Employment lawyer in Alicante: what to do if you are dismissed or not paid

01What an employment lawyer in Alicante does and when you need one

An employment lawyer (abogada laboralista) defends the worker against the employer when the working relationship breaks down. I am Esther Sánchez Hellín, member number 5795 of the Alicante Bar Association (ICALI), and I have practised since 2002 from my office at Calle Isabel La Católica 9, in the centre of Alicante. Family law is my main specialism, but employment law is one of the areas I work in every week.

Many of my clients are foreign residents working in hospitality, real estate, construction, care work or remote jobs for Spanish companies on the Costa Blanca. The problems are the same as for Spanish workers, but the rules are unfamiliar:

• Dismissals (despido): disciplinary, objective (redundancy-type), the end of a "temporary" contract that was really permanent, failed probation and verbal dismissals.
• Final settlements and unpaid wages (finiquito, salarios impagados): late pay, unpaid overtime, holidays not taken, pay below the collective agreement (convenio colectivo).
• Harassment and discrimination: mobbing, retaliation for complaining, discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, sex, age or nationality.
• Substantial changes to working conditions: hours, shifts, salary, duties or workplace changed unilaterally by the employer.
• Sick leave and permanent disability: disputed medical discharges and disability pensions refused by the INSS (the social security institute).
• Accidents at work and compensation when safety measures were missing.

One honest note: consultations are held in Spanish. If you need an interpreter, just say so when you write to me on WhatsApp and we will arrange it. What matters most is that the first message arrives in time.

02Dismissal in Alicante: the 20 working days that change everything

The first thing I tell anyone who writes to me about a dismissal is to look at the calendar. Article 59.3 of the Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, the main Spanish employment law) gives you 20 working days to challenge a dismissal, counted from the day after it takes effect. This is a strict limitation period: once it expires, the dismissal stands even if it was plainly unlawful. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count, but August does.

The deadline is paused when you file a conciliation request (papeleta de conciliación) with the SMAC, and runs again from the day after the hearing if there is no agreement. File early, not on day 19.

What to check in the first few days

• The dismissal letter (carta de despido): effective date, the reason given and who signed it.
• Whether the company has paid or offered severance (in an objective dismissal it must come with the letter) and the final settlement (finiquito).
• If the dismissal was verbal, or you simply found out that you had been removed from social security: that is still a dismissal and the clock is running.
• If you are on sick leave, pregnant, on reduced hours for childcare or have recently complained: these are indicators of a void dismissal.

When someone comes to my office with a dismissal, we work out the deadline and the severance due in each scenario the same day. There is more detail in my article on unfair dismissal in Alicante (in Spanish).

03Unfair, void or objective dismissal: what each one means and what you receive

When a dismissal is challenged, the labour court (juzgado de lo Social) classifies it in one of three ways. The financial difference between them is huge.

Objective dismissal

An objective dismissal (art. 53 ET) is based on economic, technical, organisational or production grounds, or on the worker's inability to do the job. It requires a written letter, 15 days' notice and severance of 20 days' salary per year of service, capped at 12 months' pay, handed over with the letter. If any requirement is missing or the reason is not proven, the dismissal is unfair and severance rises to 33 days.

How severance is calculated

You take the gross daily salary (including the pro rata of the two extra payments and fixed allowances) and multiply it by the days per year and by your length of service, pro rata by month. For contracts that started before 12 February 2012 there is an older tranche at 45 days per year. In practice employers tend to offer a lower figure: checking it before you sign makes the difference.

04Final settlement, unpaid wages and overtime: claiming what you are owed

Not every employment problem is a dismissal. Many people come to me because they have been paid late or not at all for months, because the finiquito leaves out untaken holidays, or because years of overtime never appeared on a payslip. All of this is recovered through a claim for amounts owed (reclamación de cantidad).

What can be claimed

• Salary arrears, the extra payments (pagas extra) and pro rata amounts.
• Holidays accrued but not taken by the end of the contract.
• Overtime and additional hours never paid.
• The difference between your pay and what the collective agreement sets for your category and seniority.
• Late payment interest of 10 % on salary amounts.

The limitation period is one year from the date each amount fell due (art. 59.1 ET). Every month you wait, one month of salary becomes unrecoverable, so waiting for the company to catch up is expensive.

The finiquito: signing is not always waiving

The finiquito is the statement of what the company owes you when the contract ends. Signing it with the words "no conforme" lets you claim the difference later. If you sign without reservation, the employer will argue that you waived your rights, although the courts look closely at such waivers.

If the company is insolvent or has disappeared, the FOGASA (wage guarantee fund) covers part of the wages and severance, subject to legal caps. If the debt is not strictly employment-related, the route is different: see my guide to a civil lawyer in Alicante.

05Harassment and changes to your conditions: when the problem is not a dismissal

Sometimes the employer does not dismiss you but makes life impossible: shifts change without explanation, your salary is cut or you are moved elsewhere. The Workers' Statute gives you tools for each situation.

Substantial modification of working conditions

Article 41 ET allows an employer to change working hours, schedule, salary, duties or work system for economic, technical, organisational or production reasons, but only with written notice, 15 days' notice and a genuine reason. As the worker you can:

• Challenge the change before the labour court within 20 working days.
• Terminate the contract with severance of 20 days per year (capped at 9 months' pay) if the change harms you.
• Accept it and keep working while reserving your right to claim.

