Holidays in Spain: how many days employees get and how they're calculated

Article 38 of the Spanish Workers' Statute sets the minimum annual holiday at 30 calendar days. A collective agreement or the contract can improve on it, but never reduce it.

30 calendar days or 22 working days

There's no universal equivalence between the two figures. When holidays are counted in calendar days, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are included. When they're counted in working days, the usual equivalent for a Monday-to-Friday week is 22 days. What matters is that the employee doesn't lose out because of how they're counted: if the agreement says 22 working days and your working week includes Saturday, the calculation changes.

When they're taken

Dates are agreed between the company and the employee, and the employee must know their dates at least two months before the holiday starts.

What isn't allowed

Holidays can't be replaced by money while the contract is in force. Payment in lieu only applies when the contract ends and there are untaken days. Losing, carrying over or compensating days requires reviewing the applicable rules and case law; it shouldn't be decided from this summary alone.

Starting or leaving mid-year

Holidays accrue in proportion to the time worked. The specific calculation and rounding should be checked against the collective agreement and actual length of service; we don't give a universal rounding rule here.

How peopleOS handles it

The Absences & time off module calculates each person's balance from your company's conditions, prorated by start date, and handles requests and approvals. Check the results against your collective agreement.

This article is informative and reflects Spanish law as of November 2026. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Check the current rules and your collective agreement with a professional.