Permanent Seasonal Contract in Spain: Rights & Rules for Expats

Q: What happens if the company does not call me when the season starts?

If the season begins, the company resumes its activity, and your recall is not carried out following the established order, it is legally considered a tacit dismissal (despido tácito). You have a period of 20 business days to file a conciliation petition (papeleta de conciliación) and subsequent dismissal lawsuit before the Juzgados de lo Social (Labor Courts).

Q: Can I reject the company's recall?

Yes, but with nuances. If you reject the recall without justification, it will be considered a voluntary resignation (baja voluntaria), which definitively terminates your employment contract and prevents you from accessing unemployment benefits. However, if you have a justified cause (such as being on temporary disability, maternity/paternity leave, or working for another company), you will retain your right to be called in the next campaign.

Q: Am I entitled to holidays under a permanent seasonal contract?

Yes, exactly the same as any other worker. You are entitled to the proportional part of holidays according to the days worked (normally 2.5 days per month worked). These holidays can be enjoyed during the period of activity or, if the nature of the campaign does not allow it, they must be paid financially in the finiquito at the end of the season.

Q: Can I work for another company during the period of inactivity?

Yes, of course. During the period in which your permanent seasonal contract is suspended (inactivity), there is total freedom to work for another company, either full-time or part-time. The only limit is that you do not engage in unfair competition with your original company, unless you have an exclusivity agreement that is properly compensated financially.

By the AbogadoAI editorial team · Updated 18 July 2026 · 10 min read

🇪🇸 Read the original in Spanish

The labor reform at the end of 2021 completely turned the Spanish job market upside down, making the contrato fijo discontinuo (permanent seasonal contract) the undisputed protagonist of seasonal hiring. Designed to combat excessive temporary employment, this contractual modality regularly raises numerous questions for both employees and employers: what happens when activity stops? Are you entitled to unemployment benefits during periods of inactivity? How does the recall process work? In this detailed guide, prepared by the legal team at AbogadoAI, we analyze the permanent seasonal contract in depth, its operating rules, your rights, and the practical steps to manage this employment relationship with total legal certainty.

¿Qué es el contrato fijo discontinuo? Legal Framework and Definition

The contrato fijo discontinuo is an indefinite (non-temporary) contract arranged for the performance of work that is seasonal in nature or linked to seasonal productive activities. Likewise, it is used for work that, while not seasonal, is intermittent, with certain, determined, or undetermined periods of execution.

Its main regulation is found in *Article 16 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Workers' Statute)* (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of October 23), which was deeply restructured by Royal Decree-Law 32/2021.

The key to this contract lies in its dual nature:

It is indefinite: The worker is part of the company's permanent staff. There is no end date for the contractual relationship.
It is discontinuous: The provision of services is interrupted throughout the year. There are periods of activity (where you work and receive a salary) and periods of inactivity (where the contract is suspended, you do not work, and, generally, you can receive unemployment benefits).

In which sectors is it most common?

Although the law allows its use in any sector that presents intermittency, it is especially common in:

Hospitality and tourism: Summer or ski season hotels, restaurants in tourist areas.
Agricultural sector: Fruit harvesting, grape harvesting, or sowing campaigns.
Education: School canteen monitors, extracurricular activities, or support staff during the academic year.
Services and contracting: Work linked to commercial or administrative contracts that are repeated periodically.

Key Rights of the Permanent Seasonal Worker

One of the fundamental premises of *Article 16 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores** is the equality of rights. People with permanent seasonal contracts have the right to have their antigüedad (length of service/seniority) calculated taking into account the entire duration of the employment relationship (from the start date of the first contract, including periods of inactivity), and not just the time of services actually rendered, for the purposes of professional promotion, trienios (three-year salary increments), and certain bonuses, unless there are objective criteria of proportionality regulated by the convenio colectivo* (collective bargaining agreement) for very specific cases.

1. The Right to the Recall (The "Alta")

The llamamiento (recall) is the act by which the company summons the worker to restart activity when the season begins.

It must be made in writing or by a means that leaves a record (such as an email or burofax — a certified registered letter).
It must be done with precise indications of the conditions of reinstatement and with adequate notice.
The recall criteria are governed by the provisions of the convenio colectivo of each sector (for example, by strict order of seniority, category, or versatility).

2. Right to Unemployment Benefits (The "Paro")

During periods of inactivity, the contract is not terminated, but suspended. Under the _Ley General de la Seguridad Social_ (LGSS / General Social Security Law), the worker is in a legal situation of unemployment during these pauses. This allows them to:

Apply for the contributory unemployment benefit if they have at least 360 days of unconsumed social security contributions.
Access specific subsidies for permanent seasonal workers if they meet the requirements of lack of income.

3. Severance Pay for Dismissal

If the company decides to terminate the contract unilaterally (despido improcedente / unfair dismissal), the calculation of the indemnización (severance pay) is carried out under the general parameters of an indefinite contract: 33 days of salary per year of service for the time worked under current regulations, with periods of time shorter than a year being prorated by months.

