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Working Hours in Andorra

Working hours in Andorra are scheduled under a maximum of 40h per week of actual work. If there's any adjustment to working hours (for example, a shift increase) for technical, organizational or operational reasons, this must be are communicated to the employees 2 weeks in advanced.

In the quarterly, half-yearly and annual calculation of hours, the following should be taken into account: for each of these periods, the weekly average shall not exceed 40 hours without overtime or 60 hours maximum including overtime, and never exceed 12 hours per day.

Mandatory rest is of 12 hours per day minimum and at least one full day in the week. If the employee's working day is longer than 6 hours, he is entitled to a 30-minute break. The annual working time shall not exceed 1800 hours.

Overtime payment is regulated by a 25% surcharge for the first 4 hours, 50% for the following 4 hours and 75% beyond the 9th hour. Payment is made in cash or in hours of rest pursuant to the contract signed between the employer and the employee.

Holidays and Public Holidays in Spain

Compulsory annual leave is 30 days a year or proportional to the number of worked hours. Vacations shall be taken during the calendar year or, in exceptional cases, during the first quarter of the following year. The employee cannot refuse holidays.

Public Holidays

During traditional national and parish (municipal) holidays, the employee is entitled rather to one additional day off or to be paid double for the worked hours. If the holiday corresponds to the employee's day of rest, the latter cannot move it or claim for any compensation.

Regarding compulsory bank holidays, the Andorran calendar provides 17 mandatory rest days in all sectors of activity, except for medicine and tourism. If one of these days is worked, the employee then recovers one additional day of rest or receives a daily double remuneration compared to the base salary.

The list of public holidays each year is as follows:

• 1st January (New's Year Eve)
• 6th January (Epiphany)
• 12th February (Carnival Monday)
• 14th March (Constitution day)
• 30th March (Good Friday)
• 1st April (Easter)
• 2nd April (Easter Monday)
• 1st May (Labour May)
• 20th May (Whitsun)
• 21st May (Whit Monday)
• 24th June (Saint John)
• 15th August (Assumption Day)
• 8th September (National Holiday Andorra)
• 1st November (All Saints' Day)
• 8th December (Immaculate Conception)
• 25th December (Christmas)
• 26th December (Second Day of Christmas)

Wages & Salaries in Andorra

The salary consists of a fixed part and, in some cases, a variable part (incentives, commissions, bonuses, etc.). This remuneration requires the payment of the compulsory contributions to the Social Insurance Fund (22% of social contributions, 15.5% paid by the employer and 6.5% by the employee).

The minimum wage for residents with a work permit is € 991.47/month. The remuneration for night work, that is to say, between 10pm and 06am, is increased by 20%, in the absence of a written agreement.

Work Contracts in Andorra

It is strictly recommended to create and sign a contract, which has been presented written and in two copies: one for the employee and the other one for the employer. Commonly, contracts in Andorra are set for a period of time (finite contracts) although the Labour Code also allows for indefinite term contracts.

The statement of terms must include the following information:

• Full name of employer and employee
• Address of the employer
• Place of work
• Title of job or nature of work
• Date employment started
• If the contract is temporary, the expected duration of the contract
• If the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the details
• Details of rest periods and breaks as required by law
• Rate of pay or method of calculation of pay
• Pay intervals
• Hours of work
• That the employee has the right to ask the employer for a written statement of his/her average hourly rate of pay as provided for in the National Minimum Wage
• Details of paid leave
• Sick pay and pension (if any)
• Period of notice to be given by employer or employee
• Details of any collective agreements that may affect the employee's terms of employment

Termination

The length of notice you are entitled to give will depend in the first place on your contract of employment.  You and your company need to consider, in advanced and under a sign form (which it can be the contract itself) whether or not there is an obligation to give notice of termination of a contract of employment and whether or not they are obliged to comply with any notice periods referred to.

In Andorra, as many other European countries, the period of notice is connected to the length of continuous service. Unless otherwise arranged, the employer has the obligation to give notice of the contract termination with an advance of one day per month worked up to a maximum of 90 days.

However, as an employee, you will only be asked to give notice of your leaving between 14 and 30 days in advance.

Time Off and Annual Leave in Andorra

Your annual leave or holidays from work rights are set out in the country legislation and must be described in your contract.

Andorran annual leave is currently set in collective agreements or individual contracts and may never be less than 23 calendar days. Moreover, it cannot be replaced by financial compensation.

Wherever possible, the holiday schedule is fixed in each company by mutual agreement between the parties and shall be taken during the calendar year or, in exceptional cases, during the first quarter of the following year. The employee cannot refuse the holidays.

Legislation gives various entitlements to leave from work. These include; annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave, paternity leave, adoptive leave, career's leave, parental leave and others.

It is also important to note that the periods of leave provided for by legislation are the minimum entitlements only, consequently, you and your employer may agree to additional entitlements (extra days might be taken from the 23 calendar annual days off or be unpaid).

Work Permit in Andorra

To get the authorization to live and work in Andorra permanently and effectively during the validity of the authorization, you must:

• Be accepted regarding the annual "working permit quote" established in the regulations
• Get an employment contract with a company legally established in the country
• Establish the permanent and effective residence in the Principality of Andorra

The first authorization is valid for one year and renewable three times for periods of two years. After seven years, the successive renewals are delivered for periods of ten years, except for those citizens of the states that have signed and ratified an agreement with the Principality of Andorra

Further information regarding procedures can be found at the Immigration Department (only in Catalan) and in our full section on visas under "Departure".