September brings two closings at once for any company on the Costa del Sol: the seasonal final settlement for whoever is leaving the team, and the signing of the deals negotiated over the summer. After months of intense work in Málaga, the last thing you feel like doing is going through contracts and land registry reports one by one. But that is exactly where — in the details nobody looks at — your company protects itself from the problem that turns up in October.
The seasonal final settlement is not a last-minute formality
The law asks you to arrive with the figures already worked out, not to improvise at the door. Article 49.2 of the consolidated text of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) obliges the company, when it notifies the termination of the contract or gives notice of its expiry, to attach «a proposed settlement document for the amounts owed». Translated: the seasonal final settlement is handed over with the notification, it is not negotiated afterwards.
That same paragraph gives the employee the right to ask for a legal workers’ representative to be present when signing the settlement receipt, and to have the document record whether or not that option was used. A seasonal final settlement signed in a hurry and without that formal detail is precisely the piece of paper that gets disputed later.
What goes into the seasonal final settlement of a summer contract
The seasonal final settlement is not one round figure, it is a sum of items that must each be explainable on their own:
- Wages already earned and still unpaid for the last period worked.
- The proportional share of any extra payments not spread across the year.
- Holidays accrued and not taken up to the termination date.
- Overtime, supplements or bonuses outstanding under the collective agreement.
- The end-of-contract compensation, where the type of contract generates it.
Every line of the seasonal final settlement must be traceable to the applicable collective agreement. An itemised seasonal final settlement defends itself; one with a single lump sum invites the question of where it came from.
The twelve days’ salary many companies overlook
Article 49.1.c) establishes that, when the agreed duration of a fixed-term contract expires, compensation of «twelve days’ salary for each year of service» is due, or whatever the specific applicable rules set out. It is not a voluntary bonus: it forms part of the seasonal final settlement, and its absence is one of the easiest grounds for a claim to prove before a court.
Holidays cannot be swapped for money while the contract is alive
Article 38.1 is categorical: the period of paid annual leave «may not be replaced by financial compensation» and can in no case be less than thirty calendar days. While the contract is in force, holidays are taken. Payment only appears once the contract ends and there is no longer any room to take them: at that point the days accrued and outstanding are settled within the seasonal final settlement.
The fifteen days’ notice and the tacit extension nobody wanted
If the fixed-term contract runs for more than a year, the party terminating it must give notice «at least fifteen days in advance». And there is a bigger risk hidden in the same article: once the maximum duration has expired, if no notice is given and the person keeps providing services, the contract «shall be deemed tacitly extended for an indefinite period, unless there is evidence to the contrary proving the temporary nature of the work». Checking those dates is part of the seasonal final settlement, not an optional preliminary step.
In other words, silence in September can turn a summer contract into a permanent one. No seasonal final settlement fixes that after the fact, because by the time it is signed the contract has already changed its nature.
Permanent seasonal or fixed-term: the classification decides how you close
Not all summer work fits into a fixed-term contract. Article 16.1 reserves the permanent seasonal contract (fijo-discontinuo) for «work of a seasonal nature or linked to seasonal productive activities», and Article 16.2 requires it to be formalised in writing, stating the length of the activity period, the working hours and how they are distributed. When the temporary nature rests on production circumstances, Article 15.2 limits the duration to six months, extendable to up to one year by sector collective agreement.
The difference is not academic. A permanent seasonal employee is not settled up when the season ends: they move into a period of inactivity and come back when called up. Confusing the two figures turns what looked like a seasonal final settlement into an unfair dismissal, with the compensation that comes with it.
September’s other closing: buying premises in the company’s name
The seasonal final settlement is not the only closing signed in September. It is also the classic month for putting into a deed whatever was negotiated over the summer, and buying premises or a property in the company’s name is one of the most common operations. Four fronts are worth checking before you get to the notary:
- Registry charges. Mortgages, seizures or easements that are not visible at first glance and that follow the property through to its new owner. The nota simple from the Land Registry is the first document you ask for, not the last.
- Activity licence. If the premises are going to be used for a specific purpose, you have to check that the existing licence allows it and what it would take to change it.
- VAT or transfer tax. The VAT Act (Ley del IVA) declares «second and subsequent transfers of buildings» exempt once their construction or refurbishment is complete, and that exemption can be waived when the buyer is a taxable person entitled to deduct the input tax. Depending on who is selling and whether there is a waiver, the operation is taxed under VAT or under transfer tax, and the real cost to the company changes.
- Community of owners debts. Article 9.1.e) of the Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal) leaves the buyer liable, with the property itself, for what previous owners owed, up to the limit of the amounts due for «the annual period in which the acquisition takes place and the three preceding calendar years».
These are checks you make before signing and that cannot be put right afterwards. The same logic as the seasonal final settlement, and the reason why «we already checked it with the accountant» is not always enough: some reviews only count if they are done on the deed and the collective agreement, not on the summary.
The minimum review before closing the season in Málaga
- Check that every termination has been reported to Social Security on time.
- Count the holiday days accrued and outstanding, person by person.
- Check whether the collective agreement has updated its salary tables this quarter.
- Confirm that the grounds for the temporary contract are stated in writing in each one.
- Issue the proposed settlement for the seasonal final settlement together with the notification.
- File the signed receipt with the wording about the legal representative.
- Ask the Land Registry for the nota simple before committing to buy a property.
- Require the seller to provide the certificate of debts with the community of owners.
Done this way, the seasonal final settlement stops being a latent risk and becomes what it should be: the orderly full stop to a season that went well. And the person leaving takes away a good memory of your company, which also counts for the next time you hire.
At Tecem Abogados we go through every file with that magnifying glass before anything gets signed. If you want us to look at this season’s closing with you, and at every seasonal final settlement before you sign it, we’re listening.
Frequently asked questions about the seasonal final settlement
How long do you have to claim outstanding amounts?
The window to claim an incomplete seasonal final settlement is not open-ended. Article 59.1 of the Workers’ Statute establishes that actions arising from the employment contract with no special time limit lapse one year after its termination. That year runs from the day the agreed duration expires or from the day continuous provision of services ends.
Does signing the receipt close the door to claiming?
Not automatically. The signature proves receipt of the document, but the courts look at the specific content of what was signed and at whether there was any error or lack of information at the time of signing. Adding «no conforme» (not in agreement) next to the signature is the usual way of putting disagreement on record.
Are the final settlement and the dismissal letter the same thing?
No. The letter communicates and gives the grounds for the decision to terminate the contract; the receipt settles what is owed. A fixed-term contract that reaches its end date does not need a dismissal letter, but it does need its seasonal final settlement.
What happens if the person refuses to sign?
Refusing to sign does not remove the obligation to pay. The company must pay the amounts due in any case, and it is advisable to keep documentary proof that the proposed settlement was handed over.
Can you require the seller to provide a certificate of community debts?
Yes, and it is not optional. Article 9.1.e) of the Horizontal Property Act obliges the transferor to declare in the deed that they are up to date with general expenses or to state what they owe, and to provide a certificate matching that declaration, without which the public document cannot be authorised unless the buyer expressly releases them from it. The certificate is issued within a maximum of seven calendar days from the request.