Spain Minimum Wage 2026: The SMI Explained for Employers

For 2026 the SMI is set at 1,221 euros gross per month, based on the standard 14 payments a year. It was approved by Royal Decree 126/2026 and applied from 1 January 2026, an increase of around 3.1% on the 2025 figure. It is the legal minimum any full-time employee in Spain can be paid, before any higher minimum set by a collective agreement.

The SMI is reviewed each year by the government in consultation with unions and employers, so the figure moves annually. Because several of our other guides quote pay, we year-stamp the SMI wherever it appears and re-check it before publishing.

The way the SMI is expressed matters. Officially it is 1,221 euros a month across 14 payments, which is 17,094 euros gross a year. If a contract prorates pay into 12 payments instead of 14, the monthly figure rises to about 1,424.50 euros, but the annual total is unchanged. Always confirm whether a salary is quoted over 12 or 14 payments before comparing it to the SMI.

The government also publishes a daily rate, currently 40.70 euros, used for certain temporary work, and an hourly reference for domestic employees of around 9.55 euros. For most standard roles, though, the monthly and annual figures are the ones that matter.

This is the point that catches employers out. The SMI is the absolute legal minimum, but most sectors in Spain are covered by a collective agreement, a convenio colectivo, that sets its own minimum pay for each job category. Where a convenio applies, and it usually does, you must pay the higher of the convenio rate and the SMI.

So before you set a salary, you need to identify the convenio for the employee’s sector and region and check the minimum for their category. Paying the SMI when the convenio requires more is a common and avoidable mistake. Our guide to Spanish employment contracts explains how the convenio feeds into the contract itself.

The SMI applies to everyone regardless of age, which is different from countries that set lower youth rates. What does change it is the amount of work. For part-time employees, the SMI applies in proportion to the hours worked, so someone on half the standard hours is entitled to half the SMI, and the convenio rate is prorated the same way.

For temporary contracts of short duration, the daily SMI applies. The principle is consistent: the SMI is a rate for full-time work, scaled fairly to the hours actually worked.

A few mistakes come up again and again. Paying the SMI when a convenio requires more. Confusing the 12-payment and 14-payment figures. Forgetting that the SMI rises each year, so a compliant salary can quietly fall below the new floor in January. And treating the SMI as gross when budgeting, then being surprised by the employer social security on top.

None of these is hard to avoid, but each needs a deliberate check. If you would rather not track the SMI, the convenios, and the annual changes yourself, that monitoring is part of what an EOR service in Spain does, and the full cost picture is in our guide to what it costs to employ someone in Spain.