General considerations
The Social Security system looks after the health of all Spanish residents in case of disease, maternity, disability, workplace accident or professional incapacity through illness. All Spaniards and Spanish residents have the right to receive Social Security treatment, along with their family members and dependents.
Social Security General Treasury
Tel.: (+34) 901 50 20 50
www.seg-social.es
Salary and non-salary remuneration
From the legal point of view, a salary or wage is considered the total amount received by the employee - whether in cash or in kind - corresponding to the professional rendering of his services, rewarding effective work, or rest-times admissible as work. Remuneration in kind has a limit governed by Spanish labour legislation as far as an employee's salary payments are concerned. The basic salary or wage is a fixed payment to the employee per unit of time or job, without taking any other circumstance into account.There are five categories of extra pay:
- Personal: this is extra pay derived from each employee's individual situation that has not been taken into account when setting the basic wage. Examples might be academic qualifications, knowledge of foreign languages or other specialist knowledge.
- Workplace: this is a practical bonus linked directly to professional activity, like toxic risks, danger, dirt, night or shift-work, among others.
- For the quantity or quality of work: this is a bonus the worker receives as a consequence of an improvement in the quality or the quantity of his work, represented by production, attendance and performance bonuses, overtime etc.
- One-off payments for periods over a month: these are payments relating to periods of time greater than a month, like bonus or profit-sharing payments, among others.
- Payments in kind: these are payments the employee receives in non-monetary form, such as maintenance, accommodation, etc.
Non-salary remuneration is a payment received by the employee for costs incurred in carrying out his employment, for example anticipated expenses involved in carrying out the job, the purchase of clothing, the use of transport, travel, etc.
Contracts of employment
The Ministry of Labour is in charge of deciding categories of employment and setting minimum wages and the amounts corresponding to professional expenses (transport, subsistence allowances etc.).By law, employment contracts are of indefinite length (although fixed term contracts do exist, as well as temporary, specific, work-experience, training and replacement contracts) and must state the level of remuneration. The employee receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties and it must state the duration of the contract and the work to be carried out.
The collective agreement is the means by which labour law is regulated within a company or sector. The Balearic Islands audiovisual sector is not regulated by a collective agreement, but large companies in the industry - such as television stations - do have them. They are other groups within the sector who also have collective agreements, like interpreters and cinema technicians and the advertising industry. Other employees within the audiovisual sector are governed by the Workers' Statute, which is current legislation.Health and safety on film sets
Production companies with employees must comply with obligatory safety and hygiene regulations when filming. The employees' occupational health and mutual benefit societies supervise compliance with these regulations. The Prevention of Workplace Accidents Law, number 31 of 8th November 1995, is the legal foundation determining the basic level of guarantees and precise responsibilities to establish an adequate level of employee health protection within the framework of a coherent, coordinated and effective policy, faced with the risks derived from working conditions.Hiring minors
Spanish labour law treats the hiring of minors under 16 years old for public performances in a special way. In order to hire a minor, the signed permission of both parents or legal guardian is required, DNI (identification number document of the minor), and registration on the Spanish Social security sistem of the child has to be sent to an inspector of the Dirección general de Trabajo of the regional ministry of Labour (Conselleria de Traball i Formació) who assesses the working conditions. The role the minor is going to play, state of health, the working conditions (atmosphere, remuneration, time off, hygiene and safety), school missed, parental supervision during filming etc. all have to be considered. This request must be sent a minimum of 2 weeks in advance.
Conselleria de Treball i Formació
Dirección general de Trabajo
C7 Gremi de Teixidors, 38
(Poligon de Son Castelló)
07009 Palma de Mallorca
T. +34 971 176 303
F. +34 971 176 319