3 years). The national highly qualified route has a single threshold of 41,356.36 euros and no reduced one. Plan on the Spanish notice: it comes from the issuing body and is the newer one.

GOV.UK gives processing times of 3 to 6 months for the highly qualified permit, valid up to 3 years, and 6 to 10 months for the other employed permit, valid 1 year and extendable. Those are estimates from a UK page; the Spanish sheets give the legal deadlines.

What does the Workers’ Statute say about your contract?

The table summarizes the default rules of the Workers’ Statute. A collective agreement (convenio colectivo), the sector or company deal negotiated with unions, can improve on most of them, so check which one your contract names. The 2021 labor reform, in force since March 30, 2022, changed the fixed-term rules.

During probation either side can end the contract. The probation pact is void if you already did the same duties at that company. When a contract ends, the employer must attach a proposed settlement document (finiquito) to the termination notice, and you may ask a staff representative to be present when you sign. Spain’s rules on dismissal compensation are in our guide to Spanish employment contracts, which is written for Americans but applies the same Statute.

Minimum wage and extra payments

Royal Decree 126/2026 fixes the 2026 minimum wage (SMI) at 40.70 euros a day or 1,221 euros a month, applying from January 1, 2026. It counts money pay only and is prorated for shorter hours. The state employment service lists the annual equivalent as 17,094 euros, counted as 14 payments. When comparing a Spanish offer with a UK salary, ask whether the quoted figure is a 12 or 14 payment total.

How do Social Security registration and payroll work?

Registration comes first. Social Security says anyone starting work needs an affiliation number, the NUSS, before affiliation and alta (the registration for a specific job). The employer must request affiliation for staff not yet registered, and you may request it yourself if the employer does not. Requests must precede the start of work. The Import@ss portal explains how to request the number with your NIE (foreigner identity number) or ID, a phone number, an email and your home address. The same number is used for your regional health card. In the general regime, the alta must be filed before work starts and no more than 60 calendar days before the planned start date.

For any British worker, La Moncloa’s December 2020 page says workers registered with Spanish Social Security have automatic health-care rights with the regional card. For the S1 route and other access, see healthcare access for Britons.

What comes out of your payslip

The Social Security 2026 rates page lists these worker shares in the general regime: 4.70 percent for common contingencies, 1.55 percent for unemployment on an open-ended contract (1.60 percent on a fixed-term one) and 0.10 percent for vocational training. The page also lists 0.15 percent for the intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI) and is flagged as being updated, so check your payslip. The maximum monthly contribution base for 2026 is 5,101.20 euros.

Income tax is withheld separately. The Tax Agency’s 2026 withholding table shows employment income as a variable rate calculated by a general procedure, and its withholding page provides the calculator and algorithm in two versions, to September 9 and from September 10, 2026. A fixed 24 percent withholding up to 600,000 euros applies only to the special regime for workers relocated to Spain, covered in the Beckham law guide for Britons. Self-employment is a different system, covered in the autonomo guide for Britons.

What happens when a job ends or an employer breaks the rules?

Unemployment benefit. SEPE says foreign workers legally resident in Spain, including from outside the EU, can claim contributory unemployment if registered as job seekers. You need at least 360 days of contributions in the 6 years before the unemployment began. The benefit is 70 percent of your regulatory base for the first 180 days and 60 percent from day 181. Apply within 15 working days of your last day worked; late filing loses days. SEPE does not name the UK. La Moncloa’s December 2020 page says UK nationals legally resident in Spain can count contributions in EU states and the UK if the last job was in Spain, supported by a UK-issued certificate of periods. The two pages cover different scopes rather than contradicting each other.

Complaints. The Labor and Social Security Inspectorate takes reports of breaches on labor, health and safety, Social Security and foreign-worker rules. You can file in person or by post at the provincial inspectorate, or online, using form IP-107, with a DNI, NIE or passport. It treats the origin of complaints as confidential from the employer. The pages read do not cover conciliation or the labor courts, so ask a labor lawyer or a union about unfair dismissal.

What do you need to sort out in the UK?

Income tax. HMRC’s P85 guidance lets you tell HMRC you have left or are leaving and claim back tax from UK employment, if you work abroad full time for at least one full tax year. Check your P45 first. You do not need the form if you file a Self Assessment return for the year you leave.

National Insurance. HMRC says that if you work in the EU you pay social security in one country at a time, normally where you work. A certificate keeps you in UK National Insurance only for temporary postings of up to 2 years and similar cases, which a Spanish-hired employee is not.

State Pension. GOV.UK says you need 10 qualifying years for any new State Pension, and that you might qualify through time worked abroad. The pages do not say how many years Spanish work adds. The Spanish side, on the Ministry’s workers page, says periods before and after December 31, 2020 count under the Withdrawal Agreement, and situations starting from January 1, 2021 fall under the trade agreement’s protocol. To fill gaps, voluntary contributions from the 2026 to 2027 tax year exclude Class 2, and Class 3 needs 10 consecutive years of UK residence or 10 years of qualifying contributions. Pension questions are covered in the S1 and State Pension guide.

Your next step, and when to get help

If you lived in Spain before 2021, start with your residence document and ask your employer to register you; you can do this alone. If you are arriving now, the first step is the employer, because on the ordinary route it files the application, and the highly qualified route is filed through the large-companies unit. Check your salary against the June 2026 threshold, and gather the UK police certificate the permit requires and any qualification recognition a regulated profession may need. Ask an immigration lawyer if the job is not on the shortage list or the employer has never sponsored a foreign worker. Ask a labor lawyer for disputes over dismissal or unpaid wages. The Spain Navigator puts every step of your move to Spain in order, from the visa to settling in.