Workplace harassment (mobbing)

Workplace harassment is repeated conduct that attacks the worker's dignity. It is hard to prove, so the first thing I do is help you document it: emails, messages, witnesses, medical reports and, where appropriate, a complaint to the Labour Inspectorate. The legal routes are a claim for protection of fundamental rights, termination of the contract at the worker's request with unfair dismissal severance (art. 50 ET) and, in serious cases, criminal proceedings. If the harassment is sexual or gender-based, there may also be consequences in the criminal courts.

The most important advice: do not resign without legal advice. A voluntary resignation (baja voluntaria) means no severance and no unemployment benefit. Plan the exit first, especially if your residence status is linked to your job.

06Sick leave and permanent disability: claiming against the INSS

Incapacity is the other major branch of employment law, and I handle it both for employees and for self-employed workers (autónomos). It is governed by the General Social Security Act (Ley General de la Seguridad Social).

Temporary incapacity (sick leave, la baja)

While you are signed off sick you receive a benefit from the INSS or the employer's insurance mutual (mutua). The most common disputes are a wrongful medical discharge, disagreement over whether the leave is due to common illness or an accident at work (the amount differs a lot) and dismissal during sick leave, which may be void or unfair.

Permanent disability

When an injury or illness leaves permanent after-effects, you can apply for permanent disability (incapacidad permanente), which has four degrees: partial, total for your usual occupation, absolute and severe disability (gran invalidez), each with a different pension. If the INSS refuses it or grants a lower degree, you must file a prior administrative claim (reclamación previa) within 30 days and, if rejected, a claim before the labour court. Medical evidence is decisive. Contributions made in another EU country can count towards these benefits, which matters for many foreign residents.

If the injury comes from an accident at work, there may also be a surcharge on benefits (30 to 50 %) payable by the employer if safety measures were lacking. And if it was a road accident on the way to or from work (in itinere), the claim is combined with a claim against the insurer, as I explain in my guide to a car accident lawyer in Alicante.

07The SMAC in Alicante and the labour courts: how the procedure works

Almost every employment case in Alicante passes through two places.

The SMAC: compulsory conciliation

Before suing the employer you must attempt conciliation before the SMAC (Servicio de Mediación, Arbitraje y Conciliación), the regional conciliation service of the Generalitat Valenciana. It is compulsory in dismissals, wage claims and most individual disputes (art. 63 of the Labour Courts Act, LRJS), but not in social security matters, where the prior step is the claim to the INSS.

You file a conciliation request (papeleta de conciliación) and both sides are summoned to a hearing, usually within a few weeks. It can end:

• With agreement (con avenencia): an enforceable settlement is signed. Many dismissals are resolved here, with an agreed severance and no trial.
• Without agreement (sin avenencia): the court route remains open.
• Without effect (sin efecto): the employer does not attend, which also allows you to sue.

The labour courts of Alicante

If there is no agreement, a claim is filed with the labour courts of Alicante (juzgados de lo Social), located in the Ciudad de la Justicia on Avenida Aguilera. Labour procedure is faster than civil procedure: there is a single hearing for judicial conciliation and trial, evidence is heard that day and judgment follows. At first instance a lawyer is not compulsory, but the employer always brings one. Most judgments can be appealed (recurso de suplicación) to the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community. To choose a lawyer with clear criteria, see my guide on what to demand from the best lawyer in Alicante.

08How much does an employment lawyer in Alicante cost?

This is the question almost nobody dares to ask at the start, so I will answer it. I work with a written engagement letter (hoja de encargo): before we begin you know what the service includes and what it costs. As a guide, fees depend on the stage (SMAC, claim and trial, appeal) and on complexity, and in financial claims it is common to combine a fixed part with a part linked to the amount recovered.

Several factors work in the employee's favour:

• In the labour jurisdiction there are no court fees for workers and, at first instance, costs are not awarded against you unless the claim is reckless.
• Many dismissal cases settle at the SMAC without a trial, which saves money.
• If your income is below the thresholds of Law 1/1996 (broadly, twice the IPREM index for a single person, more if you have a family), you can apply for legal aid (justicia gratuita) through the ICALI legal guidance service.

What I ask is that you do not compare on price alone: a miscalculated severance or a missed deadline costs far more than legal fees. Tell me about your case through the appointment page or write to me directly and I will tell you plainly whether it is worth claiming. Consultations are in Spanish; an interpreter can be arranged if you let me know in advance.

How a dismissal case is handled, step by step

1. 1
   First consultation and review of the letter

   I analyse the dismissal letter, contract, payslips and your personal situation (sick leave, pregnancy, previous complaints) and fix the 20 working day deadline.

2. 2
   Calculation and strategy

   I calculate severance in each scenario (fair, unfair, void) and the correct finiquito. We decide what to claim and with what evidence.

3. 3
   Conciliation request to the SMAC

   I file the papeleta, which pauses the limitation period, and prepare the documents for the hearing.

4. 4
   Conciliation hearing

   I negotiate with the employer. If there is agreement it is signed and enforceable; if not, a record of no agreement is issued.

5. 5
   Claim before the labour court

   I draft and file the claim at the Ciudad de la Justicia in Alicante, with the documents, witnesses and experts.

6. 6
   Trial and judgment

   Judicial conciliation and trial take place on the same day. After judgment, severance or reinstatement is enforced, or an appeal is lodged.

Frequently asked questions