Important legal note: To calculate the amount of severance pay for dismissal, the jurisprudence of the Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) has clarified that only the periods of effective service provision (the time actually worked) are computed, unlike the calculation of seniority for promotions or trienios, where the entire duration of the contract is counted.

Practical Example: Carlos's Case in the Hotel Sector

To understand how these rules translate into reality, let's analyze the case of Carlos, a hotel receptionist in Mallorca.

Contract Context:

Carlos signs a contrato fijo discontinuo on March 1, 2023 with a hotel that opens only in the spring-summer season.
His gross monthly salary is €1,800 (including the proration of extra payments). His daily salary is €60.

Development of the Season:

Period of activity: He works from March 1 to October 31, 2023 (a total of 8 months or 245 days of actual work).
Period of inactivity: On October 31, the hotel closes for the end of the season. The company formally notifies him of the end of activity and hands him the finiquito (settlement agreement) for that season (which includes unused holidays and the proportional part of the extra payments if they were not prorated). Carlos is not dismissed; his contract is suspended.
During the winter, Carlos applies for the paro (unemployment benefits) at the SEPE (State Public Employment Service) and collects his unemployment benefit for 4 months.

The New Recall:

In February 2024, the hotel sends him a burofax notifying him that he must return to work on March 1, 2024. Carlos attends and resumes his activity normally. His seniority in the company continues to count from March 1, 2023.

Practical Procedures: Step-by-Step to Manage the Contract

Whether you are a worker or managing a business activity, these are the essential steps you must follow in each phase of the permanent seasonal contract cycle:

``` [Start of Season] ---> [Written Recall (Llamamiento)] ---> [Registration in Social Security (Alta)] | [End of Season] <--- [Inactivity Deregistration (SEPE)] <--- [Campaign Settlement (Finiquito)] ```

Step 1: Formalization of the Contract in Writing

The contract must be in writing. It must clearly state:

The estimated duration of the activity.
The criteria and order of recall dictated by the applicable convenio colectivo.
The working hours (which, as a general rule, must be full-time, unless the sectoral convenio colectivo expressly allows part-time work).

Step 2: The Recall Process

At the beginning of each season, the company must send the recall notification to the worker with the minimum notice period set by the collective agreement (usually 10 to 15 days). The worker must reply accepting or rejecting the reinstatement.

The company must process the alta (registration) of the worker with the Seguridad Social (Social Security) before they actually begin to provide services on the day designated for their return.

Step 4: End of the Campaign and "Baja por Inactividad"

At the end of the work season, the company issues a notification of end of activity. A liquidation of earnings (finiquito) is carried out to pay for accrued and unused concepts (such as holidays). The baja (deregistration) is communicated to Social Security with the specific code for "inactivity of permanent seasonal worker".

Step 5: Unemployment Application

The worker has a period of 15 business days from the cessation of activity to apply for their unemployment benefit before the SEPE, providing the company certificate that the employer will have sent electronically.

Errors You Must Avoid

Making mistakes in the management of this contract can lead to serious administrative sanctions for companies and the loss of consolidated rights for workers. Always avoid the following:

Not making the recall in writing: Phone calls or informal WhatsApp messages without a formal record can lead to misunderstandings. If the worker does not show up due to a lack of reliable notification, a voluntary resignation (baja voluntaria) cannot be claimed. If the company does not call formally, the worker can sue for dismissal.
Confusing the end of the season with a dismissal: At the end of the campaign, the worker should not sign a "settlement and release" document that implies the resignation from their position or the definitive termination of the employment relationship. They should only sign the finiquito for the outstanding balances of that specific campaign.
Ignoring the deadlines to sue in the absence of a recall: If the company starts the season and does not call the worker (or calls others with less seniority, skipping the established order), the employee has a strict expiration deadline of 20 business days (according to the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social / Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction) to file a lawsuit for unfair dismissal, counted from the moment they became aware of the lack of recall.
Using the permanent seasonal contract to cover continuous permanent needs: If the company's activity does not suffer real interruptions and the worker provides services uninterruptedly throughout the year, this contract will be in fraud of law (fraude de ley), and must be converted into an ordinary indefinite contract of continuous service.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What happens if the company does not call me when the season starts?

If the season begins, the company resumes its activity, and your recall is not carried out following the established order, it is legally considered a tacit dismissal (despido tácito). You have a period of 20 business days to file a conciliation petition (papeleta de conciliación) and subsequent dismissal lawsuit before the Juzgados de lo Social (Labor Courts).

Can I reject the company's recall?

Yes, but with nuances. If you reject the recall without justification, it will be considered a voluntary resignation (baja voluntaria), which definitively terminates your employment contract and prevents you from accessing unemployment benefits. However, if you have a justified cause (such as being on temporary disability, maternity/paternity leave, or working for another company), you will retain your right to be called in the next campaign.

Am I entitled to holidays under a permanent seasonal contract?

Yes, exactly the same as any other worker. You are entitled to the proportional part of holidays according to the days worked (normally 2.5 days per month worked). These holidays can be enjoyed during the period of activity or, if the nature of the campaign does not allow it, they must be paid financially in the finiquito at the end of the season.

Can I work for another company during the period of inactivity?