Where to report discrimination in Spain and which route fits

Terms used

• Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social — The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social is the labour inspectorate, which investigates employers and can fine them.
• Fiscalía — The Fiscalía is the public prosecutor's office, which can open criminal investigations.
• Defensor del Pueblo — The Defensor del Pueblo is the national ombudsman, who investigates public bodies but cannot impose sanctions.
• OMIC — The OMIC is the municipal consumer information office that handles complaints about shops and services.

Key rules

• No single desk: You choose the body by the type of conduct, the area of life and the time limit.
• Dismissal claims: Labour claims over dismissal must be filed within 20 working days.
• Crime or not: Violence, threats or public incitement point to the police or prosecutor; a single unequal treatment points to civil, labour or administrative routes.
• Ombudsman: The Defensor del Pueblo can investigate public bodies but cannot fine anyone.
• Equality authority: Check that the new independent equality authority is operating before relying on it.

There is no single desk

No one office takes every discrimination complaint in Spain. You choose a route based on what happened, where it happened and how much time you have. The decision, checklist and step-by-step process below help you pick. The template below gives you a written complaint to adapt.

Start with the type of conduct

Possible crime. Violence, threats, public incitement to hatred or serious, systematic harm point to criminal law. So does an assault motivated by race, origin, religion, sex or disability. Serious discrimination at work can also be a crime. Report these to the Policía Nacional, the Guardia Civil or your regional police. You can also go to the Fiscalía, which has prosecutors for hate crimes and discrimination. There is also a national office against hate crimes.

Lesser unequal treatment. A single refusal of a service, a flat or a job because of a protected ground is usually a civil, labour or administrative matter. The remedies are compensation, cancelling the act and fines on the wrongdoer.

Borderline cases. Whether conduct is a crime is for the prosecutor or a court to decide. If you are unsure, ask the hate-crime prosecutor or a lawyer. You can follow both routes for the same facts. A criminal case normally takes priority over a parallel administrative sanction.

Then match the area of life

• Work. Complain to the Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, which investigates and can fine employers. Labour courts (Juzgados de lo Social) decide claims such as dismissal.
• Shops, bars, banks, insurers and leisure. Go to your regional or municipal consumer office (consumo or OMIC). They handle complaints and sanctions.
• Housing. No single national inspectorate exists. Ask your regional housing department (consejería de vivienda) or consumer authority. Rental disputes go to the civil courts.
• Public bodies. The Defensor del Pueblo, or your regional ombudsman, investigates public administrations. It cannot fine anyone.
• Support. The Consejo para la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial o Étnica gives free help to victims of racial or ethnic discrimination. NGOs, unions and equality offices can also advise you.

The new equality authority

A 2022 law created the Autoridad Independiente para la Igualdad de Trato y la No Discriminación. Its start has been repeatedly delayed. Check whether it is operating before you rely on it. Until then, the Ministry of Equality has handled some of its functions.

Watch the time limits

Deadlines run from the date of the facts, and they differ by route:

• Dismissal claims: 20 working days.
• Appeal for reconsideration against an administrative decision: one month.
• Contentious-administrative appeal: two months.
• Civil damages claims: one year for non-contractual liability. The period is suspended while a related procedure is in progress.
• Defensor del Pueblo complaints: one year from when you learned the facts.
• Criminal offences: the period depends on how serious the offence is. Minor offences have a short period, and serious ones several years.

Ask a lawyer right away to confirm the exact deadline for your route. Collect evidence while you wait: dates, messages, photos and witness names.

Where the regions matter

Which body has authority depends on the area and your region. Your regional consumer or housing office can tell you who handles your case.

Choosing between options

Should you treat this as a possible crime or as a civil, labour or administrative matter?

• Criminal route: There was violence, threats, public incitement to hatred, or serious, systematic harm. Go to the police or the hate-crime prosecutor.

• Civil, labour or administrative route: It was a single unequal treatment, such as refusing a service, a flat or a job because of a protected ground. Seek compensation, nullity or a sanction through the labour inspectorate, consumer office or courts.

• Both routes: The facts include a crime and also a lesser act of discrimination.

Violence, threats, public incitement or serious, systematic harm point to criminal law. A single unequal treatment without those elements points to civil, labour or administrative routes.

