Minimum wage country profile for Spain
Information for this page was compiled during December 2025 and early 2026. Most Member States had already transposed the EU minimum wage directive at this point. Those that had not yet fully completed transposition or where the information was not yet publicly available include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Poland and Portugal. These profiles will be updated consecutively as the information becomes available. Users are invited to contact our experts on minimum wage if they are aware of changes.
This profile describes how minimum wages are regulated and set in Spain. It can be read as background information for Eurofound’s annual review of minimum wage setting series. Spain has a statutory minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional, SMI) since 1980, when the Labour Code was passed.
The government and social partners are involved in determining the minimum wage. The government may consult with, or in some cases negotiate with, the most representative social partner organisations at national level, as defined by Law 11/1985. These are the Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO.) and the General Workers' Union (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) for trade unions, and the Spanish Confederation of Employer Organisations (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales, CEOE) for employers.
Since 2021, a temporary committee of experts appointed by the government produced a report with recommendations for minimum wage increases. The aim of this report was to make recommendations regarding the goal of reaching 60% of the average wage. The committee included representatives from the largest trade unions (CCOO and UGT), the main employer organisation (CEOE), academics, other experts, and government officials from the finance and labour ministries.
The Labour Code states that the government sets the minimum wage after consulting with social partners. However, the level of social partner involvement can vary. Since 2019, the government has moved beyond consultations and attempted to negotiate the minimum wage with social partners. There are no set requirements for when or how consultations should take place. Traditionally, consultations began in November to allow for a decision in December and implementation on 1 January the following year. However, recent negotiations have extended into January to reach an agreement with social partners. Consultations and negotiations occur through ad-hoc meetings with social partners, and the Social and Economic Council of Spain (Consejo Económico y Social, CES) has not been involved.
Additionally, in 2021, an expert committee was established to provide recommendations for minimum wage increases aimed at achieving the 60% average wage target.
The Labour Code, in Article 27, outlines four factors the government considers when setting annual minimum wage increases:
Consumer price index (CPI)
Average productivity growth
Increase in the labour share (worker's portion of national income)
General economic climate
The Labour Code doesn't explicitly state whether projected values for these variables are used. Traditionally, past inflation and productivity trends over the past few years have informed decisions. However, the weighting of each factor and how they are incorporated into the minimum wage determination process remain unspecified. Additionally, the Article lacks operationalisation of these variables.
Criterion | How is this defined/operationalised? | Regulation or practice |
Consumer price index | Not operationalised | Not regulated |
Average productivity | Not operationalised | Not regulated |
Labour share | Not operationalised | Not regulated |
General economic context | Not operationalised | Not regulated |
The indicative reference value used to guide the assessment of the adequacy of the Minimum Wage in Spain has been the Kaitz index as the 60% of the statutory minimum wage in relation to average wage. This reference value has been used by the expert advisory committee for the minimum wage since 2021.
The minimum wage covers all workers in agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, including the public sector irrespective of their contractual status. There are no exemptions to it.
There are no subminima nor higher rates for the minimum wage
The minimum wage is set as both a monthly and a daily rate. The law doesn't specify the number of hours associated with either rate. For part-time work, the law guarantees a minimum wage proportional to the hours worked. Workers receive the minimum wage for 14 payments throughout the year.
There's one exception to how the minimum wage is calculated. Minimum wage regulations define a specific way to calculate the rate for temporary and domestic workers. For example, Royal Decree Law 126/2026, which sets the minimum wage since 1 January 2026, states that temporary and seasonal workers employed by the same company for no more than 120 days will receive, in addition to the minimum wage, a proportional share of their pay for Sundays, public holidays, and two bonus monthly payments. Their daily pay can never fall below €57.82.
The decree setting the level of the statutory minimum wage also establishes an hourly minimum wage for domestic workers employed on an hourly basis. The legal source for this hourly rate is Article 8.5 of Royal Decree 1620/2011. It must not be intended as a subminimum or higher minimum, but rather as the minimum wage itself (that also applies to domestic workers, according to Article 8.1 of Royal Decree 1620/2011) re-reported as an hourly rate comprehensive of all remuneration components.
Only salary items count toward the minimum wage. According to the Labour Code, salary includes economic amounts paid for work or paid rest (such as holiday pay) and covers the base wage or basic salary as well as wage supplements for conditions like seniority, shift work, etc. These wage elements are counted as salary but are not themselves the minimum wage. Rather, the minimum wage is a separate module that represents the minimum cash amount due for normal work and is complemented by legally due supplements. Overtime pay and extra allowances for extra hours are outside the minimum wage and must be paid in addition to it.
Non-wage elements such as reimbursements for expenses, social security benefits, and compensation for termination events are not salary and therefore cannot be used to reach the minimum wage. Likewise, salary in kind (e.g., lodging or meals) is limited to a maximum of 30% of total pay and cannot reduce the cash minimum wage below its statutory level.
While there isn't regular reporting on the minimum wage itself, an expert committee did produce reports in 2021 and 2022. These reports outlined a path for minimum wage increases to reach 60% of the average wage, and they informed the minimum wage setting process for 2022 and 2023.
Official institutions
Think tanks and research institutions
Social partners
August 2026
30 January 2026
