Spain’s minimum wage 2026: €1,221 in 14 payments and how it affects payroll, absorbable supplements and part-time contracts
Spain’s minimum wage for 2026 (SMI) is €1,221 a month in 14 payments, €17,094 a year, set by Royal Decree 126/2026 of 18 February, published in the BOE on 19 February 2026 and effective from 1 January. It is a 3.1 % rise on 2025. For an SME the figure is only the beginning: you need to know which salaries it affects, how it is prorated when the company pays in twelve monthly instalments, which supplements may absorb the increase and which may not, how it is calculated in part-time contracts and what happens with January and February, already paid before publication. This guide goes through it point by point.
The 2026 minimum wage amounts
| Concept | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Daily minimum wage | €40.70 |
| Monthly minimum wage (14 payments) | €1,221 |
| Annual minimum wage | €17,094 |
| Monthly equivalent if the company prorates the extra payments over 12 months | €1,424.50 |
The amounts refer to full legal working time and are cash pay, which pay in kind may not reduce. Only cash pay counts towards the minimum wage, and the supplements the rule itself excludes are left out. The royal decree entered into force on 20 February 2026 with retroactive effect from 1 January, which requires regularising the January and February payslips of anyone paid below it.
Who it affects
It affects those on the minimum, but also quite a few more:
- Workers with a base salary equal to or below the minimum wage, in any sector and any type of contract, including casual, seasonal and domestic workers, for whom the royal decree sets hourly amounts.
- Collective agreements with tables below the new minimum: the agreement’s table cannot remain below; until it is revised, the minimum wage applies.
- Supplements and concepts calculated on or referenced to the minimum wage: some compensation, the minimum contribution base of certain regimes, salary attachment limits, certain grants and thresholds.
- Part-time contracts, whose minimum is calculated in proportion to working time.
Compensation and absorption: which supplements may absorb the rise
Article 27.1 of the Workers’ Statute allows the minimum wage revision not to affect the structure or amount of salaries that, taken as a whole and on an annual basis, were higher than the new minimum. That is the compensation and absorption rule: if a worker earns more than €17,094 a year in total, the minimum wage rise may be absorbed by what they already receive above it.
But the royal decree itself and case law limit what is compared with what:
- The annual minimum wage is compared with the annual salary as a whole, including base salary and salary supplements.
- Payments the royal decree excludes do not count for that comparison, among them non-wage payments (subsistence, transport allowance, mileage, compensation) and pay in kind.
- Supreme Court case law has limited the absorption of certain supplements linked to the job or the person when the agreement configures them as non-absorbable, and many agreements expressly declare supplements such as seniority or night work non-absorbable. Read the agreement before absorbing.
Practical rule for the SME: if the agreement’s base salary is below €1,221 in 14 payments, the company must raise it to the minimum wage unless the set of absorbable salary concepts, on an annual basis, already exceeds €17,094. Absorbing a supplement the agreement declares non-absorbable is a guaranteed claim.
Part time: proportional to working hours
In part-time contracts the minimum wage applies in proportion to hours worked relative to comparable full-time working hours. On 50 % working time, the monthly minimum in 14 payments is €610.50; on 75 %, €915.75. Two common mistakes: calculating the proportion on the legal 40 hours when the agreement sets shorter full-time hours, which unduly lowers the minimum, and forgetting that complementary hours are paid at least at the value of the ordinary hour resulting from the new minimum wage.
What to review in payroll now
- Base salary against the agreement’s table and the minimum wage: nobody on full time below €1,221 in 14 payments or €17,094 a year.
- Regularisation of January and February 2026 for anyone paid below before publication: back pay in the next payslip, with contributions.
- Prorating of extra payments: if the company pays in twelve months, the monthly minimum is €1,424.50.
- Absorbable and non-absorbable supplements according to the agreement, before deciding whether the rise is absorbed.
- Part time: proportion on the agreement’s full-time hours, and the value of the complementary hour.
- Contribution bases: minimum bases are updated with the minimum wage; check that the accountant or the program has picked them up.
- Concepts referenced to the minimum wage in contracts, agreements or company deals.
- Training and internship contracts: pay under their own rule, which takes the minimum wage as a proportional reference.
What LapsoWork does and does not do
LapsoWork does not calculate payroll: the calculation with the new minimum wage is done by your accountant or your payroll program, as we explain in outsourcing payroll or in-house software. What it does do is keep each employee’s record with their hours, category and contract so the variables arrive clean, distribute the payslips already calculated so each person receives and signs them from their phone, and archive them for the legal period with the signature as proof of delivery. To compare what the software costs against what it saves, see how to calculate the ROI of HR software.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Spain’s minimum wage in 2026?
€1,221 a month in 14 payments, €17,094 a year and €40.70 a day, under Royal Decree 126/2026 of 18 February, published in the BOE on 19 February 2026 and effective from 1 January 2026. It is a 3.1 % rise on 2025.
How much is the 2026 minimum wage in 12 payments?
If the company prorates the two extra payments over twelve months, the equivalent monthly minimum is €1,424.50, corresponding to the same €17,094 a year.
Can the company absorb the minimum wage rise with supplements?
Only if the annual salary as a whole, with absorbable salary concepts, already exceeds €17,094. Non-wage payments and pay in kind do not count, and many agreements declare supplements such as seniority or night work non-absorbable. Check the agreement before absorbing.
How is the minimum wage calculated in a part-time contract?
In proportion to hours worked relative to the comparable full-time hours set by the agreement: on 50 % working time, €610.50 a month in 14 payments; on 75 %, €915.75. Complementary hours are paid at least at the value of the resulting ordinary hour.
Do back payments for January and February 2026 have to be made?
Yes, to anyone paid below the new minimum before publication: the royal decree takes effect from 1 January 2026, so the January and February difference is paid as back pay with its contributions.
Conclusion
The 2026 minimum wage is €1,221 in 14 payments and €17,094 a year from 1 January, and requires reviewing base salaries, back pay for the first two months, absorption of supplements under the agreement, part time and contribution bases. The calculation belongs to the accountant or the payroll program; having the workforce organised and payslips archived and signed is what keeps the review from becoming an afternoon in Excel. To see it with your workforce, try LapsoWork free for 30 days.