Salary Increase Letter Spain (Carta de Aumento de Salario)

A Salary Increase Letter Spain (Carta de Aumento de Salario) is a formal written document issued by an employer (empresario) to an employee (trabajador) communicating a voluntary upward revision of the employee's gross salary (salario bruto), constituting a modification to the employment contract (modificación del contrato de trabajo) under Article 26 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET, Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015, de 23 de octubre), and creating an enforceable record of the new remuneration that must be reflected in the employee's nómina (payslip), the employer's social security contributions to the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS), and the employer's IRPF withholding calculations submitted to the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) through Modelo 111 and the annual Modelo 190 declaration.

Article 26 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores defines the wage structure (estructura del salario) in Spain and governs the employer's salary obligations. Article 26.1 ET defines the salary (salario) as the total economic remuneration received by the worker for their professional services — including the salario base (base salary) and complementos salariales (salary supplements) such as seniority supplements (antigüedad), productivity bonuses (incentivos), attendance allowances (pluses de asistencia), and sectoral supplements established by the applicable convenio colectivo. Any voluntary salary increase agreed between employer and employee amends the remuneration clause of the employment contract — even if no formal written contract amendment (modificación del contrato) is executed, the salary increase letter serves as the documented record of the agreed change.

The minimum wage floor for all Spanish workers is the salario mínimo interprofesional (SMI), set annually by Royal Decree following tripartite consultation between the Government and the social partners — CCOO (Comisiones Obreras), UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores), CEOE (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales), and CEPYME (Confederación Española de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa). For 2024, the SMI is €1,134 per month for 14 payments per year (€15,876 per year gross). No salary — including revised salaries — may fall below the SMI under ET Article 27.1, and any salary agreed below the SMI is null and void by operation of law. Above the SMI, the applicable sector convenio colectivo establishes salary tables (tablas salariales) by professional group (grupo profesional) that set the minimum salary floor for each classification — any voluntary increase must equal or exceed these minima.

In Spain, salary increases may arise from several sources: voluntary employer initiative (the most common, documented through this Carta de Aumento de Salario); annual convenio colectivo revision agreed by social partners (automatic, requiring employer compliance regardless of individual agreement); individual performance reviews and merit pay systems (sistemas de evaluación del desempeño) agreed in the employment contract or company-level agreement; promotion to a higher professional group (grupo profesional) under ET Article 39; or reclassification following a job evaluation (valoración de puestos de trabajo). The Carta de Aumento de Salario is specifically designed for the voluntary employer initiative scenario.

The TGSS requires that any change in the employee's salary be reflected in the monthly social security contribution declaration (Relación Nominal de Trabajadores — RNT) submitted through the Sistema RED electronic system. The employer's contribution base (base de cotización) — the figure on which social security contributions are calculated — must be updated to reflect the new gross salary, subject to the minimum and maximum contribution bases (bases mínimas y máximas de cotización) set annually in the Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado. Similarly, the IRPF withholding rate applicable to the employee's salary must be recalculated following a salary increase, as the higher income may push the employee into a higher IRPF bracket — the recalculation is performed on Modelo 145 submitted by the employee to the employer, or on the employer's own calculation tools provided by the AEAT.

A Salary Increase Letter Spain is required whenever an employer voluntarily increases an employee's gross salary and needs to create a formal written record of the agreed new remuneration that will govern the employment relationship going forward.

The Carta de Aumento de Salario is needed following an annual performance review (evaluación del desempeño anual) where the employer decides to award a merit salary increase — the letter formally documents the increase, its effective date, and any conditions, replacing or supplementing informal oral communications.

The letter is required when promoting an employee to a higher professional group (grupo profesional) under ET Article 22 that carries a higher minimum salary under the applicable convenio colectivo — the salary increase letter documents both the promotion and the corresponding salary adjustment.

A salary increase letter is needed when the applicable sector convenio colectivo has been renegotiated and results in higher tablas salariales (salary tables) — while the convenio update is mandatory, many employers issue individual Cartas de Aumento to each affected employee confirming the new salary, creating a signed acknowledgement record.

The letter is required when an employer wishes to retain a key employee who has received a competing job offer — the retention salary increase should be documented in writing to avoid disputes about the agreed amount or effective date.

