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The downsides of moving to Spain for work

Spain is an amazing country to live in but it’s important to be aware of the drawbacks that exist for people looking to further their careers here.

The downsides of moving to Spain for work
Photo: AFP

*This article was originally written in December 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic

For a news website which aims to bring greater understanding of Spain to English speakers who have chosen it as their home or are planning to, writing about the more negative sides of life in España can feel a bit like sacrilege. 

After all, no country is without its faults, and for all the World Happiness Indexes that put countries such as Denmark, Finland and Switzerland on the podium, Spain is for many foreigners and proud Spaniards a country that oozes calidad de vida (quality of life).

That’s the chief reason why the recent HSBC Expat Explorer Survey ranked it in fourth position globally as the best country to move to for foreigners, only behind Switzerland, Canada and Singapore.

Respondents already living in Spain gave it sky-high scores for “quality of life”, “physical & mental wellbeing”, “cultural, open and welcoming communities”, “political stability” (despite there being four general elections in four years) and “ease of settling in”.

The “little expat” scores reviewing what it is like for foreign families with children in Spain were equally encouraging: second best globally for “learning” and making “friends”. 

The quality of life in Spain is undoubtedly good. Photo of Granada: Kristoffer Trolle/flickr

But, and it’s a very big but, Spain’s Expat Explorer scores for the “aspiring” category focusing on work matters were far less encouraging: 21st for “income”, 27th for “disposable income”, 14th for “economic stability” as well as a lowly 33rd place for “career progression” and 28th for “reaching potential”.

Another survey by Internations drew a similar conclusion: Moving to Spain will make you happier and healthier, but there’s a downside (no brownie points for guessing what it is now).

So there you have it. In a nutshell: life in Spain is good, work in Spain is bad.

Does that mean that if you move to Spain for work you’re destined for a life of poverty and feeble working conditions? Absolutely not. 

In fact, your language skills – English or otherwise – could be what make you stand out in a competitive job market famed for its chronic unemployment.

And we’re not just talking about language teaching, there are plenty of companies with international operations in Spain that will be willing to pay (fairly) well for your services.
However, the overall consensus is that Spain has a lot to improve on when it comes to work matters.

If you’ve been thinking of moving to Spain but you’re unsure about what awaits you regarding work, here is some more detailed information that could help you make your mind up.

Lower than average salaries

The average Spanish salary before tax is €1,658/month compared to the EU28 average of €2,091/month. That makes Spain the country with the lowest pay in Western Europe, with only Portugal below it (€997/month).

Sure average living costs are on average lower than in neighbouring countries, but recent data by the Bank of Spain and the country’s National Stats Agency (INE) show that whereas wages have only gone up by 1.3 percent since 2013, rents have increased by 30 times that in the same period.

This is particularly true in big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona and popular tourist spots such as Ibiza, Mallorca and Tenerife.

Stunted career aspirations

It’s worth noting that the HSBC study mentioned earlier in which Spain came 33rd for “career progression” included 33 countries, so Spain came rock bottom in that category.

In the Internations study, three in ten expats (29 percent) said they were disappointed with their career prospects in Spain (vs. 24 percent globally).

According to Barcelona University economics professor Gonzalo Bernardos, there isn’t a system of meritocracy applied in Spanish companies.

This, along with the other drawbacks of working in Spain, means that the main reasons foreign professionals end up coming or staying in the country are either personal or because they set up their own business.

It’s perhaps understandable that in a country where unemployment and job instability have been a mainstay, there is an unspoken attitude of protectionism when it comes to who gets to move up the ladder.

Painfully slow bureaucracy

This is a serious problem for foreign professionals whose occupation has to be recognized and regulated by Spanish authorities and/or a governing body: doctors, vets, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, architects, lawyers, engineers, academics etc

Spain has always had slow and long-winded bureaucratic processes but the arrival of thousands of Venezuelans escaping their crisis-hit country in the last few years has made matters much worse as the Spanish ministries charged with degree recognition struggle to keep up.

For a person with a non-EU qualification in one of these regulated occupations, the current waiting period is two years and in many cases even longer.

That’s compared to 3 to 4 months in countries such as the Netherlands or Germany.

For the recognition of an EU qualification the waiting period is less but the process could still end up taking 6 to 8 months.

