Employment rights in Spain
Workplace problem? Find your next step.
Calma AI helps you organise what happened, the relevant documents and what you want to achieve. Its guidance is automated and can be wrong; it does not mean a lawyer has reviewed your case.
This starting page is in English. The linked guides, tools and full legal notices are in Spanish; the core account and contact controls are available in English. Human advice in English is subject to confirmation by the law firm.
Dismissed from your job? Protect the deadline first.
The usual deadline to challenge a dismissal is 20 working days, counted from the day after it takes effect. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays at the relevant court's location do not count. Dismissal proceedings have special rules: ordinary weekdays in August and from 24 December to 6 January can count.
A properly filed pre-court conciliation request (papeleta de conciliación) pauses this deadline; it does not give you another 20 days. The unused time resumes the day after the attempt, or once 15 working days have passed without it taking place. Do not wait for a later appointment without checking the remaining time.
If there is no letter or the effective date is disputed, seek prompt advice rather than assuming the clock has not started. Using Calma, sending a message or requesting a lawyer does not stop a legal deadline.
- Keep the dismissal letter or messages, the dates received and the stated leaving date.
- Gather your contract, recent payslips and any conciliation filing receipt.
- Only sign a resignation or settlement if you understand it and freely agree to it.
Read the full dismissal-deadline guide (Spanish) · Use the indicative deadline calculator (Spanish)
The exact action, starting date, calendar and any pause must be checked for your case. This page does not calculate your deadline.
Tell Calma what you need to resolve
Start with what happened, when it happened and what you want: for example, challenge a dismissal, check money owed or understand a letter. Add the relevant documents if you have them; avoid unnecessary personal details about other people.
Already have a conversation? Open your saved cases, sign in to the same account and review your history. To ask a follow-up or request a lawyer, return to your current chat; saved or archived cases are not automatically reopened as a new live conversation.
Need a lawyer to check the next step?
You can request a free initial online employment-law consultation with Pérez & Burgos Abogados: up to 15 minutes about one matter, with no obligation to hire. It excludes detailed document review, reports, drafting and other legal work. The appointment and the language of human assistance must be confirmed.
In your existing conversation, ask to speak to a lawyer and confirm the contact details and permission requested by the chat. Opening the link below does not itself send a request or authorise contact.
Read the privacy information (Spanish) before confirming a contact request. Requesting help does not mean the firm has accepted your case, filed a claim or protected a deadline.
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For access, payments or technical problems, use Help (Spanish) or service contact options (Spanish). Service support is separate from legal advice; do not send passwords, full card details or sensitive case documents through a general support channel.
Official sources
This page concerns employment law in Spain. The official references below are in Spanish:
Reviewed on 2 November 2026. A practical English starting point, not an individual assessment or a translation of the whole service.