More and more workers in Spain are asking the same question: how much would they be owed if they were laid off.
In an era of AI, automation and corporate restructuring, the question is no longer theoretical.
Many companies are cutting teams, reorganising departments, automating tasks or launching collective dismissal processes known as ERE. This is happening across industries, but particularly in tech and skilled office roles.
The problem is that most people do not understand how severance works in Spain. And that gap can cost thousands of euros.
It is one of the most searched questions related to layoffs in Spain. The answer depends mainly on the type of dismissal.
Objective dismissal: 20 days per year worked
This is the standard scenario in ERE processes, restructurings, economic layoffs, cost-cutting and internal reorganisations. The statutory minimum is 20 days per year worked, capped at 12 monthly payments.
Unfair dismissal: 33 days per year worked
This applies when the company fails to properly justify the dismissal, makes procedural errors or does not meet certain legal requirements. In that case, the statutory minimum rises to 33 days per year worked, capped at 24 monthly payments.
But there is something important that most people do not realise: 33 days is not the ceiling. It is the floor.
In practice, particularly at profitable companies, in large restructuring processes or in the tech sector, exit agreements can go well beyond those legal minimums.
Some companies have paid 45, 60 or even more days per year worked. Not because the law requires it, but because it is in their interest to close agreements quickly, avoid conflict, protect their reputation or encourage voluntary departures.
The more profitable the company, the more room there is to negotiate above the legal minimum.
Although 20 days per year is the usual starting point, the process does not end there.
Many ERE processes include a consultation period where aspects such as severance, bonuses, outstanding holiday, health insurance, outplacement and additional financial incentives are all on the table.
The first number presented is rarely the final one. And the difference between signing quickly and understanding the process can be significant.
For years, mass layoffs were associated with factories, logistics and manual work. That is changing.
AI is already affecting administrative roles, design, support, engineering, analysis, operations and marketing. More and more companies are looking to automate processes, cut costs and operate with fewer people.
That will likely mean many people face a layoff or a severance negotiation for the first time.
Not because they are not capable. But because a layoff is stressful, there is pressure to sign quickly, and most people have never negotiated a severance package before.
That is why it matters to understand the numbers, calculate different scenarios and review the full picture before agreeing to anything.
Calculate your severance on golayoff, free, anonymous and with no signup required. In under a minute you know what legal minimum you are entitled to, and you can explore what negotiating above it could look like.