Less job security

Even though Spain has put the worst of the economic crisis behind it (when a quarter of the country’s working population was out of work), the economic model remains the same: a service-based economy that’s largely reliant on tourism.

This means a lot of the work being created is still largely seasonal and fails to offer Spaniards, especially under 25s, any sort of job stability.

The proliferation of zero-hour contracts and “falsos autonomos” (‘fake self-employed people’ as they’re referred to in Spain, given that they’re working full-time without getting their social security paid for them by companies) has only meant that workers in Spain have fewer rights than ever.

A 2018 study by the European Trade Union Institute reported that Spain had the worst working conditions in the EU with only Greece and Romania receiving a worse score.

READ MORE: ‘Think hard before going self-employed in Spain’

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WORKING IN SPAIN

How to legally claim pay owed to you by a Spanish company

If you're owed pay by a Spanish company, there are a few different options available to you ranging from civil conciliation processes to taking the case to court.

How to legally claim pay owed to you by a Spanish company

If you’re owed wages by a company in Spain, claiming and getting that money back can seem like a daunting task – especially if you aren’t a fluent Spanish speaker or familiar with how these things work under Spanish law.

The first thing to know is that in Spain, when a company doesn’t pay up the employee has a few routes to reclaim the money. Some are civil, whereas others go through the courts.

Before starting any legal process in Spain, it is advisable to get the advice of a professional such as a lawyer or gestor.

READ ALSO:

Centro de Conciliación, Medición y Arbitraje

Your first option is through a civil procedure. This is essentially a non-judicial way of trying to recover your money, as regulated in Article 29 onwards of the 2015 Workers’ Statute.

This is the non-legal route, and should be your first port of call for resolving a pay dispute. It essentially means you try to reach an agreement with the company through a Centro de Conciliación, Medición y Arbitraje, which is like a civil arbitration body. Most regions have their own organisation for this purpose.

Although not a court of law, they often resolve disputes more quickly (and far more cheaply) than going through the courts. Many employers might be willing to settle here before risking taking it to court.

You’ll have to make a statement outlining the grounds for your claim, including the hours and back pay owed, as well as a summary of the working situation.

It’s important to do this properly as what you put in the statement document can later be used in a court case if the conciliation is unsuccessful and you move onto the legal route.

There are three possible outcomes of a conciliation process:

  • The claim is recognised by the former employer and an agreement is reached.
  • There is no agreement and the process is taken to court.
  • One of the parties does not appear and the claim automatically moves onto court.

Inspección de Trabajo

You can also try to claim the wages through an inspección de trabajo so the government can investigate and verify the non-payment. For some employers, the prospect of having a labour inspector sniffing around their business (and the possible prospect of a full investigation) might force them to the negotiating table.

If a labour inspector confirms your case it could impose a fine on the company (as well as get you your wages) but you should note that it’s not always possible to recover unpaid wages this way due to the statute of limitations on backpay, according to legal firm Luis Roca Abogados.

Spanish law gives employees a period of 1 year to claim unpaid wages. This period starts from the date of the first non-payment.

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

The legal route

If you can’t claim the money back through the inspección de trabajo and the conciliation process is unsuccessful, you’ll want to take the second option — the legal route.

Here you’ll need to make a labour claim (reclamación de cantidad laboral). In order to make a claim through the courts, the following requirements must be met:

  • That the total amount of unpaid wages does not exceed €6,000 (this would likely made it a different sort of claim).
  • You must know, and be able to prove, exactly what is owed to you.
  • The deadline for payment of wages has passed and the company is obliged to pay you.
  • That the employer has been notified of your claim, otherwise the court will close the proceedings.

If the non-payment of wages is a serious case (Luis Roca Abogados says four months or more of missing backpay) you can also apply to the courts for the termination of the employment contract, with compensation equal to that period corresponding to unfair dismissal.

Note that you must go to a Juzgado de lo Social and present all the necessary documents to prove your case: your complaint, the employment contract, the pay slips or amounts owed, employment history, and any statement from the Centro de Conciliación, Medición y Arbitraje if you have one.

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

Our journalists at The Local are not legal experts. This article is meant to be informative but it is always recommended that you seek professional legal advice before starting any legal proceedings.

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