Occasional babysitting or formal employment?

Key rules

• Genuine favours: Occasional, unpaid help from a friend or neighbour, with at most a symbolic gift, is not employment.
• Regular paid care: If you pay a sitter regularly, it is employment and the sitter needs to be registered.
• Hours: Short hours do not exempt you from registering a paid sitter.
• Doubt: If you are unsure which side you are on, ask the TGSS before the sitter starts.

The short answer

A genuine favour from a friend or neighbour is not employment. Regular paid care is. If you pay a sitter on a regular basis, treat them as a household employee, even if the hours are short.

What counts as a favour

Spanish law leaves out help given out of friendship, goodwill or good neighbourliness. For your arrangement to fit, all of these should be true:

• It is unpaid, apart from a symbolic gift such as a bottle of wine or a small thank-you.
• It is occasional, with no set days or times.
• It comes from someone close to you who is helping, not working for you.

A neighbour who watches your child once in a while while you run an errand is a favour. The same neighbour coming every Tuesday and Thursday for a fixed payment is not.

What points to employment

Courts read the favour exception narrowly. Any of these usually points to a job:

• Regular visits or a set schedule.
• Payment that goes beyond a symbolic gift.
• You expect the person to turn up and you tell them what to do.

There is no minimum number of hours below which paid babysitting avoids registration. Short hours can still be employment. The line between a favour and a job is decided case by case, so if you are unsure, ask the TGSS, Spain's Social Security office.

What registration involves

If it is employment, the sitter falls under the special system for domestic employees. You, as the employer, are responsible for:

• Registering the sitter with Social Security (the alta).
• Reporting any changes.
• Paying the contributions, including the sitter's share, which you deduct from their pay.

If a sitter works for under 60 hours a month for you and you are the one who must register and pay, the sitter can agree to take that on. If a sitter works for several families, each family counts as an employer.

Where to go next

The checklist below helps you test your own situation. To compare a babysitter with a nanny, au pair or childminder, use the decision below. The FAQ covers thank-you gifts, hours and sitters with several families.

Nanny, au pair, childminder or babysitter: which to choose?

Nanny, au pair, childminder or babysitter

Which form of in-home childcare fits your hours, legal duties and budget?

• Occasional babysitter (a favour): Choose this only if the help is occasional, unpaid or only a small thank-you gift, and has no set schedule. Work done out of friendship or good neighbourliness is not treated as employment. Regular help, real payment or a fixed schedule points to employment instead.

• Nanny as a household employee: Choose this if the person works regularly, on a schedule, for pay. You are the employer. You register them with Social Security (the alta), pay contributions and deduct the worker's share from their pay. If they work under 60 hours a month for you, they can agree to take on that registration. If they have several employers, each one registers them. Costs are wages plus contributions, which also cover unemployment protection.

• Au pair: Choose this only if the real purpose is cultural exchange and language learning, with limited hours, light duties, study time and only pocket money. Long hours, heavy tasks, replacing a paid carer or wage-like pay make it household employment. Then minimum wage, registration, back contributions and fines apply, and immigration penalties if the person has no work permit.

• Childminder in their own home (madre de día): Choose this if you want your child cared for in the carer's home, in a region that regulates it. Spain has no national rule. Only a few regions, such as Galicia and Navarra, regulate it. Elsewhere it is a legal grey area, so ask your regional education or social services department first.

If the help is regular, scheduled or paid like a wage, treat it as a nanny and register them. Use a babysitter favour or an au pair only when it is genuinely occasional or genuinely cultural exchange.

Checklist

• Check that the help is unpaid, apart from a symbolic gift, and comes from a friend or neighbour out of goodwill.

• Check that the help is occasional, with no set schedule and no regular pattern.

• Treat the arrangement as employment if you pay a sitter regularly, because regular paid care is not a favour.

• Ask the TGSS, Spain's Social Security office, whether your situation needs registration if you are unsure.

• Register the sitter as a household employee if the arrangement is employment, including when they work short hours.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small thank-you gift make babysitting a job?

A symbolic gift does not turn a favour into a job, but payment beyond that normally points to employment. A friend or neighbour who helps now and then, unpaid and without a set schedule, is usually a genuine favour. Regular work or a fixed schedule points the other way.

Is there a number of hours below which I don't need to register a sitter?

No, Spain has no fixed number of hours below which paid babysitting avoids registration. Short hours of household work fall under the same household regime. If the sitter is paid and comes regularly, treat it as employment.

Who registers a sitter who works for several families?

Each family that employs the sitter must register them. Where the sitter works under 60 hours a month for you, they can agree to take on the registration and payments themselves. Agree this clearly with them first.