MADRID – The Social Security in Spain (Seguridad Social) encourages employees to check their terms of employment, including the type of contract, the percentage of working time declared and their work history (Vida Laboral).
It is customary for companies to contribute correctly to Social Security for their employees. However, in practice, it appears that something often goes wrong with this. As a precaution, it is therefore advisable for employees to check this themselves.
Social Security itself encourages people to perform this check through their social media channels: “Do you want to know what kind of contract you have and for what percentage of the time you work at your current company? Get assurance and download your Vida Laboral (work history).”
Registering fewer hours than work can be detrimental to an employee’s Social Security contributions. This is especially important when it comes to receiving any benefits, such as INSS support, pensions, disability benefits, unemployment benefits and grants.
How and when to apply for ‘Vida Laboral’?
The work history report can be requested online on the Social Security website. Here employees can view the status of their registrations and deregistrations with the different Social Security regimes. They can download a PDF report of their complete or specific work history, correct any errors, and have the report mailed to their home address as registered with Social Security. You can also download the Vida Laboral app to your mobile phone.
They can do this by firstly choosing the preferred language, and clicking to “consult vida laboral”. Then it will ask you to identify yourself. You can choose by SMS. This will then lead to a screen asking for NIE number, date of birth, and mobile phone number. Once this is completed, a code will be sent to the mobile phone number you typed. Enter the code, and the full employment history will appear.
With this, the Social Security emphasises the importance of actively managing your work history, so that employees are not faced with unpleasant surprises when it comes to their rights and benefits.