Does Spain have hourly minimum wage rate?

I would like to know if Spain has a minimum hourly pay rate for employees?

I know that most countries in Europe have a minimum rate, regardless of what type of employment you're in.

And this rate usually means every worker - regardless of being a resident, from Europe, or outside Europe.

The reason that I ask is because in the townland of Gran Alacant (Santa Pola), I know of a few guys from India.

One of these guys works in a Pizza /Kebab take away restaurant. He works 9 hours a day, 7 days a week - from 3pm to midnight.

He has no free days, no holidays, no breaks in between work shift, and for all this he receives less than 2 euros an hour.

Is this normal for non-Europeans?

This Indian boy is just 22 years, and he works 250 hours a month, for a wage of 500 euros a month.

Then he has to pay for accommodation, light, water, electricity bills.

He receives cash in hand, with no pay advice, nor is there a written work contract. In other words, "black money".

Surely, in this day and age, this is SLAVERY !!!

In the same pizza /kebab restaurant, there are also some Spanish workers, who receivea much higher salary AND days off.

Can anyone help in this regard with information regarding exploitation of a young non-european worker?

Is there a website with this information?

Are non-Europeans not allowed the same pay-rate as European workers?

Is there a place to lodge a complaint on "Slave Labour"?

 Hi SpeedyMike

Found this doing a search on Google.es

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-spain-employment

Hope it helps somewhat in this problem.

Regards

"are non-Europeans not allowed the same pay-rate as European workers?

Is there a place to lodge a complaint on "Slave Labour"?"

Is this some kind of joke post? If he has no legal right to work in Spain which of course i do not know, then he shouldnt be working in the first place. The employer could be fined too. What, you want to lodge a complaint that illegal workers are getting paid too little!  If it were Australia and he were caught working illegally, he would be on the first flight out.

 and if he was in the UK they would fight his case, give him a house, pay him money and make sure he was OK health wise. Suckers that we are !!!!!!!

-Minimum wage, yes but not hourly, it's a different system to UK, based on sector and contract.  But if he does not have an employment contract or the relevent work permit it's going to impossible for him to get it, since the employer owuld be prosecuted for hiring illegal workers and he would just be deported. 

This sort of situation common for illegal work, regadless of nationality. I know of EU citizens who have worked illegally and wound up in similar situations working for €2 an hour. It's worst in Andalucia and the resort towns on the Med. coast, but it's everywhere to some degree or another.

Spain has a culture of "black" workers - one of the reasons why the economy is in the state it is.  Every worker, whether from the EU or non EU, should pay social security, but it would seem that this is not enforced.  The employers should also pay a contribution, but this is not enforced either.

 If that is the case literally Billions could be recouped by enforcing these rules.

Might be worth trying a hefty reward process to turn the perpetrators in. 

Actually, there are elements of Gerry's proposal that make sense. For one thing, if a company cannot actually make it's business plan work except by breaking the law, then it shouldn't be in business. For one thing, it is, by definition, illegal. Secondly, it is putting legitimate, tax-paying and SS paying operators that pay living wages to their workers out of business. Thirdly, they contribute to the culture of corruption by paying bribes to police and fuctionarios to look the other way.

Bringing these businesses to book has several advantages. Firstly, it forces them to play by the same rules as other companies or stop trading, which means legit companies can now compete on a fair playing field, meaning they are less likely to shed staff and might also take some on. Secondly, the illegal company goes straight, and also is required to hire legal staff and pay a fair wage, and start paying tax and SS contributions as well - or go bust, passing it's market share to the legit operators and new entrants. Thirdly, a major source of corruption is tackled, which sends a message to both public and private sectors that corruption is not going to be tolerated. Finally it trasnfers jobs from (primarily) migrants to (mostly) the settled population. Since most migrants don't claim the same welfare benefits as the settled populace when unemployed and don't pay taxes when they are employed, there is a strong financial benefit for the state in legalising those jobs and getting locals into them, even if it were fewer jobs than the migrants previously filled.

For it to happen though there does need to be an incentive. It has to be worth more to people to blow the whistle on illegal employers than to simply accept bribes to keep quiet. Furthermore, it might be worth offering an amnesty to illegal migrants who blow the whistle. It will make people more ready to speak up and get these enterprises either legalised an on a fair playing field or out of the picture, either way the legal businesses then have a fighting chance.

Tolerating it is only going to perpetuate a systemtic failure that will come back to haut us all later.

Extremely well put illleg....... etc.

And an amnesty further makes the proposal even more realistic. Draw a line under the previous misdemeanours (damn I think that's spelt wrong) & start from a given date. January 1st seems favourite which gives time for the offenders to put their house in order.

As for putting people out of business, work still has to be done, so don't agree with that John, sorry.

How many times have we seen, heard or know of people not paying monies due to the State when we ourselves conform the law of that land. It is  so very annoying & costs us Yes! you & me.

Just set up a National whistleblower hotline made very very public, on TV,Billboards etc. it'll frighten a lot to conform.cause a lot to pay any fines & reward the public spirited (maybe even the needy). Extra staff would need to need to be employed but offset by the Billions it would bring in.

It's far to easy to easy to say, "well we've always done it", action is needed to change it.

MICE OR MEN !!!!!!

Thanks John,

you just won me a tenner !!!!  I bet my mate you'd come back with an objection.

So ................... if we're thinking about it lets start with a minimum of employers to start paying.

It is not the little person this is aimed at but maybe from 5, 7 or 10 employers or more.

you just won me a tenner !!!!  I bet my mate you'd come back with an objection.

OK Gerry, if you did not want to debate the various other opinions in EOS, especially with those who have lived in Spain for  a reasonable period and thus might actually know something about the reality of the situation,  you should have said so.

PS hope you declare the tenner in your tax return !!!

As johnzx says, it's too expensive to employ people in Spain, hence the reason why people get paid cash in hand.  I was briefly working in Spain when I first arrived and if I remember correctly, my employer had to pay something like 20% on top of my salary as social security contributions.

It's common for people to get paid a certain amount through the books then the rest in cash.  This is the case for most people I know in Spain.  I know a lot of autonomos who just pay the 260 euros required and don't declare anything else.  Some have even given up paying autonomo altogether becasue 260 per month is a lot of money, and you get very little in return for it (no dole entitlement).

People have to understand that tax avoidance is socially acceptable here in Spain and everyone does it to a certain degree.  I think people rightly object to paying tax here because they see how their hard earned money is wasted on airports that have never seen a flight and funds a public sector work force that has a very easy life.

 That's another tenner, thanks John).

If you were to manage to look below that remark you would have seen I was answering your reply.

But I don't care where you live whether it be the UK, Spain ot Timbuktoo, Black economy ruins a countries finances even if it is considered acceptable & has been so for many many years.

It's like paying waitress's peanuts because they are given tips.

And for people who pay FULL TAXES etc as I do it really rankles.

I guess Spain's not for you then gerryuk...

 nope! you guessed wrong, but I'm not a law maker !!!!!!!

So it's when in Rome .................... & live with it !

 again I was generalising, although surely small change constitutes a tip??

Small change =  a few cents,

  With you winning all those teners,  I doubt you would try to suggest that amounts to a tip of any description especially in relation to your comment:-

It's like paying waitress's peanuts because they are given tips.