Reading your payslip (nómina) line by line

Terms used

• Nómina — The nómina is your payslip, the official monthly statement of your pay, deductions and contribution bases.
• Devengos — The devengos are the amounts you earned in the period, before any deductions.
• Deducciones — The deducciones are the amounts taken from your gross pay, such as Social Security and income tax.
• IRPF — The IRPF is Spain's personal income tax, withheld from your pay each month.
• Convenio colectivo — The convenio colectivo is the collective agreement for your sector or company, setting pay tables and working conditions.
• Papeleta de conciliación — The papeleta de conciliación is the mediation request you file before suing your employer in most labour disputes.
• FOGASA — FOGASA is the state guarantee fund that pays unpaid wages up to legal limits when an employer is insolvent.
• Líquido a percibir — The líquido a percibir is your net pay: total devengos minus total deducciones.

Key rules

• Payslip: Your employer must give you an official-model payslip for every pay period, and it serves as proof of payment.
• Bases: The professional contingencies base equals the common base plus your overtime pay.
• Wage claims: Claims for unpaid wages expire one year after the day the pay was due.
• First step: Ask your employer or payroll office in writing to correct the error before using mediation or court.
• Dismissal: Dismissal-type claims have a limit of 20 working days.

What a payslip must contain

Your nómina must follow the official model, and your employer must give it to you for every pay period. It proves you were paid, so you sign it or receipt it. If it is missing any block below, ask for a corrected one.

It has five blocks, usually in this order:

1. Header. Company and worker details: name, tax ID, Social Security number, professional category or group, seniority date, contribution group and the pay period.
2. Devengos. What you earned: basic salary, each supplement, overtime, and the monthly share of extra payments if they are spread over the year. Non-salary items, such as allowances and indemnities, are listed separately.
3. Deducciones. What is taken off: your Social Security contributions (split into common contingencies, unemployment, vocational training and MEI), IRPF withholding, advances and any other deductions.
4. Bases. The amounts your contributions are calculated on.
5. Líquido a percibir. Your net pay: total devengos minus total deducciones. It ends with the employer's signature and stamp.

Check the header first

Your category decides your pay under your collective agreement (convenio colectivo). The agreement's pay table sets the basic salary and supplements for each group. It also sets your contribution group, from 1 to 11, which fixes the minimum and maximum bases for your Social Security.

Compare the category with your contract and with the work you really do. A wrong category can lower your pay, your bases and so your future benefits. If you do higher-level work than your category for a long period, you can claim reclassification and the pay difference.

Check your devengos

• Match basic salary and supplements to the pay table line for your group.
• Make sure every earning line appears and the period is the month you worked.
• Check that your pay is not below the minimum wage (SMI) for your working time.
• Confirm that overtime appears on its own line.

Check the contribution bases

• Common contingencies base. Your total monthly pay subject to Social Security: salary plus supplements plus the monthly share of extra payments. It leaves out overtime and non-salary items such as expenses and indemnities within legal limits. It is held between the minimum and maximum for your contribution group.
• Professional contingencies base. The same figure plus your overtime pay. It covers accidents at work, unemployment and training.

So the professional base minus overtime should equal the common base. If they do not fit, ask payroll to explain. The minimum and maximum bases change every year.

If something is wrong

Do it in this order:

1. Ask in writing. Email or write to your employer or payroll office, name the line, and ask for a correction or the missing payment. Keep a copy.
2. File a mediation request. If it is not fixed, file a papeleta de conciliación at your regional mediation service. In most cases it is required before you can sue, and it pauses the time limit.
3. Complain to the Labour Inspectorate. You can do this at the same time.
4. Go to court. If mediation fails, file a demanda in the Juzgado de lo Social.
5. Employer insolvent? FOGASA can pay unpaid wages up to legal limits.

Deadlines

Claims for unpaid wages expire one year after the day the pay was due. Each payment has its own start date, so do not wait. A claim about a continuing situation can run from the end of the contract, but you must still claim within a year of it ending. Claims about dismissal have a much shorter limit of 20 working days, so act at once.

The checklist, documents and timeline below walk you through each step.

Timeline and deadlines

• Ask your employer or payroll office in writing to correct the payslip or make the payment: as soon as you spot the error

• File a labour mediation request (papeleta de conciliación) at your regional mediation service: if the employer does not fix it, before going to court

• Send a complaint to the Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo): at any point, alongside the other steps

• File a claim (demanda) in the labour court (Juzgado de lo Social): if mediation fails

• Claim unpaid wages: within one year of the day the pay was due; a mediation request or a lawsuit stops the clock

• Act on a dismissal-type claim: within 20 working days, so act quickly

• Ask FOGASA to pay unpaid wages up to legal limits: if your employer is insolvent

Documents you need

• Your payslip (nómina) for each pay period, issued by your employer on the official model, showing your details, earnings, deductions, net pay and contribution bases, and signed or receipted as proof of payment.

• A labour mediation request (papeleta de conciliación), filed with your regional mediation service, only if your employer does not fix a wrong or missing payslip or payment after you ask in writing.

Checklist to verify your first Spanish payslip

• Check that your name, tax ID, Social Security number, seniority date and contribution group are correct at the top of the payslip.

• Compare the professional group or category on the payslip with the one in your contract and with the duties you actually do, because it fixes your pay and your contribution group.

• Find your collective agreement (convenio colectivo) named in your contract or payslip, then look up its pay table (tabla salarial) in the official register of agreements, the BOE or your regional bulletin.

• Compare your basic salary and supplements with the pay table line for your group and category, and ask HR to explain any gap.

• Check that your pay is not below the minimum wage (SMI) for your working time. The SMI is set each year per day, per month in 14 payments and per year, and is reduced pro rata for part-time work.

• Check that the pay period matches the month you worked and that each earning line is listed: basic salary, supplements, overtime and extra payments.

• Look at the contribution bases. The base for common contingencies should be your monthly pay subject to Social Security, including one-twelfth of any prorated extra payments, but without overtime.

• Check that the base for professional contingencies equals the common base plus your overtime pay.

• Check that your Social Security deductions are split by type and that the income tax withholding (IRPF) is shown as a separate line.

• Check that the net pay (líquido a percibir) equals your total earnings minus all deductions, and that it matches the amount that reached your bank account.

• Confirm the payment date matches what your contract or agreement says, and that you are paid at least once a month.

• Ask to be paid by bank transfer, so you have proof of every payment, and keep each payslip.

• If pay is late or lines are wrong, raise it with HR in writing and note the day the pay was due, since claims for unpaid wages expire one year after that day.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my professional category matter for my pay?

Your professional group or category sets your basic salary and supplements, because your collective agreement has a pay table for each group.

Can I claim a higher category if I do higher-level duties?

Yes, if you have done duties above your category for a prolonged period, you can claim reclassification and the pay difference. Ask your employer in writing first. If they refuse, the mediation steps for payslip errors apply.

Does my employer have to give me a payslip?

Yes, your employer must give you a payslip on the official model, and you sign it or receipt it as proof that you were paid. If you do not receive one, ask the employer or payroll office in writing.

What can I do if my employer is insolvent and owes me wages?

You can ask FOGASA, the state wage guarantee fund, to pay unpaid wages up to legal limits. Make your claim as soon as you know the employer cannot pay.