EMPLOYMENT & PAYROLL

At Welllaw Abogados we give businesses a complete employment service through a single team: legal advice on Spanish employment and social security law and the technical management of payroll and social security contributions. Employment lawyers, labour relations advisers (graduados sociales) and payroll technicians work together under the direction of Federico Pérez-Padilla, the firm’s managing partner, so every decision about your workforce is taken with the payroll data in front of us and with sound legal judgement.

We work with companies in Malaga, on the Costa del Sol and across Andalusia, with businesses elsewhere in Spain and with Spanish subsidiaries of international groups, in English and Spanish.

Two services, one team

You can engage each service separately or combine them. The difference is simple: employment law advice tells you what you can do and how to do it safely; payroll management carries out, every month, accurately and on time, the company’s obligations towards its employees, the Social Security and the Tax Agency. When a payroll issue has legal implications —a change in working conditions, a contentious sick leave, a disciplinary measure or a dismissal— it is reviewed with legal judgement from the outset, without turning to third parties.

1. Employment law advice for businesses

Ongoing advice

We answer day-to-day questions on employment and social security law by phone, email or video call, including:

  • Hiring Spanish and foreign employees, and types of employment contract.
  • Pay, working hours, job classification, holidays, leave, reduced hours and leaves of absence.
  • Application and interpretation of the collective agreement.
  • Disciplinary offences and sanctions.
  • Employee representatives and relations with the works council.
  • Contracting and subcontracting, temporary work agencies and transfers of undertakings.
  • Social security and occupational health and safety.

Complex matters

  • Senior management contracts and contracts with specific clauses (non-compete, minimum stay, confidentiality).
  • Disciplinary procedures and individual dismissals, including the notices to the employee.
  • Collective measures: substantial changes to working conditions, transfers, temporary layoff schemes (ERTE), collective redundancies and collective bargaining.
  • Equality plans and pay audits: diagnosis, set-up of the negotiating committee, negotiation, drafting and registration with the REGCON register.
  • Protocols for preventing sexual and gender-based harassment, digital devices and disconnection policies, and performance appraisal systems.
  • Labour and Social Security Inspectorate proceedings.
  • Conciliation before the CMAC and defence of the company before the employment courts, with a prior assessment of each case.

2. Payroll and social security management

Our payroll technicians and labour relations advisers handle all the employment administration of your workforce, with a monthly closing calendar and a dedicated contact person for your company:

  • Monthly payroll processing and calculation of social security contributions through the Social Security RED System.
  • Employment contracts and extensions, notified to the Public Employment Service (SEPE) through Contrat@.
  • Employee registrations, terminations and changes with the Social Security, including self-employed workers linked to the company.
  • Sick leave, final settlements, employer certificates and procedures for unemployment benefit.
  • Income tax withholdings on salaries: Form 111 and the annual summary, Form 190.
  • Monitoring the correct application of the collective agreement and pay scales, and alerts on changes affecting your company: minimum wage, contribution bases and rates or withholdings.
  • Review of social security rebates and reductions and of flexible remuneration schemes, always within the legal framework.

How we work: accuracy, deadlines and technology

In employment matters deadlines are strict: registrations must be filed before the employee starts work, contributions are settled every month and withholdings must be paid on time. To meet them accurately we combine our team’s experience with leading technology:

  • A3Nom (Wolters Kluwer), to automate payroll and contribution calculations, keep the margin for error to a minimum and keep legal and collective-agreement parameters up to date.
  • Biloop, our client portal: your company and your employees have secure access, from a computer or mobile phone, to payslips and employment documents, Social Security cost summaries, and communications and requests with the firm.
  • El Derecho (Lefebvre), a database of legislation, case law and commentary that we use to ground every opinion in current sources.
  • Management tools integrated with artificial intelligence, which speed up analysis and document preparation. Every output is reviewed and validated by a member of the team, with full confidentiality and data protection.
  • Online filing through the official channels: the Social Security RED System, the SEPE’s Contrat@ and the Tax Agency’s electronic office.

Your employees’ pay and personal data are particularly sensitive information: we handle them in strict confidence and in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation. We measure our work by the accuracy of every payslip, the meeting of every deadline and the soundness of every legal opinion.

Our employment team

Equipo del área laboral y de nóminas de Welllaw Abogados en su despacho de Málaga

The employment and payroll practice is led by Federico Pérez-Padilla, managing partner of Welllaw Abogados, who has more than 20 years of professional experience advising businesses. The team includes:

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between employment law advice and payroll services?

Payroll services cover recurring employment administration: payslips, social security contributions, contracts, registrations and terminations. Employment law advice provides the legal judgement: how to hire, discipline, change conditions or dismiss safely, and how to defend the company if a dispute arises. At Welllaw we provide both through the same team.

Can you handle just our payroll?

Yes. You can engage us for payroll and social security only, or combine it with employment law advice through a monthly retainer. Either way, any issue with legal implications is reviewed within the firm.

How are your fees calculated?

Payroll is priced according to the number of payslips and incidents handled each month, with rates by workforce band. Ongoing legal advice is provided through a monthly retainer tailored to the expected workload, and special matters, such as a collective redundancy or an equality plan, are quoted separately. We will prepare a tailored proposal with no obligation.

Which companies in Spain must have an equality plan?

Companies with 50 or more employees must negotiate, implement and register an equality plan, which includes a pay audit. It may also be required for smaller companies if the applicable collective agreement says so, or if the labour authority imposes it in sanctioning proceedings.

Is recording working hours mandatory in Spain?

Yes. Every company must keep a daily record of each employee’s working hours, including the specific start and finish times, and keep those records for four years, available to employees, their representatives and the Labour Inspectorate.

Is it difficult to switch payroll provider?

No. We manage the transition: we collect your employees’ data and year-to-date figures, arrange for your company to be assigned to our authorisation in the Social Security RED System and review the applicable collective agreement before the first monthly closing, so the change does not affect anyone’s pay.

Do you work with foreign companies and in English?

Yes. We advise Spanish subsidiaries and branches of international groups and work in English on a regular basis, both in our advice and in our documentation.

Looking for employment law and payroll services in Malaga? Call us on +34 952 22 51 99 or write to us through our contact page.