Social security rights for cleaners, carers and household employees (empleados de hogar)

Terms used

• Alta — The alta is your registration with social security, which starts your cover and contributions.
• TGSS — The TGSS is the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social, the office that registers workers and collects contributions.
• Tramos — The tramos are the pay brackets that fix the monthly base on which household employee contributions are calculated.
• Pluriempleo — Pluriempleo means having several jobs at once, with contributions from each added together under special rules.

Key rules

• Unemployment cover: Household employees have had unemployment cover since 1 October 2022.
• Registration: Your employer registers you and pays your contributions.
• Several households: Each household you work for registers you and pays on the hours you work for it.
• Yearly updates: Brackets and percentages change every year, so check current figures before relying on them.

What the household system covers

If you work in a private home as a cleaner, carer, cook or similar, you belong to a special part of social security called the Sistema Especial para Empleados de Hogar. It gives you cover for:

• retirement
• permanent disability
• survivors' benefits for your family
• sick leave
• maternity and paternity leave
• work accidents and occupational illness

Since 1 October 2022 it also covers unemployment. Your employer now pays the unemployment contribution, and you have the right to claim unemployment benefit. Employers must also protect your health at work, and the wage guarantee fund (FOGASA) now covers you too.

Sick-leave details changed in 2023. Ask the Seguridad Social about the exact conditions for any benefit you want to claim.

Who registers you

Your employer must register you (the alta), pay the contributions and report any changes to the tesorería (TGSS), the social security office that handles registration and payments. Do not accept being left unregistered: without an alta you build no pension, sick pay or unemployment rights.

There used to be an exception for people working fewer than 60 hours a month for one household. There, you could take on registration and payment yourself if the employer agreed, and the employer had to add the contribution amount to your pay. Since 2024 the employer-pays model is essentially the norm. Before agreeing to handle it yourself, check with the TGSS whether the exception still applies to you.

Cleaning hourly for several households

Each household that employs you registers you separately. Each employer pays contributions on the pay it gives you for its own hours. You do not pay one combined amount.

Your total contributions across all employers fall under the rules for people with several jobs (pluriempleo). Check with the Seguridad Social how this affects your total, and confirm the current rules before you start with a second household.

What you pay

Contributions are based on pay brackets (tramos), each with a fixed monthly base. Since 2024 the system has been moving toward using your actual earnings. Your share is a percentage of that base, and your employer pays the larger part. The percentages and brackets are set again each year, so ask the Seguridad Social for the current ones.

The questions below cover the most common doubts.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have unemployment benefit rights as a household employee?

Yes, household employees have had unemployment cover since 1 October 2022, and employers now pay the unemployment contribution. The conditions for claiming are set by the Seguridad Social, so ask them before you apply.

Can I register and pay my own contributions if I work few hours for one household?

Yes, but only if you work fewer than 60 hours a month for that household and your employer agrees. The employer then has to cover its share of the contribution in your pay. Since 2024 the employer-pays model is essentially the norm, so ask the Seguridad Social (TGSS) whether this option still applies to you.

How do I register if I clean hourly for several households?

Each household you work for must register you separately and pay contributions for the hours you work for it. Your total contribution bases across employers fall under the rules for people with several jobs. Ask the Seguridad Social how this applies to your situation.

How much of my contribution do I pay myself?

Your share is a percentage of your contribution base, and your employer covers the larger part. The base depends on your pay bracket, and the brackets and percentages are updated every year.