Employment Payment Claims: How to Claim Unpaid Wages in Spain : Lexiel

Employment Payment Claims: How to Claim Unpaid Wages in Spain

Employment payment claims (reclamación de cantidad laboral) are among the most common proceedings in Spanish labor courts. When an employer fails to pay agreed wages, workers have the right to pursue judicial recovery of owed amounts. This comprehensive guide walks through the procedure step by step, covering deadlines, legal requirements, and strategies to maximize success.

What Is an Employment Payment Claim

An employment payment claim is the judicial procedure through which a worker demands payment of economic amounts arising from the employment relationship. This procedure is primarily regulated by the Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction (LRJS), Law 36/2011, and the Workers' Statute (ET), Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015.

Article 24 of the LRJS establishes the procedural framework for these claims, which are processed through standard labor proceedings. Importantly, this procedure covers not only unpaid base salary but a wide range of compensation concepts.

What Can Be Claimed

Workers can claim any amount derived from the employment relationship that has not been correctly paid. The most common concepts include:

Base salary and salary supplements:

Monthly or hourly base salary
Seniority supplements
Position supplements (hazard pay, toxicity, night shift, rotating shift)
Personal supplements (degrees, languages, special knowledge)
Quality or quantity bonuses (incentives, commissions, productivity)

Overtime:

Unpaid overtime is one of the most frequent claims. Under Article 35 of the ET, overtime must be compensated through rest time within four months of being worked or paid economically. The overtime hourly rate can never be less than the regular hourly rate.

Extraordinary bonuses:

Article 31 of the ET establishes the right to two extraordinary bonuses per year, one at Christmas and another in the month fixed by collective agreement. Non-payment is common during periods of business crisis.

Unused vacation:

When the employment relationship ends without the worker having taken their vacation, they are entitled to proportional economic compensation under Article 38 of the ET.

End-of-contract severance:

This includes severance for temporary contract termination (12 days per year worked under Article 49.1.c of the ET) and any other contractually agreed severance.

Other concepts:

Unreimbursed per diem and travel expenses
Voluntary improvements to Social Security benefits
Agreed social benefits (health insurance, meal vouchers, etc.)
Salary differences due to incorrect professional classification

Deadline to Claim: One Year From Non-Payment

One of the most critical aspects is the statute of limitations. Article 59.1 of the Workers' Statute establishes a limitation period of one year from when the action could be exercised. This means the worker has one year from the date the salary should have been paid to file the claim.

Key considerations:

The period is calculated individually for each unpaid monthly payment.
Filing the conciliation request interrupts the limitation period under Article 65.1 of the LRJS.
The period may be suspended in certain circumstances, such as a declaration of state of alarm or force majeure situations.

Step 1: Gather Documentation

Before initiating any procedure, it is essential to collect all documentation proving the salary debt: payslips, employment contract, applicable collective agreement, working time records (mandatory since RD-Law 8/2019), communications with the company, bank transfers, and work history from Social Security.

Step 2: Mandatory Pre-Trial Conciliation (SMAC/CMAC)

Article 63 of the LRJS establishes as a mandatory prerequisite to the lawsuit the filing of a conciliation request before the Mediation, Arbitration and Conciliation Service (SMAC). The conciliation hearing must take place within 15 business days of filing. Possible outcomes include agreement (enforceable), no agreement (opening judicial path), or attempted without effect (employer fails to appear).

If conciliation fails, the worker must file the lawsuit within 20 business days. Under Article 80 of the LRJS, the complaint must contain facts, exact amounts broken down by concept, legal reasoning, and proof of prior conciliation.

Step 4: Trial and Judgment

Regarding actual payment of salary, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, who must prove payment was made (Supreme Court, January 19, 2015). The judgment is typically issued within 5 days of the hearing.

Late Payment Interest: 10% Under Article 29.3 ET

Article 29.3 of the Workers' Statute provides 10% annual interest on owed salary amounts, applied automatically from the date the salary should have been paid.

FOGASA: Guarantee Against Employer Insolvency

The Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA), under Article 33 of the ET, guarantees collection of wages (up to 120 days at triple minimum wage) and severance when the employer is insolvent.

How Lexiel Automates Employment Payment Claims

Lexiel incorporates a specific workflow: automatic amount calculation with Article 29.3 ET interest, SMAC/CMAC conciliation request generation, lawsuit drafting under Article 80 LRJS, deadline monitoring, and relevant CENDOJ case law search.

Conclusion

Employment payment claims are a fundamental worker right. With proper documentation, deadline compliance, and correct procedural strategy, the chances of success are very high, especially considering the reversal of the burden of proof regarding payment.

Need to claim unpaid wages? Lexiel helps you calculate amounts, generate the conciliation request, and prepare the lawsuit in minutes, with all legal citations verified against official sources.

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