Holidays and leave: check your circumstances
Distinguish calendar days, working days and leave for specific reasons.
6 min read · Sources checked on
What to keep in mind
- 30 calendar days do not always equal 22 working days.
- Match each leave entitlement to its reason and requirements.
- Request and retain a written reply.
General guidance for employees in Spain. The collective agreement, employment relationship and circumstances can change the answer. Seek employment advice for a specific dispute or deadline.
Holiday, leave or contract suspension
Identify the reason before requesting days off. Holidays are annual rest; leave responds to a specific event; suspension, such as birth and childcare leave, follows different rules. Agreements may improve rights, but days are not always counted in the same way.
Marriage or registered partnership
General rule: 15 calendar days. Check the qualifying event, start date and improvements in the agreement.
Hospitalisation and care
Five days in the cases under article 37.3.b. Severity, surgery, home rest and the family or household care relationship matter.
Bereavement or moving home
Death of a person covered by the rule: two days, extended by two when travel is needed. Moving habitual residence: one day.
Family emergency
For urgent family force majeure involving illness or accident requiring immediate presence: paid hours equivalent to four days a year under article 37.9.
Annual holiday
The statute’s general minimum is 30 calendar days per full year, with the applicable proportion for shorter service. There is no universal equivalence between 30 calendar and 22 working days: check your agreement’s counting method. Dates are agreed under the applicable planning rules and must be known at least two months beforehand.
Paid leave
Article 37 covers different grounds. These include 15 calendar days for marriage or registered partnership; five days in specified cases of serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or surgery requiring home recovery for people covered by the rule; and separate rules for bereavement, moving home and other reasons. Care needs and family relationships do not all qualify in the same way.
Questions or disagreement
Leave, holiday, schedule adjustment, reduced hours and birth or care suspension have different conditions and effects. Discuss your specific case with staff representatives or an employment adviser, particularly after refusal.
Explore a worked example
Someone works Monday to Friday and sees “30 calendar days” in the agreement.
How to interpret it
Calendar days include weekends within the period. Working days use another method. Do not automatically convert one figure into the other.
A useful next step
Check the unit, calendar and approved dates; if sickness absence overlaps, consult article 38 before assuming days are lost.
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