How much does it cost to hire a developer in Madrid through an EOR?
For a Madrid developer on an illustrative €50,000 annual salary, this page’s office-worker model gives €66,075 before provider fees. Salary includes the extra payments; employer contributions add €16,075, including the assumed 1.50% office occupational tariff.
The page’s disclosed service-fee and extras assumptions bring the annual budget to €75,257.25. This is a worked scenario, not a developer salary benchmark or supplier quote.
The provider must confirm the correct occupational classification for the actual duties and workplace. Remote work is not automatically eligible for the exclusive-office tariff. See the worked example for every assumption; a change in salary, tariff or fee changes the result.
One Spain employee, €50,000 annual gross salary, 2026. All amounts in EUR.
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One Spain employee, €50,000 annual gross salary, 2026. All amounts in EUR.| Cost | Calculation | Annual amount |
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| Gross salary, including extra payments | Annual salary agreed | €50,000.00 |
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| Employer social security | €50,000 × 32.15% | €16,075.00 |
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| Employment cost before fees | Salary + employer contributions | €66,075.00 |
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| Management fee assumption | €600 × 12 | €7,200.00 |
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| FX and extras allowance | €66,075 × (2% FX + 1% extras) | €1,982.25 |
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| Total annual budget | Employment cost + management + extras | €75,257.25 |
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Sources: Seguridad Social: 2026 contribution rates · Order PJC/297/2026: contribution rules · 2026 occupational-risk tariff
Is using an EOR in Spain legal given the rules on cesión ilegal de trabajadores?
Yes, through a lawful employment arrangement. In Spain, an authorised temporary-work agency (ETT) can supply workers within Ley 14/1994 and its assignment conditions. Genuine outsourced services are another route, but the employer must actually organise and direct the service.
A payroll-only employer while your business directs the worker can breach Article 43 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores on unlawful labour supply. Owning a Spanish company does not itself authorise that supply. The decisive question is how employment operates in practice, not whether the provider markets its service as an EOR.
Before signing, identify the employing company, its legal basis and who supervises the work. For an ETT arrangement, assess the permitted assignment conditions in Ley 14/1994 Article 6.
Unlawful supply can make both businesses jointly liable for employment and social-security obligations. The worker can also claim permanent employment with either business under Article 43. An indefinite role managed entirely by your team requires particular scrutiny.
Sources: Spanish legislation / BOE · Garrigues, published by International Bar Association (commentary) · Álvaro Porcar Abogados (commentary) · Ley 14/1994: temporary-work agencies
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What is the probation period in Spain?
Without a different collective-agreement provision, the limits are six months for qualified technicians and two months for other workers. In firms with fewer than 25 workers, the latter limit is three months.
ET art. 14 requires probation to be agreed in writing. For certain fixed-term contracts lasting no more than six months, the default limit is one month unless the collective agreement says otherwise. A fresh probation period is invalid if the person has already performed the same functions for that employer.
Sources: Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 14
How do the 14 salary payments (pagas extraordinarias) work for an EOR employee in Spain?
Spain requires two extra salary payments each year under Article 31 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores. The applicable collective agreement can allow monthly prorating, so the employee may receive twelve payslips rather than fourteen separate payments.
Set the annual gross salary and payment schedule explicitly. Do not add two extra payments again if they are already included in the agreed annual salary.
Sources: Estatuto de los Trabajadores · Labour Ministry: collective bargaining and extra payments
Can an EOR in Spain support the digital nomad visa?
Ordinary employment by a Spanish EOR company does not fit the employee route for Spain’s international teleworker visa. That route requires remote employment for an employer outside Spain.
The separate permission for up to 20% Spanish professional activity concerns self-employed professional work, not a general exception for local EOR employment. Preserve an eligible foreign-employer arrangement or assess a different work-authorisation route before switching contracts.
Sources: UGE: international teleworker FAQ · Spanish Consulate: telework visa
When should I set up a Spanish SL instead of using an EOR?
At twelve employees in year one, or eleven over two years, the entity becomes cheaper in our example. Below that, its fixed overhead costs more than the EOR fees it replaces.
This is our own comparison model, not one supplier’s package. It assumes €6,000 setup, €300 per employee per month for HR and payroll, €1,000 monthly accounting, €40,000 a year for half of an internal role and €3,600 for local incidentals. The EOR side uses €600 monthly management and the same FX/extras allowance as the salary example above.
The internal role needs enough Spanish-language capability or local help to manage employment issues and filings. Allow for address or serviced-office charges, notary work, translation, banking and specialist advice. Complexity can push these costs substantially higher.
An entity is not simply a cheaper invoice. You take on registrations, payroll oversight and employer responsibilities. Before switching, price the overlap, migration work, provider notice and any minimum service term. Salary and statutory employer costs are excluded from both sides of this table because the example keeps them identical.
EOR versus entity: administration costs only, same team throughout, all amounts in EUR.
