Contract start date
Dismissal or end date
📊 Service duration & calculation breakdown
Calculate your severance pay in Spain quickly and accurately according to current employment regulations. Termination of employment does not automatically trigger the same compensation rights. Your final payout depends on the reason for dismissal, your daily salary, and your accumulated length of service (antigüedad).
⚖️ Types of dismissal and severance in 2026
Spanish labor law defines different compensation rates and statutory caps based on the dismissal type:
| Dismissal Type | Compensation Days per Year | Maximum Legal Cap | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unfair Dismissal (Improcedente) | 33 days (or 45 days pre-2012) | 24 monthly payments (or 42 payments) | ET Art. 56 |
| Objective Dismissal / ERE | 20 days | 12 monthly payments | ET Art. 53 |
| End of Temporary Contract | 12 days | No specific cap | ET Art. 49 |
| Disciplinary Dismissal | 0 days | No compensation | ET Art. 54 |
📐 Step-by-step calculation formula
To calculate your severance pay, three variables are used:
- Daily regulatory salary: Divide your gross annual salary (including prorated extra payments) by 365 days (or 360 if you have a fixed monthly salary contract).
- Length of service in months: Any fraction of a month is rounded up to a full month of service.
- Accrued days: Multiply your years of service by the compensation days matching your dismissal reason.
📅 The 45 and 33 days rule (contracts before 2012)
If your contract started before February 12, 2012, your compensation for unfair dismissal splits into two periods:
- First period: From the contract start date until February 11, 2012, you accumulate 45 days of salary per year worked, capped at 42 monthly payments (1,260 days).
- Second period: From February 12, 2012 until your termination date, you accumulate 33 days of salary per year worked, capped at 24 monthly payments (720 days).
- Combined cap: The total compensation cannot exceed 720 days of salary, unless your pre-2012 period alone exceeds this cap. In that case, the cap is extended up to a maximum of 1,260 days.
📊 Practical severance examples
We analyze two worker profiles with a daily regulatory salary of €80.00 (approximately €2,400.00 gross per month, extra payments included).
Example 1: Post-reform contract (5 years of service)
- Total service: 5 full years (60 months)
- Objective dismissal days (20 days/year): 100 days
- Unfair dismissal days (33 days/year): 165 days
Example 2: Pre-reform contract (16 years of service)
- Period 1 (until 11/02/2012): 26 months (accrues 45 days/year) -> 97.5 days
- Period 2 (since 12/02/2012): 167 months (accrues 33 days/year) -> 459.25 days
- Total accumulated days: 556.75 days (below the 720-day cap)
💰 Income tax rules on severance pay
Legal severance payments are exempt from Personal Income Tax (IRPF) up to a maximum cap of €180,000.00. Any amount exceeding this limit is taxed as employment income, though you may apply a 30% tax reduction if the income qualifies as irregular.
⚠️ Deadlines for claiming
You have a strict window of 20 business days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays) starting from the effective date of dismissal to challenge the termination and file a conciliation request (papeleta de conciliación). Once this period expires, you lose the right to claim.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
An objective dismissal is based on economic or organizational grounds and yields 20 days of compensation. An unfair dismissal (improcedente) is declared if the employer cannot justify the termination or fails procedure rules, yielding 33 or 45 days. A fair dismissal (procedente) validates the employer's reasons (disciplinary reasons yield 0 days of severance).
No. A voluntary resignation (baja voluntaria) does not give you any right to severance pay, and you will not qualify for immediate unemployment benefits (paro).
Yes. Extra payments (pagas extraordinarias) are part of your annual salary. To find your regulatory daily salary, you must add the gross annual value of your extra payments to your base salary and divide the total by 365.
Yes. Similar to other legal severance payments up to statutory limits, it is fully exempt from IRPF tax and does not need to be declared on your annual tax return.
If the company is declared insolvent or enters bankruptcy, the Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) will cover the outstanding severance payments up to legal daily limits.