Step by step from incident to formal discrimination complaint

From incident to formal complaint

• Write down the date, place and people involved, and keep messages, emails, photos and witness names: Straight after the incident

• Save original files (audio, video, emails, chats) without editing, keep copies on separate media, and take screenshots showing the web address, date and sender: The same day if you can

• Ask the venue or employer in writing to keep its CCTV footage, or ask the police to do so in a complaint: Within days, because footage is often deleted after about a month

• Note each witness's full name, ID number and contact details, what they saw, and ask for a signed written statement: In the first days, while memories are fresh

• Get medical or psychological reports if you were harmed: As soon as possible after the incident

• Get advice from an NGO, a union or an equality office: Within the first days, before you choose a route

• Send a written complaint to the person or company responsible, where it makes sense: Before or alongside filing, without waiting for a reply

• File with the right body: the labour inspectorate, the police or prosecutor for crimes, an equality body, or a court: As soon as your evidence is ready, within the deadline for your route

• Go to court over a dismissal: Within 20 working days of the dismissal

• Appeal against a public office's decision: one month for an appeal to the same body or its superior, two months for a court appeal: One month or two months after you are notified of the decision

• Complain to the Defensor del Pueblo, the national ombudsman: Within one year of learning the facts. This does not pause court or appeal deadlines

• Run several routes together if needed, such as an equality-body complaint, a union action and a civil or labour claim: At the same time, keeping every deadline. If the facts could be a crime, civil and administrative cases on them are normally paused until the criminal case ends

Checklist

• Decide whether the conduct involved violence, threats, public incitement or serious, systematic harm, which points to the police or the hate-crime prosecutor.

• Choose the work route if it happened at your job: the labour inspectorate, which can fine employers, or the labour court.

• Contact your regional or municipal consumer office if a shop, bar, bank or insurer discriminated against you.

• Ask your regional housing department or consumer authority for help if you were refused a flat, since no single national inspectorate exists.

• Count your deadline from the date of the facts: 20 working days for a dismissal claim, one month for an appeal for reconsideration, and two months for a contentious-administrative appeal.

• Check whether the independent equality authority is operating before you rely on it, and use the Ministry of Equality or the racial and ethnic equality council meanwhile.

Deadlines vary by route and case, so check the exact date with a lawyer straight away.

Template for a written discrimination complaint

Send the complaint in Spanish, or in the co-official language of your region. It needs four things: the facts, the protected ground, who you are complaining about, and what you want to happen. Replace each part in square brackets with your own details.

The letter

Asunto: Queja por trato discriminatorio

Datos de la persona que reclama Nombre y apellidos: [your full name] DNI o NIE: [your ID number] Dirección para notificaciones: [your address] Teléfono y correo electrónico: [your phone and email]

Datos de la persona o entidad reclamada Nombre: [person, company or administration] Dirección: [their address, or the office where it happened]

Hechos El día [date], en [place], [describe what happened in plain, factual sentences: who said or did what, and how you were treated differently]. Después, el día [date], [next event, if any]. [Add one short paragraph per event, in date order. Include names of any witnesses.]

Motivo de discriminación Considero que este trato se debe a mi [origen / sexo / discapacidad / religión / orientación sexual / other ground], ya que [one or two sentences on why you think so, for example what was said or how others were treated].

Pruebas que adjunto

1. [Messages, emails, photos, contract, ad, recording or other document]
2. [Name and contact of witness, if any]

Lo que solicito Solicito que [cese esta conducta / se me ofrezca una disculpa / se me indemnice con [amount] euros / se abra un expediente y se sancione lo ocurrido, choose what applies]. Solicito también que se me comunique la decisión en la dirección indicada.

[City], a [date] Firma: [your signature]

Tips for filling it in

• Facts: Stick to what happened, with dates and places. Leave out opinions and insults.
• Ground: Name the reason you were treated differently, such as your origin, sex, disability, religion or sexual orientation. One clear ground is better than a long list.
• Remedy: Ask for something specific. You can ask for more than one thing, for example that the conduct stops and that you receive compensation.
• Copies: Keep a signed copy and proof of when and where you submitted it.
• Where to send it: The routes for reporting discrimination, and who receives each one, are explained on the page about reporting discrimination.

Frequently asked questions

Can I report discrimination to the new equality authority now?

Do not rely on the equality authority yet, because its formal start has been repeatedly delayed.

Does the Defensor del Pueblo have the power to fine the people who discriminated against me?

No, the Defensor del Pueblo and regional ombudsmen can investigate public bodies but cannot impose sanctions. Use this route when a public body is the problem.

Which office do I go to if a shop, bar or bank refused me service?

Go to your regional or municipal consumer office (consumo or OMIC), which handles complaints about shops, bars, banks, insurers and leisure services. It can pass the case to the authority that sanctions the business. For work problems, use the labour inspectorate instead.

Can I file a criminal complaint and an administrative complaint for the same facts?

Yes, both can coexist, but a criminal case normally takes priority over a parallel administrative sanction for the same facts. A criminal case fits violence, threats, public incitement or serious, systematic harm. A lawyer or the hate-crime prosecutor can assess borderline cases.