Employee contributions and your payslipArticle 5 of 9 · 2 min read
How contributions work when you have two jobs
If you work for two or more employers at once as an employee, each job is registered separately, but your contributions share one ceiling. This page explains how the bases are combined and what happens when the total is too high.
Key rules
- Each job: Every employer registers you and pays contributions on your pay from that job.
- One ceiling: Your bases from all employers are added together and the maximum contribution base applies to the total.
- Excess: If the total is over the maximum, each employer's base is cut in proportion to its share.
- Refunds: The TGSS refunds any excess contributions to you or the employer in proportion.
The short answer
Each employer registers you and pays contributions for you. But Social Security looks at all your jobs together, and one maximum applies to the total. Having two jobs at once is called pluriempleo.
How it works
- Each job is registered. Every employer registers you with Social Security (an alta) and pays contributions on your pay from that job.
- The bases are added together. Your contribution base from each employer is added to the others.
- One ceiling applies to the total. The maximum contribution base covers the combined amount, not each job on its own.
If the total goes over the maximum
Each employer's base is reduced in proportion to its share of the total. Your biggest job takes the biggest reduction, and a smaller job takes a smaller one. Each employer then pays contributions on its reduced base.
You and your employers do not need to work out the split yourselves. If too much was paid, the Social Security treasury office (TGSS) settles the excess. It refunds the extra contributions to you or to the employer, in proportion to what each paid.
What to do
- Tell each employer about your other job, so each one registers you correctly.
- Keep your payslips from every job. They show the base used for each employer.
- If you see a refund or a correction, check it against your payslips. If something looks wrong, ask the TGSS.
What this page does not cover
This applies to employees with two or more employers, whether in the same or different regimes. If you are self-employed and combine activities, separate rules apply. Check them with Social Security before you start.
More in Employee contributions and your payslip
- Reading the social security lines on your payslip (nómina)
- Why your contribution rate creeps up each year (the MEI levy)
- Contribution bases, minimums, maximums and the high-earner surcharge
- How part-time, temporary and seasonal (fijo discontinuo) contracts affect your record
- Social security rights for cleaners, carers and household employees (empleados de hogar)
- Do students, interns and trainees contribute to social security?
- If your employer did not register you or pay contributions
- Paying voluntary contributions (convenio especial) to fill gaps
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