Why you have the right to find out the salary before a job interview in Spain
Trying to find out how much a potential job will pay can be frustrating, but the good news is that a recent EU law will force companies in Spain to become more transparent.
There’s nothing worse than spending hours applying for a job, getting through to the interview stage and spending time preparing and travelling, only to find out that the salary is way below the amount you expected.
While of course the salary is not the only thing you need to know when enquiring about a job, it is one of the most important. You need to be sure that the remuneration will be enough to maintain your standard of living, make your mortgage repayments or rent, and that you’re being compensated fairly for your skills and professional experience.
According to a survey by Spanish jobs portal Infojobs, 9 out of 10 people consider that salary information should be given during the selection process.
Many companies simply state “competitive salary” or even nothing at all and it’s not until the actual interview stage that you may get the chance to ask the question of how much the position pays.
READ ALSO: What is considered a decent salary in Spain?
The good news is that you do actually have the right to find out what the salary is before your interview.
In fact, in May 2023, the European Union has implemented Directive (EU) 2023/970, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on salary transparency, which forces governments to require companies to give salary information on all job ads.
Companies in Spain and across the EU will have a transition period that will end on June 7th, 2026, after which all companies will be required to provide salary information. Unfortunately, that means that Spanish companies with unethical practices may wait until then to start publishing positions' salaries.
The law states that salary information must be transparent and be available to:
- All workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship
- People applying for jobs
- Employees of the public and private sectors
The purpose of the new law is not only to help workers understand if a job is worth their while, but specifically to reinforce the principle of equal pay for men and women and help to close the gender pay gap.
In the EU, according to 2020 data, female workers earned 13 percent less than their male colleagues for performing the same tasks.
By forcing companies to be forthcoming about the salaries and publish them ahead of time, it means that both women and men will be seeing the same amounts and there will be less chance that a woman will be told one amount and a man another.
In practice, if you see a job post without the salary mentioned and you want to apply for it but are unsure if it’s worth your time, you have the right to contact the company to find out first. Or if you’ve been offered an interview and you want to know if attending it is worth it, companies must give you the salary information first.
While all companies may not be prepared to share the amount straight away, it’s important to call their attention to the new EU law as by mid-2026 all of them will have to comply and have a range published.
Fifty percent of respondents from the Infojobs survey consider that knowing the salary gives a perception of transparency and can be an important factor when deciding whether or not to apply for the job offered or not (49 percent).
By age, 91 percent of older workers, especially those between 55 and 65, agree that the salary should be published with the job offer, while only 71 percent of those between 16 and 24 years old think it should be necessary.
READ ALSO:
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There’s nothing worse than spending hours applying for a job, getting through to the interview stage and spending time preparing and travelling, only to find out that the salary is way below the amount you expected.
While of course the salary is not the only thing you need to know when enquiring about a job, it is one of the most important. You need to be sure that the remuneration will be enough to maintain your standard of living, make your mortgage repayments or rent, and that you’re being compensated fairly for your skills and professional experience.
According to a survey by Spanish jobs portal Infojobs, 9 out of 10 people consider that salary information should be given during the selection process.
Many companies simply state “competitive salary” or even nothing at all and it’s not until the actual interview stage that you may get the chance to ask the question of how much the position pays.
READ ALSO: What is considered a decent salary in Spain?
The good news is that you do actually have the right to find out what the salary is before your interview.
In fact, in May 2023, the European Union has implemented Directive (EU) 2023/970, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on salary transparency, which forces governments to require companies to give salary information on all job ads.
Companies in Spain and across the EU will have a transition period that will end on June 7th, 2026, after which all companies will be required to provide salary information. Unfortunately, that means that Spanish companies with unethical practices may wait until then to start publishing positions' salaries.
The law states that salary information must be transparent and be available to:
- All workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship
- People applying for jobs
- Employees of the public and private sectors
The purpose of the new law is not only to help workers understand if a job is worth their while, but specifically to reinforce the principle of equal pay for men and women and help to close the gender pay gap.
In the EU, according to 2020 data, female workers earned 13 percent less than their male colleagues for performing the same tasks.
By forcing companies to be forthcoming about the salaries and publish them ahead of time, it means that both women and men will be seeing the same amounts and there will be less chance that a woman will be told one amount and a man another.
In practice, if you see a job post without the salary mentioned and you want to apply for it but are unsure if it’s worth your time, you have the right to contact the company to find out first. Or if you’ve been offered an interview and you want to know if attending it is worth it, companies must give you the salary information first.
While all companies may not be prepared to share the amount straight away, it’s important to call their attention to the new EU law as by mid-2026 all of them will have to comply and have a range published.
Fifty percent of respondents from the Infojobs survey consider that knowing the salary gives a perception of transparency and can be an important factor when deciding whether or not to apply for the job offered or not (49 percent).
By age, 91 percent of older workers, especially those between 55 and 65, agree that the salary should be published with the job offer, while only 71 percent of those between 16 and 24 years old think it should be necessary.
READ ALSO:
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