Doing business with a Spain PEO & Employer of Record
Spain’s strong culture and worker protection laws are common reasons for seeking out a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). After the economic crisis of 2008, Spain has shown steady recovery and GDP growth. Currently, they’re ranked highly in infrastructure, continue to lead the EU in worldwide exports, and are a tempting proposition for businesses who are open to expansion in an appealing climate. If you’re considering the country for a test market, a PEO can be invaluable.
PEOs and Employer of Record (EOR) services allow overseas businesses to launch in Spain without setting up a legal entity or subsidiary. They’re experienced with the Spanish labor laws and the intricacies of collective bargaining agreements (“convenio colectivo”) and other regulations. They can recruit, interview, and hire employees for your company, handle onboarding in an expedited fashion, and then continue to serve as your Human Resources department after you’re up and running. Payroll, benefits, taxes, and more are handled through the PEO, while the employees are under your direction.
How can a PEO help you succeed in Spain?
Working with a Spain PEO/EOR has many advantages beyond increasing the speed at which your business can expand. Their ability to work with contracts, recruits, and new hires in the native language is invaluable – helping you avoid misunderstandings and poorly worded contracts. They’re familiar with the Spanish employment market, and some PEOs with more comprehensive services can assist with not only hiring but in securing local resources and facility sites. We’ll list the top 3 Spain PEO/EOR candidates below.
The 3 Best Spain PEOs/EORs
Horizons
Since 2017, European EOR leader Horizons continues to be at the forefront of the global employment industry with their ability to provide their brand of comprehensive support services. Businesses expanding into Spain for the first time can benefit from their tailored solutions and worldwide portfolio of industry connections. Their client base is diverse and includes Fortune 500 companies.
GlobalizationPedia identified some of Horizons’ key advantages compared to its competitors:
- A 100% Horizons-owned entity in Spain
- The German Chamber of Commerce‘s official EOR partner in Spain
- Local offices and a team of experts in Barcelona & Madrid
- Fair pricing ($499 employee per month) & flexible contract terms without long-term commitments
- An efficient platform with a dedicated support team onsite in Spain
Website: Horizons
Global PEO
Global PEO has had steady growth since its initial launch. They provide a variety of integral services for their diverse client portfolio, including strategic advisement and turnkey business openings.
Global advertises affordable options and company entities in your chosen country. This approach makes them a particularly sound choice for companies looking for a real partner in Spain. Global PEO’s Spanish PEO services can support recruitment, staffing, all HR functions, and much more, all handled by local staff with expertise in the area. Language barriers, cultural nuances, and even the best locations for your offices are all dealt with by their hand-picked staff.
Website: Globalpeo.com
Sky Executive
Skyexecutive uses a SaaS web service to help companies organize and monitor their leased employees. The company has been developing its services steadily, adding its proprietary platform to its offerings most recently. They provide local companies in each country they serve, backed up with centralized HR service offerings.
GPS utilizes staff experts to help business expansion kick-off rapidly and then transfers the bulk of the work online. It’s a solid solution for companies that are looking to deploy new branches in their chosen countries after they’ve already developed internal protocols and structures. They can use a simplified Human Resources solution to handle their Spanish workforce while focusing on their main business operations.
Website: Skyexecutive.global
Why are Deel, Remote, or other companies missing?
Deel, Remote, and other market-leading EORs are fine companies – but they may not be the best choice for hiring in Spain due to several factors:
- Such companies often prioritize hyper-growth, driven by investor demands for rapid expansion, over ensuring compliance with local regulations and protecting the interests of their customers. This can lead to potential legal and financial risks for companies utilizing their EOR services.
Example: A company focused on hyper-growth might encourage employers to hire de-facto employees as contractors, opening the client up to employee misclassification risk unnecessarily. - In the past, we’ve seen that such ‘young & tech-driven’ providers may not meet the necessary license requirements for providing EOR services in Spain – as may take years to apply for – further jeopardizing compliance.
Example: To best mitigate Spain PEO hiring risks, a client should not have an entity in Spain; additionally, employment agreements in Spain should not be backdated, or there is risk of audit and fines. Additional country-specific rules regarding Spain hiring practices mean that you should be working with consultative experts who have been dealing with Spain labor law for a significant amount of time. - Relying on a virtual-only support team can make it challenging to address any issues or concerns that may arise, potentially causing delays or disruptions in operations.
Example: If there are no local support staff in-country, your Spain employees may be left without answers to their important questions. If you go with a company that outsources their support staff to another time zone or to non-HR specialists, you risk losing candidates, or worse, employees.
As such, it is recommended to carefully evaluate EOR providers based on their track record of compliance, experience in Spain, and support capabilities, rather than solely on their growth and pricing potential.
Request a Proposal
If you are looking to expand your business operations into Spain, GlobalizationPedia can connect you with an Employer of Record (EOR) / PEO that best fits your needs at the most cost-effective price. Fill out the form below and we’ll leverage our extensive database of partnerships to provide you with a complete list of the best potential Spain PEO matches for your company.
