EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS: WORKERS' RIGHTS AND DUTIES

CONTRACTACIÓ LABORAL. DRETS I DEURES DELS TREBALLADORS

An employment contract (contracte de treball) is an agreement between an employer and an employee, through which the employee promises to provide certain services for and follow the instructions of the employer, in return for payment. Such agreements must specify the wage to be paid to the employee, the duration of the contract, the duration of the trial period established, the employee's professional rank, the holidays to which the employee is entitled, the number of hours to be worked each week and the times involved, along with details of other work-related conditions.

There are various types and forms of contract. Additionally, different incentives (incentius) and discounts (bonificacions) are available to employers, depending on the characteristics of the workers to whom they give temporary or permanent contracts (their age, the amount of time they have been registered as a jobseeker, physical, mental or sensory disabilities, etc.). The two main categories into which contracts are divided are as follows:

1. Permanent contract: a contract established with no limit on the time for which services are to be provided (or the contract's duration).

2. Temporary contract: a contract with a fixed duration.

To find out about different forms of contracts, see:

Ministry of Enterprise and Employment of Catalan government

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Workers basic, inalienable rights are set out in the Workers' Statute (Estatut dels Treballadors)

They include the rights to join a union, to strike (vaga) , to hold meetings, to training and to occupational and economic retraining, to health and safety at work, to health protection, etc. Those rights apply to all workers who are authorised to live or work in Spanish territory.

The working relationship between a company and a worker can come to an end for various reasons, the most common of which are the expiry of the worker's contract and the worker leaving voluntarily. Such relationships may also end if the worker does not successfully complete a trial period (in which case neither the company or the worker has to notify the other in advance) or as the result of a dismissal (acomiadament) process. Regardless of the circumstances, whenever a contract ends it is a good idea to look for guidance on the procedures to follow and the measures to take in each case. You can ask for advice from unions, as well as from private consultants (lawyers, labour advisors).