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WORKING IN SPAIN

CONFIRMED: Spain to raise minimum wage to €1,000

Despite opposition from companies and business associations, Spain’s left-wing coalition government has confirmed that the country's minimum wage will be increased up to €1,000 gross over 14 payments, applicable from January 2022. 

Published: 9 February 2022 16:17 CET
spain minimum wage
It's the second minimum wage increase in the last six months in Spain. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP

Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz on Wednesday announced that the Spanish Cabinet will approve an increase of the country’s minimum wage up to €1,000 at their next meeting on February 22nd.

This represents a €35 increase from the current minimum wage of €965. On Tuesday, trade union UGT disclosed the suggested rise would be €31, but Díaz has decided it should be €4 higher to reach a round number of €1,000.

This is a gross figure (pre-tax) which minimum wage full-time workers will receive over 14 payments as is standard in Spain, with an extra payments during the summer and another at Christmas (pagas extras) rather than 12 (one for every month).

 It will also apply retroactively from January 2022, meaning minimum wagers will be paid an extra €35 for work carried out last month as well as this one.

Spain’s government has pushed through the 3.6 percent minimum wage rise thanks to the support of trade unions CCOO and UGT, and despite not receiving the green light during negotiations from business associations CEIE and Cepyme, which have said the move responds more to “political aspirations than financial common sense”. 

Last September, the Spanish government already approved a €15 rise in el salario mínimo from €950 to €965, a bill which was also spearheaded by Yolanda Díaz and which business associations rejected as unfeasible and detrimental to job creation.

“This government fulfils its promises,” Díaz said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

“Despite everything that’s been said, raising the minimum wage has been very positive for our country and our economy.”

According to the Unidas Podemos politician and second Deputy Prime Minister, it’s “science fiction” to argue otherwise because it’s been “empirically” proven that raising wages encourages people to spend more and this in turn helps the economy.

“We are committed to having a work model that’s not based on low wages, competing like this equates to defending a bad economy, precarious businesses and a social model that is profoundly unfair”.

The government’s objective is that by the end of 2023, Spain’s minimum wage will represent around 60 percent of the average salary in the country.

This latest increase will benefits more than 1.8 million workers in Spain, according to the labour ministry, both full-time and part-time workers.

However, the previous rise in minimum wages resulted in the increase of €8 in social security contributions for the country’s self-employed workers up to €294 a month, a figure that could increase further still for many under new plans to raise rates based on real earnings.  

Even though job insecurity and unemployment remain relatively high in Spain, the country already has the seventh highest minimum wage rate in the EU.

Last Thursday, the Spanish government managed to pass a long-awaited labour reform aimed at ending rampant job insecurity with a majority of just one, but it quickly emerged that a PP deputy accidentally voted for the legislation and in doing so tipped the balance in favour of the government.

This will also lead to a salary increase for some 73,000 workers in Spain who belong to multi-service companies that offer cleaning, gardening, maintenance and other services.

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HEALTH

How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

A common question among those wanting to move to Spain is if they will have access to the Spanish public healthcare system even if they only work part time or a few hours a week.

Published: 23 April 2024 10:57 CEST
How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

In order to understand the answer to this question, you need to be aware of several rules on who has the right to public healthcare in Spain. 

In Spain, you have the right to access public healthcare under the following circumstances:

  • You are an employee or self-employed and are affiliated and registered with the social security system
  • You receive Spain’s state pension
  • You are the recipient of benefits, including unemployment benefits or subsidies.
  • You have exhausted your unemployment benefit or subsidy or other benefits of a similar nature and are unemployed and residing in Spain
  • Children under the age of 15
  • Students under the age of 26

You also have the right to healthcare if your spouse pays into the social security system or if you’re pregnant.

READ ALSO: Does permanent residency in Spain equal free public healthcare?

But what happens if you are an employee, but you only work part-time, does the number of hours you work affect whether you have the right to public healthcare coverage?

Even if you work part-time (or media jornada in Spanish), you will still be paying into the social security system automatically – part of it from your salary and part of it from your employer.

Therefore you will be affiliated in the social security system as in point one above. 

According to stats from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), a total of 6.6 percent of men in Spain in 2022 worked part-time and 21.6 percent of women. In September 2023, there were 2.9 million part-time employees in the country.

As far as social security is concerned, those who work part-time benefit the same as those working full-time when it comes to national healthcare, regardless of the length of their day. Part-time contributions count as one full day when it comes to paying social security.

READ ALSO: What to be aware of before accepting a part-time job in Spain

This rule, equating part-time work to full-time work was brought into force on October 1st 2023 in order to try and help reduce the gender pay gap in Spain, but was designed with the pension system in mind rather than national health coverage.

The advantage is that it also benefits those who want to work part-time and still be able to access healthcare. Even before this was brought into force, however, those working part-time and paying social security were still covered. 

All this means that there isn’t a specific number of hours you must work in order to be able to be covered under the Spanish healthcare system, and as long as you’re paying social security or fall into one of the categories above, you will be able to benefit from it.

Remember that if you’re not employed or self-employed in Spain and don’t have a spouse who is either, then you may not be covered.

To get around this you can either join a programme such as the S1 scheme for British pensioners or pay the convenio especial in order to benefit from public healthcare. For this, you will pay a monthly fee of €60 if you are under 65 and €157 if you are over 65. 

If none of these options are available to you or the requirements of your visa say so, then it’s necessary to get private health insurance instead.

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