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EOR versus entity: administration costs only, same team throughout, all amounts in EUR.| Employees | EOR: 12 months | Entity: 12 months | EOR: 24 months | Entity: 24 months |
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| 1 | €9,182.25 | €65,200.00 | €18,364.50 | €124,400.00 |
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| 5 | €45,911.25 | €79,600.00 | €91,822.50 | €153,200.00 |
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| 10 | €91,822.50 | €97,600.00 | €183,645.00 | €189,200.00 |
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| 12 | €110,187.00 | €104,800.00 | €220,374.00 | €203,600.00 |
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| 15 | €137,733.75 | €115,600.00 | €275,467.50 | €225,200.00 |
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Sources: ICEX: establishing a Spanish business · Royal Decree 421/2015: SL incorporation
What severance is due for unfair dismissal of an EOR employee in Spain?
Unfair-dismissal compensation is generally 33 days’ salary per year of service, capped at 24 months, when compensation rather than reinstatement is the applicable outcome.
Service before 12 February 2012 has transitional calculation rules. This differs from a qualifying objective dismissal’s compensation, and a void dismissal can require reinstatement. An EOR service cancellation does not determine the employee’s dismissal rights.
Sources: Estatuto de los Trabajadores · ICEX: business guide, dismissal outcomes
Do employee rights transfer when you switch providers?
They can under ET art. 44, but changing payroll suppliers is not automatically a business transfer.
The rule concerns a transfer of an undertaking, business or economic unit that retains its identity. Where it applies, the new employer takes over the employment obligations, with information and consultation requirements. Ask both providers to assess the facts before anyone resigns or signs replacement terms.
Reconcile service dates, outstanding pay, benefits and balances. Agree the last and first payroll dates, responsibility for employee questions and how deposits will be returned. A new supplier contract should not silently reset protected employment rights.
Sources: ET art. 44: succession of employers
Does using a contractor’s company remove falso autónomo risk?
No. Calling someone a contractor or paying their company does not settle whether the work is really employment.
ET art. 1 looks at paid work within another business’s organisation and direction. Control over working arrangements, integration into the team and lack of genuine business independence can point to employment. No single label or contractual clause settles the issue.
Misclassification can lead to employment claims, unpaid contributions and penalties. Moving the person into a lawful employment arrangement addresses future work; it does not erase the earlier period. Compare the contractor’s invoice with a gross-to-net employment illustration before agreeing the change.
Sources: ET art. 1: employment relationship
Can an employee hired through an employer of record in Spain claim the Beckham law regime?
An EOR employee may qualify for Spain’s special inbound-worker tax regime, but the EOR contract does not guarantee it. Article 93 requires an eligible move to Spain and other conditions, including generally no Spanish tax residence in the preceding five tax periods.
Establish the genuine employment and relocation facts and complete the tax election on time. The employee’s tax eligibility is separate from whether the provider’s employment arrangement is lawful.
Sources: Agencia Tributaria: inbound-worker regime scope · PwC: Spain individual tax issues (commentary)
What are employer social security contributions in Spain in 2026?
For ordinary indefinite employment in 2026, the standard employer components total 30.65% of the relevant contribution base before occupational-risk insurance: 23.60% common contingencies, 5.50% unemployment, 0.20% FOGASA, 0.60% training and 0.75% MEI.
It is not a universal percentage of every salary: contribution ceilings, solidarity charges above the ceiling, contract type and occupational tariff affect the bill.
Sources: Seguridad Social: 2026 contribution rates · Order PJC/297/2026: contribution rules
Does a Spanish EOR employee fall under a convenio colectivo?
Yes, where a collective agreement covers the employment, the EOR must apply it. The convenio colectivo can set pay scales, hours, extra payments, probation and other conditions.
Coverage follows the agreement’s functional, territorial and personal scope; “EOR” is not its own universal convenio. Require the provider to identify the agreement and job classification before the offer is signed.
Sources: Estatuto de los Trabajadores · ICEX Invest in Spain: labour framework
Sources and cost assumptions
Figures checked 29 September 2026. The example assumes ordinary indefinite employment, qualifying exclusive office work and a full year at the stated salary. Collective agreements, benefits and individual circumstances can change the bill. These are planning examples, not quotations or legal advice.
Provider fee equivalents use EUR 1 = USD 1.1378 and round up to whole euros. Likely fees use a monthly payroll of USD 6,000 with 2% FX and 1% extra-fee allowance, unless confirmed terms differ. That catalogue comparison is separate from the €50,000 salary example. Where no estimate was recorded, we add the same model allowance to the published starting fee (including both ends of a price range). These are estimates, not confirmed charges. “Not disclosed” means Spanish entity ownership was not established in the sources reviewed. Confirm the Spanish employer, service scope, deposit, minimum term and leaving fees before signing.
The worked example uses our own €600 monthly management assumption, 2% FX on employment cost and a 1% extras reserve. Those percentages are assumptions, not claims about a particular provider. If no currency conversion occurs, remove the FX line. The calculator includes an illustrative one-month-salary deposit and zero setup fee; replace both with the actual quote. Exit costs, extra benefits and transition overlap are additional.
