“Holidays are in August and that is that.” It is a phrase you hear in many companies, and sometimes it is right and sometimes it is not. What the law says is that holiday dates are not decided by the company alone, but they are not decided by you alone either. There is a calendar, a collective agreement and a notice period. This page is about where the company’s room to manoeuvre ends. How many days you are entitled to is in statutory holiday days in Spain.
Dates are set by agreement
Article 38.2 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers Statute) says the period or periods of holiday are set by agreement between employer and worker, in line with what collective agreements say about annual holiday planning.
It does not say the company can impose them. But it does not say you can pick any week either. In practice, the agreement operates within a calendar and the rules of the convenio colectivo (collective agreement).
The company calendar must be set with two months notice
Article 38.3 provides that the holiday calendar is set in each company and that the worker must know their dates at least two months before the holiday starts.
Example: if your holiday starts on 3 August, the company must have told you those dates by 3 June at the latest. Notice the week before does not meet the deadline, and it is the typical case where you should leave a written record.
A collective closure can take up part of your holiday
The law does not expressly mention company holiday closures. But if your agreement or the company calendar sets a closure period, those days can count as holiday, provided they respect the minimum of 30 calendar days of leave and you have been told two months ahead.
| Situation | Count |
|---|---|
| Statutory minimum holiday | 30 calendar days |
| Company closure in August | 1 to 21 August: 21 calendar days |
| Days left to agree | 30 − 21 = 9 days |
In that example, the company sets 21 days and the remaining 9 are agreed with you. If the closure is longer than the holiday days you have earned, the position depends on the agreement and your contract; before accepting a deduction or unpaid leave, ask for the calculation in writing and check it.
If you started mid-year, your earned days are fewer than 30; the numbers for that case are in statutory holiday days in Spain.
Once agreed, changing them also needs agreement
Article 38 talks about setting the dates by agreement and about you knowing them two months ahead. A practical point follows: if the company wants to move holidays already announced, the reasonable course is to talk to you and agree. If they tell you overnight, or with less than two months notice for the new date, you have grounds to ask for the earlier dates to be respected.
The Statute does not expressly regulate this change scenario, so what happens will depend on your agreement and how the calendar is recorded. That is why you should keep the original calendar and any message that confirmed your dates.
Holidays cannot be swapped for money
Article 38.1 says paid annual holidays are not replaceable by financial compensation and that their length can never be less than thirty calendar days. It is a protection and also a limit: you cannot sell your holidays, nor the company buy them, while you work. What is paid is untaken holiday when the contract ends: unused holiday pay in your finiquito.
If there is no agreement, the court decides
When you cannot agree, article 38.2 sends the matter to the social jurisdiction, which sets the date through a summary and priority procedure. Its decision cannot be appealed. The legal text does not set a deadline for going to court here; a union or an employment lawyer can tell you which applies to your case.
Before getting there, simple steps work better:
- Ask in writing for the dates you want.
- Ask in writing for the company’s reply and the reason if it refuses.
- Keep the original calendar and the messages.
- Ask for the sector collective agreement calendar if there is one.
That timeline puts the dispute in order and often is enough to reach agreement without a lawsuit.
Sick leave changes the count
If the holidays fixed in the calendar coincide with sick leave from pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding, or with suspension of the contract for birth, you can take them on another date once that situation ends, even if the calendar year has finished. If they coincide with other temporary incapacity that stops you enjoying them, you can take them when you recover, as long as no more than 18 months have passed from the end of the year in which they arose (article 38.3).
In other words, the company cannot say “the holidays were these dates, and you have lost them” if you were on sick leave. What you are paid on sick leave is in sick pay in Spain.
Why your case may be different
- Your collective agreement may be more specific. It can regulate holiday rotas or priority criteria. The Statute refers to the agreement for annual planning.
- Short contracts have a different logic. If your contract ends before you can take them, they are paid in the finiquito.
- Your sector may have its own rules. If the agreement concentrates or limits holidays in certain months, that rule counts. Ask for it in writing and check it.
- Not every change of dates is an order. You can accept a change by agreement. What is not valid is having it imposed with no agreement and no notice.
What to do if holidays are imposed on you
- Ask for the holiday calendar and the article of the agreement that governs it.
- Check whether you were told at least two months ahead.
- Reply in writing: accept or propose an alternative, and say you do not accept the notice if it is short.
- If there is no agreement, go to a union or an employment lawyer; the court can set the date.
- If a salary or days deduction does not add up, ask for the calculation.
This page is general information. If deadlines or money are at stake, speak to an employment lawyer (abogado laboralista) or a union.