What it is and who files it
Law 45/1999 governs the temporary posting of workers to Spain as part of a cross-border provision of services. Article 5 requires the posting company to notify the Spanish labour authority before the posting begins, whatever its duration.
The notification is filed electronically with the labour authority of the autonomous community where the services will be provided. Notifications are kept in a central register run by the Ministry of Labour and the regions, and the labour authority forwards them to the Labour Inspectorate and the Tax Agency.
The obligation belongs to the foreign company posting the workers, not to the Spanish client. But it is the client who will ask for it before letting anyone in, because they need to show that the subcontractor on their site is compliant.
The eight-day exception
The law does not require the notification when the posting lasts eight days or less and falls into one of two cases: the worker is carrying out a contract between their employer and a client established in Spain, or is going to a workplace of the same company or of another company in its group. The exception does not cover temporary work agencies.
In practice, do not rely on it too much. The client configures the requirement in their CAE platform and it does not always distinguish by duration, so the reviewer may ask for the receipt anyway. And if a one-week job runs longer, the notification had to be filed before starting, not halfway through.
What the notification contains
The minimum content is set by Article 5 itself. Having it ready before opening the procedure avoids leaving the notification half done:
- Identification of the posting company, its tax address and its VAT identification number.
- Personal and professional details of each posted worker.
- The Spanish company or companies receiving the service and the workplace or workplaces.
- The start date and the expected duration of the posting.
- The type of service that gives rise to the posting.
- Details of a representative present in Spain who acts as the contact with the authorities for sending and receiving documents and notices.
- Details of a contact person who can act in Spain in information, consultation and negotiation procedures with the workers.
Documents you must keep available
Filing the notification does not end the obligation. During the posting, Article 6 requires the following documents for each worker to be available at the workplace, or digitally for immediate consultation:
- The employment contract or the document setting out the terms of employment.
- Payslips and proof of salary payments.
- Time records showing the start, end and duration of each working day.
- Work authorisation for third-country nationals, where the home country's law requires it.
Translation, the Inspectorate and health incidents
Those documents must be provided translated into Spanish or into the co-official language of the region where the services are provided. A contract or payslips in another language do not meet the requirement on their own.
The company must also appear before the Labour Inspectorate when required, provide the documents it asks for even after the posting has ended, and report in writing to the labour authority any harm to the health of posted workers arising from their work in Spain.
Postings longer than twelve months
When the actual duration of the posting exceeds twelve months, the company must additionally guarantee almost all Spanish working conditions, except those relating to the conclusion and termination of the contract and to supplementary pension schemes.
That period can be extended to eighteen months if the company files a reasoned notice with the labour authority before the twelve months run out. Holidays and other short breaks do not stop the count.
Why it is requested in the CAE platform
In Nalanda, CTAIMA, e-coordina, Metacontratas, Obralia or whichever platform your client uses, the notification appears as one more company requirement. The reviewer does not just check that it exists: they cross-check it against what is registered in the platform.
That is why rejections are rarely about not having filed it, and usually about it not matching the rest of the file:
- A worker who enters the site but is not listed in the notification.
- Posting dates that have already expired because the job ran longer.
- A workplace that differs from the one stated in the notification.
- A notification filed in a different autonomous community from the one where the site is.
- Employment documents not translated when the reviewer asks for them.
How EntraObra can help
We review what your Spanish client is asking for, prepare with your data the information the notification requires, and check that the worker list, dates and workplace match what will be uploaded to the CAE platform. Then we upload the receipt under the right requirement and follow its status until it is validated.
EntraObra is an independent document support service. We are not a labour consultancy and we do not act as the company's legal representative before the Inspectorate: if you need that role covered, we tell you and coordinate it with whoever should take it on. Final acceptance always rests with the client and the labour authority.
If you want to keep going, start with whatever is blocking you right now:
The A1 certificate instead of Spanish social security documents