A Carta de Aumento de Salario is also needed to document salary adjustments for employees whose salaries have been below the newly-raised SMI (salario mínimo interprofesional) following an annual Royal Decree increase — the employer must bring all salaries up to the new SMI and the salary increase letter creates the required record of compliance.

The letter is required for HR documentation and TGSS compliance — the Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (ITSS) may request evidence of salary change communications when investigating wage claims or social security contribution discrepancies.

Parties in Spain should prepare a Salary Increase Letter Spain (Carta de Aumento de Salario) proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to arise. Courts interpret agreements based on the written terms rather than oral representations. Under the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET) RDL 2/2015, Spanish employment law governs contracts, dismissals, and working conditions. The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) administers social security contributions. The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) manages unemployment benefits. The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social enforces labour compliance. The Juzgados de lo Social hear employment disputes under the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011). Where the transaction involves regulated activities, prior approval from the relevant authority may be required before execution.

A legally effective Salary Increase Letter Spain under Estatuto de los Trabajadores Article 26 must contain the following elements to create an enforceable salary modification and support TGSS and AEAT compliance.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, NIF, and registered address of the employer (empresa), the name and position of the authorised signatory (gerente, director de recursos humanos, or apoderado), and the full name, DNI, professional category (categoría profesional or grupo profesional), and current workplace (centro de trabajo) of the employee receiving the salary increase.

Employment Contract Reference: Date and reference of the original employment contract (contrato de trabajo) being modified — confirming that the salary increase is a modification of an existing employment relationship rather than a new contract.

Current Salary: The employee's current gross annual salary (salario bruto anual actual) broken down into its components — salario base (base salary), complementos salariales (supplements), and any other agreed remuneration elements under the applicable convenio colectivo. The number of annual payments (pagas anuales) — typically 12 monthly payments plus 2 extraordinary payments (pagas extraordinarias) of June and December under ET Article 31, or 14 monthly payments where the extraordinarias are prorated — must be stated.

New Salary: The revised gross annual salary (nuevo salario bruto anual) and its component breakdown — salario base and any revised or new complementos. The absolute increase in euros per year (incremento absoluto) and the percentage increase (porcentaje de incremento) should both be stated for clarity.

Effective Date: The precise date from which the new salary takes effect (fecha de efectos del aumento salarial) — this determines from which nómina (payslip) the increase appears and from which month the updated TGSS contribution base applies. Where the effective date is mid-month, the prorated adjustment for that month should be calculated and stated.

IRPF Withholding: A note that the new salary will result in a recalculation of the IRPF withholding rate applicable to the employee's nómina, and that the employee may wish to submit an updated Modelo 145 (Comunicación de datos al pagador) to the employer to confirm the withholding accurately reflects their personal and family circumstances under Ley 35/2006 del IRPF.

SMI and Convenio Compliance: A statement confirming that the revised salary equals or exceeds the salario mínimo interprofesional (SMI) established by Royal Decree for the current year, and the minimum salary applicable to the employee's professional group under the applicable convenio colectivo.

Additional Benefits: Where the salary increase is accompanied by changes to non-salary benefits (retribución en especie) — company car, health insurance, meal vouchers (vales de comida), or flexible compensation plan (plan de retribución flexible) — these should be documented separately, noting their tax treatment under Ley 35/2006 del IRPF Article 42 and any applicable TGSS contribution implications.

Conditions and Duration: Where the salary increase is conditional — subject to performance targets, continued employment for a minimum period, or a specific project — the conditions must be clearly stated. Where the increase is permanent and unconditional, this should be expressly confirmed to avoid future ambiguity.

Employee Acknowledgement: A signature block for the employee to acknowledge receipt and acceptance of the revised salary terms — the employee's signed acceptance creates a binding bilateral modification of the employment contract enforceable by either party before the Juzgado de lo Social.

Forms-legal.com provides this Salary Increase Letter Spain template as a practical starting point. Employers implementing complex remuneration structures, variable pay schemes, or retribución flexible plans should consult a qualified abogado laboralista or asesor fiscal to confirm full compliance with the ET, convenio colectivo, TGSS, and IRPF obligations.

Under the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET) RDL 2/2015, Spanish employment law governs contracts, dismissals, and working conditions. The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) administers social security contributions. The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) manages unemployment benefits. The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social enforces labour compliance. The Juzgados de lo Social hear employment disputes under the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011).