New minimum content for employment contracts: what changes with Royal Decree 723/2026

On 15 September 2026, Royal Decree 723/2026 of 9 September was published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE). It expands the information that companies must provide to their employees about their contract and working conditions. The rule comes into force on 5 October 2026 and requires contract templates to be reviewed. We explain in plain language what changes and what you need to have ready.

What is RD 723/2026 and why does it affect you?

The Royal Decree partially transposes into Spanish law Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union. Its aim is for every employee to have clear and complete information about their contract and working conditions from the very start of the employment relationship.

In practice, it is no longer enough for the contract to identify the basic elements of the employment relationship. From the date it comes into force, the company must ensure that a broader set of information is provided, either in the contract itself or through supplementary information documents.

What new information must the contract include?

These are the aspects the company must include in the contract or communicate in writing:

1Basic details of the employment relationship

Identity of the parties, start date and, for fixed-term contracts, the end date or expected duration, as well as the company’s address and the workplace or workplaces where the services will be performed. For remote work, the assigned workplace must also be identified.

2Job position and temporary hiring

Professional category or group and a sufficiently precise description of the work to be performed. For fixed-term contracts, the specific cause that justifies the temporary nature, the circumstances behind it and its relationship to the expected duration must be specified.

3Salary

The base salary and each of the salary supplements must be itemized separately, along with their frequency and method of payment. Where there are variable components, information must also be provided on how they are calculated and the criteria for receiving them.

4Working hours, schedules and holidays

Length and distribution of the daily, weekly and annual working hours, night work or shift work, overtime and its remuneration, and the length of annual leave. Also the mechanisms for changing working hours or shifts and, where hours are distributed irregularly, how this works and the notice periods. For permanent intermittent (fijo-discontinuo) contracts, the periods of activity and inactivity will be stated.

5Probationary period and training

Where a probationary period is agreed, its specific duration, the conditions that apply and the obligations of both parties during it. Information must also be given on the right to training provided by the company.

6Automated systems and internal policies

Where algorithmic or automated systems are used to make decisions that affect working conditions, their existence and their guidelines, criteria and operating rules must be disclosed. The applicable equality plan must also be identified and, where relevant, work-life balance policies, anti-harassment protocols and measures to guarantee equality for LGBTI people.

7Termination of the contract and collective agreement

The procedure and requirements applicable to terminating the employment relationship, including notice periods. In addition, the applicable collective agreement must be precisely identified, stating its code, publication, period of validity and, where applicable, its status of ultra-activity (continued validity after expiry).

8Social Security and other relevant conditions

The company must report the body that covers Social Security contingencies (the collaborating mutual insurance company), any voluntary improvements in place, and pension plans or funds. It must also report the cases and procedures for modifying essential aspects such as duties, professional classification, salary or working hours. For workers placed by a temporary work agency (ETT), the user company and the reason for each placement must also be identified.

How and when must the information be provided?

Where the required information is not included in the contract, the company must provide it in one or more written documents, on paper or in electronic format. If provided electronically, it must be accessible, storable and printable, and the company must keep proof of delivery or receipt.

• General rule: information on working conditions must be provided before the start of the employment relationship.
• Assignment abroad: the specific information must be provided before departure, and any later change must be communicated as soon as possible and, at the latest, on the day it takes effect.

What about contracts that are already in force?

For employment relationships already in force on 15 September 2026, there is no general obligation to redo all existing contracts. However, when an employee requests the information provided for in the new regulation and does not already have it, the company must provide it within a maximum of thirty business days of receiving the request.

The Public State Employment Service (SEPE) must make a template information document available within a maximum of twenty days from the publication of the rule. Its temporary absence, however, does not exempt companies from complying with their obligations.

What your company should do before 5 October

The new regulation requires contract templates to be reviewed and adapted and, where necessary, supplementary information documents to be added, as well as internal hiring procedures to be adjusted. A simple plan:

1. Review your contract templates and check which information from the list above is missing.
2. Prepare a supplementary information document for anything that doesn’t fit in the contract.
3. Define a delivery process that lets you keep proof that the information was provided on time.
4. Train whoever handles hiring so the new content is applied from day one.

Summary of the new mandatory information

Frequently asked questions

From when does the new minimum content apply?

From 5 October 2026, the date RD 723/2026 comes into force. Contracts signed from that date must reflect the expanded information.

Do I have to redo the contracts I have already signed?

Not as a general rule. But if an employee requests the new information and does not have it, you must provide it within a maximum of 30 business days.

Can I provide it in a separate document instead of in the contract?

Yes. It can be provided through written documents, on paper or electronic, as long as they are accessible, storable and printable and you keep proof of delivery.

What if SEPE has not yet published its template?

The temporary absence of the official template does not exempt you from compliance: the obligation to inform has been in force since the rule came into effect.