Rights and duties of self-employed workers in Spain

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law applies to people who work on their own account in a habitual, personal and direct way, whether or not they hire employees. Salaried employees and those who only serve as directors of a company are excluded.
2. It recognizes rights for self-employed workers such as free choice of profession, non-discrimination, work-life balance and timely payment of what was agreed, and imposes duties such as paying Social Security contributions and meeting tax obligations.
3. It creates the figure of the economically dependent self-employed worker: someone who gets at least 75 percent of their income from a single client. Their contract must be written and registered, they are entitled to 18 working days of annual rest, and disputes with their client are heard by the social courts.
4. It regulates collective rights: self-employed workers can join professional associations of their own, and the Council for Self-Employed Work (Consejo del Trabajo Autónomo) is created as an advisory body to the Government.
5. On Social Security, registration and contributions are mandatory and coverage includes health care, retirement, disability or maternity. Economically dependent self-employed workers must also be covered for temporary disability and workplace accidents, and early retirement is allowed for toxic, dangerous or arduous activities.
6. It sets out policies to promote self-employment: support for entrepreneurs, training, advice, financial aid and an appropriate tax policy. The law takes effect three months after its publication in the official state gazette.

Who it affects

• Self-employed workers in general: They are granted professional rights and duties and are covered by the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers under Social Security.
• Economically dependent self-employed workers: They must sign a written, registered contract with their client and have their own rules on working time, rest and contract termination.
• Companies that hire self-employed workers: They must cooperate on occupational risk prevention and answer for damages if they fail those duties.
• Self-employed workers' associations: They must register in a special registry and can sign professional interest agreements.
• People under 16: They cannot do self-employed work, not even for their own family.

Words worth knowing

Trabajador autónomo económicamente dependiente

Self-employed worker who gets at least 75 percent of their income from a single client, has no employees and uses their own work resources.

Acuerdo de interés profesional

A written agreement between self-employed workers' associations and companies setting working conditions; it only binds those who sign it.

Jurisdicción Social

The courts that handle labor and Social Security disputes.

Acción protectora

The set of benefits and services covered by Social Security, such as health care, retirement or disability.

Vacatio legis

The period between the publication of a law and its entry into force.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries