Claiming unpaid wages when your employer pays late or stops

Key rules

• Time limit: Unpaid wages must be claimed within one year from the date each payment was due, or from the end of the contract.
• Interest: Late wages carry interest of 10% per year on the amount owed, and you must ask the judge for it.
• Conciliation first: You must try conciliation with your regional mediation service before suing the employer.
• No contract: You can claim without a written contract if you can prove you worked and were paid.

The short route

You recover unpaid wages in three steps: a written demand to your employer, a conciliation request, then a court claim if there is no agreement. The timeline, documents and checklist below carry the details. This page explains how the steps fit together and what to watch for.

You can claim while you still work for the employer or after you leave.

The time limit

You have one year. The year runs from the date each payment was due. Each monthly payment counts separately, so older months expire first. If your contract has ended, you have one year from the end date.

Wages older than a year before you claim are normally lost, so do not wait. A written demand, a conciliation request or a lawsuit each interrupts the period. Do not rely on the demand alone. File the conciliation request soon after, so the dates are clear.

Interest on late wages

Late wages carry interest of 10% per year on the amount owed. It runs from the due date. The judge adds it only if you ask, so include it in your claim. The rate is fixed by law and does not follow market rates.

Step by step

1. List what you are owed. Write down each late or missing payment, its amount and its due date.
2. Send a written demand. Use the Spanish template below. Send it in a way that proves the date, such as registered post with a receipt. Many employers pay at this stage.
3. File a conciliation request with your regional mediation service, called SMAC or something similar in your region. You must try this before you can sue. If your employer does not attend or does not agree, you get a record of that.
4. File a claim with the labour court (the Juzgado de lo Social) if conciliation ends without agreement. Do this within the time limit above.

A labour lawyer or a union can help with the filing. Check whether you qualify for free legal aid.

If you have no written contract

You can still claim. Spanish law presumes an employment relationship when you do work for someone and they pay you. The court decides whether it existed, and you must show it did. Useful proof includes:

• bank transfers
• email or WhatsApp messages
• photos of you at work
• work schedules
• Social Security records
• colleagues or clients who can confirm you worked there

If you do not have a work permit

Lack of a work permit does not take away your right to claim unpaid wages. You can use the courts and free legal aid where you meet the means test. Claiming in the labour court does not in itself lead to expulsion. Your status stays an administrative issue, though, and the outcome depends on your case. Talk to a union or a lawyer before you file. Unemployment benefit generally does not apply without authorisation.

If you do not want to stay

If your employer keeps not paying, you can ask the court to end your contract for serious breach. If you win, the compensation equals unfair dismissal: 33 days of pay per year worked. This ends your job, so use it only if you are ready to leave. A judge decides, so you file it in court.

If your employer cannot pay

If the employer is insolvent, the state guarantee fund (FOGASA) may pay part of what you are owed. Ask the labour court or your union how to apply.

Reporting to the Labour Inspectorate

You can also complain to the Labour Inspectorate. It can investigate and sanction the employer, including for unregistered work. A complaint does not replace your claim and does not stop the clock, so still file the conciliation request. Its report can serve as proof in court.

Timeline and deadlines

• Send your employer a written demand for the unpaid wages: as soon as a payment is late

• File a conciliation request with the regional mediation service: after the demand and before any court claim

• File your claim with the labour court if conciliation ends without agreement: right after conciliation fails

• Bring the claim before the time limit runs out: within one year of the date each payment was due, or of the end of your contract

• Ask the court to end your contract for repeated non-payment, if you do not want to stay: while you are still employed

Documents you need

• A written demand to your employer asking for the unpaid wages, with proof of the date you sent it.

• Your conciliation request, filed with the regional mediation service (SMAC or its equivalent) before you go to court.

• Proof that you worked for the employer and were paid, such as bank transfers, email or WhatsApp messages, photos, a work schedule or a Social Security record.

• Names of colleagues or clients who can confirm you worked there, if you have no written contract or payslips.

• A report from the Labour Inspectorate, if you made a complaint and it inspected the workplace.

Checklist

• List each unpaid or late payment with its amount and due date.

• Send your employer a written demand and keep proof of when you sent it.

• File a conciliation request with your regional mediation service (SMAC or its equivalent).

• File a claim with the labour court if conciliation ends without agreement.

• Ask the judge to add the 10% per year interest on the overdue amount.

• Report the employer to the Labour Inspectorate if you also want it to investigate.

Written demand for unpaid wages in Spanish

What this letter does

A written demand is not required before you take a wage claim further. It shows the employer exactly what you are owed and by when, and a burofax proves what the letter said and the day it arrived.

The step that is required is conciliation at the mediation service, before you can go to the labour court. The letter below warns the employer that this comes next.

A letter may not stop the time limit for your claim. File for conciliation rather than relying on the letter alone.

If you were also dismissed, the letter does not pause the 20-working-day deadline to challenge the dismissal. Act on that deadline separately.

How to send it

• Send it by burofax with certified text and acknowledgement of receipt, through Correos. This proves the content and the delivery date.
• A certified letter or a notary also works, but proves less.
• Burofax prices vary with the length of the letter and the service you choose, so ask at the Correos counter.
• Keep a copy of the letter and every receipt.
• Give 5 to 10 days to pay.

Letter to copy

Fill in the parts in square brackets. Keep the Spanish: it is the version the employer and any court will read.

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[Ciudad], a [fecha]

Remitente: [Nombre y apellidos del trabajador], con DNI/NIE [número], domicilio en [dirección completa].

Destinatario: [Nombre de la empresa o del empleador], con NIF/DNI [número], domicilio en [dirección completa].

Asunto: Requerimiento formal de pago de salarios adeudados

Muy señores míos:

Presto servicios para su empresa desde el [fecha de inicio] con la categoría de [puesto], con contrato [indefinido / temporal] y jornada [completa / parcial], y un salario de [importe] euros [brutos / netos] al mes.

A fecha de hoy, no se me han abonado las siguientes cantidades:

• [Mes y año]: [importe] euros en concepto de [salario / horas extra / pagas extra / vacaciones no disfrutadas].
• [Añadir más líneas si hace falta.]

Total adeudado: [importe total] euros.

De acuerdo con la legislación laboral vigente, el empleador está obligado a pagar el salario puntualmente en la fecha acordada.

Por ello, les requiero para que, en el plazo de [5 / 10] días desde la recepción de esta carta, abonen la cantidad total indicada mediante transferencia a la cuenta [IBAN], a nombre de [titular].

Si no se efectúa el pago en dicho plazo, iniciaré sin más aviso las acciones que me correspondan, incluyendo la solicitud de conciliación ante el servicio de mediación, la presentación de una demanda ante el juzgado de lo social y una denuncia ante la Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social.

Atentamente,

[Firma] [Nombre y apellidos]

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Attach a copy of your contract and your payslips (or bank statements showing the missing payments) if you have them. Say in the letter that you are attaching them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim unpaid wages if I never had a written contract?

Yes, you can claim unpaid wages without a written contract, because Spanish law presumes an employment contract whenever you work for someone and get paid. The labour court decides whether the relationship existed, and you are the one who has to show it. Bank transfers, messages and colleagues who saw you work all help.

Can I end my contract if my employer keeps not paying me?

Yes, you can ask the labour court to end your contract if your employer repeatedly fails to pay you, and you receive the same compensation as for unfair dismissal, 33 days per year worked. This ends your job, so use it only if you do not want to stay. You file it in court, not through the mediation service.

Does sending a written demand stop the clock on my claim?

Yes, a written demand to your employer interrupts the time limit for your claim, and so do a conciliation request and a lawsuit. After each of these the count starts again. Keep proof of the date you sent the demand.

What can I do if my employer cannot pay me at all?

If your employer is insolvent, the wage guarantee fund may pay part of what you are owed, so read the article on that fund before you apply. You can also file a complaint with the Labour Inspectorate, which can act against the employer.