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In last month's article, we covered some of the salary supplements available under Spanish law. This month, we look at the remaining ones, so you have a clear picture of what each allowance entails.
SUPPLEMENTS RELATING TO WORKING HOURS:
· Shift rotation supplement:
This supplement applies where the organisation of work requires employees to occupy the same posts in succession according to a set rotation pattern, meaning the employee must work at different times across a given period of days.
This allowance is earned by working under a rotating shift system that involves periodic changes to working hours. Its purpose is to compensate employees for the disruption that shift rotation causes to their daily routines.
· Attendance and punctuality supplement:
The attendance allowance consists of bonus payments for days actually worked. Some collective bargaining agreements provide that absences or instances of lateness result in the loss of one day's supplement within the relevant month, with employees who reach a certain number of absences forfeiting the entire monthly supplement.
This supplement is paid to the employee monthly or annually as a reward for maintaining a cooperative and non-disruptive attitude at work.
The Constitutional Court has ruled on the legality of such bonuses, finding that in some cases they may function as anti-strike incentives. The Court considers these clauses valid provided that, where a strike takes place, the employee loses only the pay corresponding to the days on which the right to strike was exercised, together with the proportionate share of the bonus. Exercising the right to strike must not result in the loss of the entire bonus.
· overtime supplement:
This allowance is earned as a result of working beyond the standard daily or annual hours established either by collective bargaining agreement or by individual contract.
There are certain restrictions on who may work overtime. The following employees are not permitted to do so:
· Workers under 18 years of age
· Night workers
· Workers with disabilities employed at Special Employment Centres
All other employees may work overtime up to a maximum of 80 hours per year.
The Social Security contribution treatment of overtime pay has certain specific features:
Overtime pay is not included in the contribution base for Social Security purposes. Instead, it is included in the contribution base for items collected jointly with Social Security contributions: unemployment, vocational training, and the Wage Guarantee Fund.
The applicable contribution rates (the same as those for occupational contingencies) are subject to a 10% reduction. However, overtime pay is also subject to an additional contribution. The rate applicable to this additional contribution varies depending on the nature of the overtime:
· overtime arising from force majeure carry a lower contribution rate: 14%, of which 12% is payable by the company and 2% by the employee.
· All other overtime carry a higher contribution rate, the same as that applied to common contingencies: 28.3%, of which 23.6% is payable by the company and 4.7% by the employee.
SALARY SUPPLEMENTS BASED ON DUTIES PERFORMED:
· Multitasking supplement:
This allowance covers situations where the employee is assigned duties that are not considered equivalent to their principal role.
These supplements are intended exclusively for employees who have performed duties belonging to professional categories classified within a different group.
· Special responsibility supplement:
This allowance applies to roles that involve not just any form of responsibility, but specific management functions, handling of public funds, or a particularly high level of technical expertise.
Entitlement to this allowance is tied to the actual performance of functions carrying that degree of responsibility.
· Grade supplement:
This allowance compensates for lesson preparation at a language centre, scaled according to the level of difficulty involved.
· Machinery supplement:
This allowance is paid to employees assigned to a specific post characterised by its complexity and requiring a degree of specialisation to carry out the associated duties.
EXCLUSIVITY SUPPLEMENTS:
Some legal scholars consider these supplements to be non-salary payments. However, they are included here within the category of salary supplements on the basis of the presumption that all payments received by the employee arising from the employment relationship are treated as salary.
· Full dedication or exclusivity agreement:
This agreement requires a specific arrangement under which the employee undertakes not to engage in any professional activity other than that contracted with their employer, whether as an employee or as a self-employed person.
This agreement serves a dual purpose: on the one hand, to prevent the employee from competing with the business, and on the other, to ensure the employee's full commitment and productivity.
Under this agreement, express financial compensation is agreed. An exception applies in the case of senior management employment relationships, where it is understood that the compensation need not be specifically agreed, as exclusive dedication by a senior executive is a statutory obligation that can only be waived with the employer's consent.
The employee may terminate the agreement at any time, subject only to the obligation to give 30 days' notice period. Termination of the agreement by the employee results in the loss of the financial compensation.
Termination of the agreement by the employer, on the other hand, must comply with the rules set out in the Workers' Statute governing substantial changes to working conditions.
In any event, while the agreement is in force, any breach by the employee entitles the employer to proceed with the disciplinary dismissal of the employee and to claim damages.
· Post-contractual non-compete agreement:
Once the employment contract has ended, the former employee regains full freedom of economic initiative and may carry out activities that compete with those of their former employer, whether on a self-employed or employed basis.
Naturally, the former employee's competitive activity is not unrestricted, it remains subject at all times to the general rules of the market on unfair competition.
This agreement represents a form of extension, beyond the end of the contract, of the exclusivity previously owed to the former company. Its purpose is to prevent the employee from exploiting client relationships and supplier contacts made available to them by the company, which could undermine the company's position in the market.
The amount of the financial compensation must be agreed upon mutually by the employer and the employee; neither party may set it unilaterally, nor may the court.
