Email, WhatsApp, phone and Teams: which channel for what

Key rules

• Email: Use email for formal matters and to confirm anything agreed by call or WhatsApp.
• WhatsApp: It suits quick, informal coordination, not sensitive data or formal instructions.
• Disconnection: Employees have a legal right to ignore work messages outside working hours, except in urgent or on-call roles agreed in their contract.
• Freelancers: Self-employed workers are not covered by the disconnection right in the same way.

The short answer

Use email for anything formal or that needs a record. Use a call or a chat for quick, delicate or urgent things. Then confirm important points by email. WhatsApp, voice notes and calls are common alongside email and Teams, and what you see depends on the company.

Which channel for what

• Email: official matters, external contacts, attachments, decisions, anything you may need to prove later.
• Phone call: urgent, complex or delicate issues. Many Spaniards prefer a call, or a talk in person, to a long written exchange. A call or a coffee also builds the relationship faster than a stack of emails.
• WhatsApp: quick coordination, short questions, schedules, photos and urgent logistics. It is most common in small and medium companies, field teams, and with freelancers and clients. The tone is informal, often with emojis.
• Teams, Slack or similar: day-to-day internal messages, video calls and file sharing, mostly in larger companies and multinationals. These companies often use it with email and discourage WhatsApp for sensitive data.

Not sure which to use? Watch what your colleagues do in your first weeks, or ask your manager which channel the team expects.

Voice notes

Voice notes (notas de voz, or "audios") are very common among colleagues in informal chats. They are less common with senior people, clients or formal matters.

• Keep them short. Long audios annoy people.
• You can reply with a voice note or a short text, whichever suits you.
• If you cannot listen now, send a quick text such as "Lo escucho luego y te digo".
• Use the playback speed option if you get long ones.
• Put anything important in writing.

Confirm in writing

Formal decisions, contracts and instructions are usually confirmed by email, even if they were agreed on a call or in WhatsApp. After a call, send two lines: what was agreed, who does what, and by when. The email template below gives you Spanish openings and closings.

The right to disconnect

You have a legal right to digital disconnection. Employees, including public employees, can ignore work messages and calls outside working hours. The aim is to protect rest time, leave, holidays and your personal and family privacy. Companies must have an internal policy on how it works, drawn up after consulting workers' representatives. The policy pays particular attention to remote work. Collective agreements can add detail.

If you ignore after-hours messages, you are legally protected from sanction for it. The Labour Inspectorate can act on complaints. Exceptions are urgent or on-call roles, when your contract or agreement says so.

Self-employed people are not covered in the same way, so agree availability with your clients.

What happens in practice

Practice varies. Many large companies and sectors with collective agreements have clear policies, such as no emails or calls out of hours, delayed-send tools or limits on meetings. Small firms are weaker, and many people still answer after hours, especially on WhatsApp. Company policies are often generic, and manager expectations matter a lot.

Work WhatsApp groups use personal phone numbers, which can raise privacy and disconnection concerns. Some people mute groups or leave them out of hours. Read your company's policy and your collective agreement to see what applies to you.

The warnings and FAQ below cover common traps and questions.

What to watch out for

• Long voice notes to people you barely know: Voice notes are common in Spain, but long audios annoy people, especially senior colleagues, clients or people you do not know well. Keep audios short, or send a text.

• Important points left only in WhatsApp or a call: Formal decisions, contracts and instructions are usually confirmed by email. If you only agree something in a chat or call, you may have no record of it. After a call or chat, send a short email summarising what was agreed.

• Sensitive data in WhatsApp: Larger companies and multinationals often discourage WhatsApp for sensitive data because of data-protection rules, and may use it against you if you break policy. Use email or the company's internal tool for personal or confidential data, and ask your manager what is allowed.

• Answering after hours becomes the expectation: Many people reply to messages out of hours, and manager expectations can build from that. Employees are legally protected when they exercise the right to disconnect. Mute notifications outside work hours and, if pressured, ask for the company's disconnection policy.

Email openings and closings in Spanish for work

Formal (a manager you don't know, a client, an official body, a first message)

Openings:

• Estimado Sr. García: / Estimada Sra. López:
• Estimados señores: (a company or team, names unknown)
• Buenos días, Sr. García:
• Me dirijo a usted para consultar…
• Le escribo en relación con…

Closings:

• Atentamente,
• Un cordial saludo,
• Quedo a su disposición para cualquier consulta.
• Agradezco de antemano su atención.

Neutral (a colleague you have met, a normal work thread)

Openings:

• Hola, Marta:
• Buenos días, Marta:
• Buenas tardes a todos:
• Gracias por tu respuesta.

Closings:

• Un saludo,
• Saludos,
• Quedo atento a tus comentarios. (use "atenta" if you are a woman)
• Gracias de antemano.

Informal (close teammates, chat apps)

Openings:

• ¡Hola, Marta!
• ¡Hola a todos!
• Hola, ¿qué tal?
• Te escribo para…

Closings:

• ¡Un abrazo!
• ¡Hasta luego!
• ¡Gracias y hablamos!
• ¡Nos vemos mañana!

Quick tips

• Start with the formal version. Spanish colleagues will often tell you to switch to "tú", and then you can relax the wording.
• Use "usted" with the formal openings and "tú" with the neutral and informal ones. Keep the same one all the way through the message.
• After the greeting, use a colon or a comma. Start the next line with a capital letter after a colon, and a lowercase one only if you used a comma and the sentence continues.
• Use "Buenos días" until about lunchtime and "Buenas tardes" after that. Spanish lunch is often around 14:00, so "buenos días" can run later than you expect.

Ready-to-use example

Asunto: Consulta sobre mi contrato

Estimada Sra. López:

Le escribo en relación con mi contrato de trabajo. ¿Podría indicarme cuándo recibiré la versión firmada?

Agradezco de antemano su atención.

Un cordial saludo, [Your name]

Frequently asked questions

Can I ignore work messages sent after hours?

Yes, as an employee in Spain you have a legal right to digital disconnection, so you can ignore after-hours messages without being sanctioned. Exceptions are urgent or on-call roles when your contract or collective agreement says so. If someone pushes back, you can complain to the Labour Inspectorate.

Does the right to disconnect cover freelancers?

No, the right to digital disconnection is not covered in the same way for self-employed workers. It protects employees, including public employees. If you freelance, agree contact hours with each client at the start.

Will my company actually follow a disconnection policy?

It depends on the company size: large firms and sectors with collective agreements often have real rules, such as no emails outside hours or delayed-send tools. Small firms are weaker, and many people still answer WhatsApp after hours. Ask HR or your manager for the written policy, since employers must have one.

Should I leave a work WhatsApp group out of hours?

Yes, you can mute or leave a work WhatsApp group out of hours, and some Spanish colleagues do. Muting is the gentler option. If you give your personal number for work, you can also ask to move formal matters to email.