A significant change to Spanish employment law takes effect on 5 October 2026. Royal Decree 723/2026 of 9 September partially implements the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, and it expands the written information employers must provide to employees.
For most employers the headline point is narrow but consequential: a role description will no longer be enough on its own. Employment contracts and onboarding documentation will need to state the employee’s professional category or group explicitly, alongside a sufficiently precise description of the position.
If you employ people in Spain, whether directly or through a provider, the practical task between now and the deadline is a template review. This guide covers what changes, what it means for employees already in post, and what to check before 5 October. It is one of several fixed dates worth tracking in a busy year for international employment law.
Key takeaways
- Royal Decree 723/2026 of 9 September comes into force on 5 October 2026, partially implementing the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions.
- Written information must now include both the professional category or group and a sufficiently precise description of the position.
- A role description alone will no longer substitute for identifying the professional classification.
- Referring employees to the applicable collective bargaining agreement or to the legislation will not satisfy this particular requirement.
- There is no general obligation to reissue existing contracts, but employees already in post may request the newly required information, and employers then have 30 working days to supply it.
- For new hires, the required information generally has to be provided before employment commences.
What Royal Decree 723/2026 changes
The Royal Decree was published on 9 September 2026 and comes into force on 5 October 2026. It partially implements the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, which sets minimum standards across the EU for the information workers receive about their employment terms.
The change with the widest reach concerns professional classification. The Decree also expands, more generally, the range of information that must be provided to employees in writing, and for new hires that information will normally need to be in their hands before employment begins.
Professional classification must now be stated explicitly
Under the current framework, employers are required to assign employees to a professional group or category. For the purposes of meeting written information obligations, however, it has generally been sufficient either to:
- Identify the applicable professional category or professional group; or
- Provide a sufficiently detailed description of the employee’s role and responsibilities.
That information could also be provided in a separate written document rather than within the employment contract itself. As a result, the absence of an explicit reference to an employee’s professional group in the contract would not necessarily have constituted a compliance issue, provided the employee had been correctly classified and the role adequately described.
What applies from 5 October 2026
Once the new Royal Decree takes effect, employers will be required to provide written information that includes both:
- The applicable professional category or professional group; and
- A sufficiently precise description of the position.
Two consequences follow. A role description will no longer be an acceptable substitute for identifying the employee’s professional classification. And employers will not be able to satisfy this particular requirement by referring employees to the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or to the legislation.
What this means for contract templates and onboarding
Employers should review their employment contract templates and onboarding documentation to ensure they clearly identify the relevant professional group or category under the applicable collective bargaining agreement, alongside an appropriate description of the role.
The legislation continues to allow this information to be provided in a separate written document. Incorporating it directly into the employment contract is usually the clearer and more practical approach, and it removes the risk of a separate document being missed during onboarding.
For employers running Spanish payroll through a provider, it is worth confirming who owns the contract template in practice. Contract issuance and payroll are often handled by different parties, and the obligation sits with the employer either way. Our guide to global payroll compliance covers how those responsibilities usually divide.
Do existing employees need new contracts?
The legislation does not create a general obligation to reissue or amend existing employment contracts.
There is a qualification worth planning around. Employees whose employment is already in place when the new rules take effect may request any newly required information that has not previously been provided. Employers then have 30 working days to supply the requested information. Future changes to relevant employment terms will also be subject to the updated notification requirements.
In practice, an employer with a sizeable Spanish population could receive a cluster of these requests after 5 October. Assembling the classification data in advance turns each one into an administrative task rather than a deadline.
A wider review is worth doing
The new Royal Decree goes beyond professional classification requirements and significantly expands the information that must be provided to employees in writing. For new hires, this information will generally need to be provided before employment commences.
Given the broader scope of the changes, this is a reasonable moment to conduct a comprehensive review of employment contract templates and onboarding processes rather than patching the classification point alone. Employers who recently worked through the EU Pay Transparency Directive will find the exercise familiar, and the two sets of documentation overlap.
The pattern is a common one across Europe right now. Ireland’s 2026 HR and contractual requirements and the wider set of global compliance changes in 2026 put the same pressure on contract documentation, which is why a single template review usually pays for itself across several jurisdictions.
Checklist before 5 October 2026
- Identify every employee on a Spanish contract, and the collective bargaining agreement that applies to each.
- Confirm each employee is correctly assigned to a professional group or category under that CBA.
- Update the contract template so it states the classification alongside a precise role description.
- Review onboarding documentation so new hires receive the full written information before employment starts.
- Prepare a process for handling requests from existing employees inside the 30 working day window.
- Confirm who issues contracts in practice, in-house or through a provider, and brief them on the change.
How HSP Group can help
With the new requirements taking effect on 5 October 2026, employers with employees in Spain should begin reviewing their employment documentation now. Ensuring professional classifications are expressly identified, and confirming that onboarding processes meet the enhanced information obligations, will help minimize compliance risk and support a smoother transition to the new framework.
Our HR compliance team can review Spanish contract templates and onboarding documentation against the new requirements, identify where classifications are missing or imprecise, and draft updated wording. This sits within our wider HR administration and global HR compliance support for multinational employers.
Get in touch if you would like to schedule a call to discuss what the change means for your Spanish workforce.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Spanish Contract Changes
When do the new Spanish employment contract rules take effect?
Royal Decree 723/2026 of 9 September comes into force on 5 October 2026. From that date, written information provided to employees in Spain must include both the applicable professional category or group and a sufficiently precise description of the position.
What is Royal Decree 723/2026?
It is Spanish legislation published on 9 September 2026 that partially implements the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions. The Directive sets minimum standards across the EU for the information workers receive about their employment terms, and the Decree expands what Spanish employers must put in writing.
Does a detailed job description still satisfy the requirement?
No. From 5 October 2026, a role description will no longer be an acceptable substitute for identifying the employee’s professional classification. Both elements are required: the applicable professional category or group, and a sufficiently precise description of the position.
Do we need to reissue existing employment contracts in Spain?
Not as a general rule. The legislation does not create a general obligation to reissue or amend existing employment contracts. Employees already in post may, however, request any newly required information that has not previously been provided, and future changes to relevant employment terms will be subject to the updated notification requirements.
Can we refer employees to the collective bargaining agreement instead?
No. Employers will not be able to satisfy this particular requirement simply by referring employees to the applicable collective bargaining agreement or to the legislation. The classification has to be stated in the written information itself.
What happens if an existing employee requests the new information?
The employer has 30 working days to supply the requested information. Employers with a sizeable Spanish population may receive a cluster of these requests after 5 October, so assembling the classification data in advance turns each request into an administrative task rather than a deadline.
