Why do workers in Spain get 14 pay cheques a year and who is entitled?

Local Spain

31-01-2025

Millions of working Spaniards get an extra pay cheque (nómina in Spanish) in December and the summer every year.
Note that this doesn't mean they're getting any extra money, rather two extra pay cheques. In other words, the annual salary is divided by 14 rather than 12.
To some foreigners, this might seem odd. But where does this custom come from?
As with many things in Spain, this practice has its origins in the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
The 14-payment system first emerged in the mid-1940s in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. After the conflict, the Spanish economy was decimated and salaries plummeted, so in order to tackle the economic crisis, it was decided that for Christmas 1944 workers in unregulated industries would receive a bonus equivalent to one week's salary.
The following year, the measure was introduced on a general basis, resulting in an annual salary divided into 13 monthly payments. The Official State Gazette of 9 December 1945 includes an order from the Ministry of Labour establishing 'a bonus equivalent to one week's pay for the Christmas holidays.'
The extra summer payment arrived a few years later, in 1947, when the Franco regime added another payment to that which workers had been receiving at Christmas.
When Spain transitioned to democracy, the 'bonus' payments were enshrined in law.
Article 31 of the 1980 Workers' Statute states: 'The worker is entitled to two extra bonuses per year, one of them on the occasion of the Christmas holidays and the other in the month established by collective agreement or by agreement between the employer and the workers' legal representatives. The amount of these bonuses shall also be established by collective agreement. However, it may be agreed in a collective agreement that the extraordinary bonuses shall be prorated over the twelve monthly payments."
Who is entitled to the extra payment?
According to the USO union, 'The extra pay is an additional payment to the salary to which all employed workers are entitled.' So, this means that if you're employed in Spain by a Spanish company, you should be entitled to it. Be sure to check your employment contract or collective bargaining agreement.
Of course, you don't have to. Many Spaniards themselves prefer and opt for 12 payments.
How does it work?
Generally speaking, you can arrange your extra payments in one of two ways:
An accumulated bonus for the annual or six-month accrual period, spread over 14 payments. This is when each bonus is received in a single payment. That is, two single payments a year, in addition to the monthly salary and in an amount equivalent to the monthly salary. This is what is colloquially known as 'collecting the bonus' in Spain.
Prorated extra pay, spread over 12 payments. This is when the extra payments included in the monthly payslips are received, over the course of 12 months. That is to say, the amount of the 2 extra payments is divided by 12 months and added to the amount of the monthly salary. As a result, you don't get the two additional extra payments in summer and at Christmas, because these are absorbed by the monthly salary and they are paid out little by little each month.