Guide to Company Registration and Labor Regulations in Spain

Posted on Aug 19, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Registration of Companies

A. Documents Required

  1. Registration form in triplicate
  2. Where the employer is a natural person, they must attach their Tax ID, passport, or other document replacing it. If a legal person, a photocopy of the memorandum and legal NIF is required.
  3. Representative’s documentation
  4. Accidents Policy concretized with the INSS or a mutual insurance company.
  5. High in the Tax on Economic Activity (IAE) in Social Security
  6. Workers’ registrations

B. Contribution Account Code

The Social Security Treasury assigns a contribution account code to the company for identification. This number consists of 10 digits divided into three parts:

  1. Order number of the province
  2. Number corresponding to the company
  3. Verification code

C. Change of Data and Separation of Business Activity

Businesses should report any changes in their data to the Territorial Treasury of Social Security within 6 calendar days. Employers must notify the Provincial Treasury of Social Security, General Treasury, or the relevant Territorial agency of the end of their employment, whether temporary or permanent, within 6 calendar days. Communication of termination must be accompanied by the lower parts of the workers’ documents.

Registration of Freelancers

All employed persons regularly engaged in economic activity must be registered in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Social Security. The printed form required to register as self-employed is the TA-521. The contribution account number assigned to the self-employed individual should match their Social Security number or the affiliation number assigned by Social Security.

Opening of the Workplace

If the employer does not communicate the opening of the workplace, it will be construed as a misdemeanor. However, if the activity to be developed is considered dangerous, unhealthy, or unsafe due to the components or materials manipulated, failure to communicate will be a grave offense. The opening communication must be made within 30 days after the opening of the workplace. If the communication received does not meet the required data, the relevant person will be informed to remedy the defects within 10 days.

Membership and Registration of Workers

The affiliation of workers is mandatory for all staff and lasts a lifetime. The affiliation is formalized in the relevant official form and is processed by the Provincial Directorate of the TGSS. It must be applied for before the working person starts work.

A. Ways to Make the Membership

  • Membership at the request of the company: Employers must apply for membership for the people they hire if they are not already enrolled. The membership is made on behalf of the worker in the Social Security Treasury and must be conducted before starting the employment relationship. The Social Security Treasury delivers a document that contains the assigned membership number.
  • Affiliation at the request of the working person: When an employer has not affiliated any of their employees, the employees may apply directly for membership at the Social Security Treasury of the province where the workplace is located.
  • Membership by trade: This is performed when the Labor Inspectorate does not find proof of compliance with the obligation to request an inspection of the workers.

B. Registration, Deregistration, and Changes in Worker Data

  • Additions: The initial membership of the working person involves registration in Social Security. The registration will be presented before the start of the employment relationship. The registration must be executed on behalf of each worker. Social Security assigns each worker an 11-digit affiliation number: the first 2 pertain to the province of enrollment, the following 7 to the registration number, and the last 2 are for control purposes.
  • Deregistrations and data changes: Each time a worker finishes an employment relationship, they should be deregistered. Worker deregistrations and changes in data should be reported to Social Security within 6 calendar days after leaving work.

C. Social Security Numbers

The General Treasury of Social Security assigns a Social Security number to each citizen to identify them in their dealings with Social Security as an affiliate in any of the binding schemes. A Social Security number will be required if they are recipients of pensions or other benefits from the system.

D. Validity of the Social Security Card

The Social Security card is valid for crediting the holder nationwide, both in the managing bodies of the General Treasury of Social Security and in government entities. This card allows its holder to perform operations related to membership data, work history, contributions, and benefits.

Work Records

After communicating the opening of the workplace, the employer must purchase and fill in the mandatory visitor’s book.

A. Guestbook

Every workplace is required to have a guestbook for labor inspectors to carry out the necessary steps during their visits. On the first sheet of this book, the head of the labor inspection will make a record, sealing all the pages. Employers should keep the guestbook for a minimum of 5 years from the date of the last entry.

B. Enrollment Register

Every workplace must keep a register of all persons working there, recording their personal data at the time they start their employment. Upon a change of status, a new registration is made, which must state the previous enrollment number and the newly assigned number. This book records the deregistration of workers and should be dated from the initial registration, the last registration, or the last category change.

Record Keeping

Businesses should keep the following documents for four years: application documents for the association for protection against accidents and occupational illnesses, membership documents of workers, registration and deregistration forms, and communications of data changes.