The Spain Forums

Hannah19

Hi all!

I'm new here so will probably be asking many questions!

My partner and I are hoping to move to Spain at the end of the year. We are going to go over and then find a job when we arrive (hopefully!).

My problem is, as we are going out of the tourist season, will there be many jobs available? My partner is currently a chef but I have no skills or qualifications. I would like a job such as cleaning, bar work, even working in a supermarket.

Are these kinds of jobs advertised in winter as we are limited because we only have very basic Spanish.

Any replies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Hannah.

Lee

Some advice which maybe worth considering is

Make sure you have a good sized rainy day pot. Enough money to tide you over for about six months plus. That way if you struggle to find work, you have enough to support your self through the period.

Wages in Spain, in general are a lot lower than what you would earn doing the same job in the UK.

Funnily enough I was chatting to Karen on here the other day about the same subject of work and this was her take on working in Spain

The long hours mentioned. Bars in Spain tend to stay open until the last customer leaves in the tourist areas.

With the building trade struggling at present. People are doing anything to get a job. Your house cleaning, nanny work etc are minimal qualification work in some cases and you tend to get a lot of people all offering the same services.

The Spanish benefit system is totally different to what you are used to back in the UK. No work, no state hand out. Thats not totally true, when you work, you pay into a pot. That pot gets payed out if you end up unemployed and once its empty, you have no income. One of the reasons crime is on the increase in Spain.

Tats my own understanding of it.

Also be prepared to try doing anything to get work. Dont come over as a chef and just look for catering work. Come with an open mind and try your hand at anything.

To get an idea of the jobs that are being offered in Spain. There are several news papers for the Costa Blanca which have web sites. They have jobs classifieds in them and also be prepared to do a lot of door knocking when you come over

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Hannah19

Thanks for the advice Lee, all taken into consideration.

We are going to be taking a fair amount of savings with us although ideally want to find a job straightaway. Many people have told us about the long hours and poor pay so that is expected now. I was not aware of the benefit system in Spain, does that only apply to Spanish Citizens?

I think you are right when you say we will have to go with an open mind, hopefully something will come up and we will look into the online newspapers and classifieds.

Thanks again, Hannah.

Lee

At your age, what have you got to loose apart from a life of regret for not taking the chance when you could.

At worse, you return home. At best you start a new life or end up experiences that will be remembered for years to come.

In the UK, what ties have you got. House, mortgage bills etc.

Even if you give it a go for six months. When you return, will you be any worse off than when you left.

If I was (bites lip ) a few years younger and was in the same situation you sound like your in. I would go for it.

If your determined enough and aware of how things are in Spain and your not wearing those rose tinted glasses many have on when they they look at Spain. You can make a new life here.

Good luck with your decision

I will try and find the legal side of the social and taxes later. I use several guides to Spain, if non of the members on here can help and advise

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Scoot

There is a benefit system but you have to pay in before you can get any out.
To pay in you need a job with a proper contract. These can be 3 month, 6 month or 12 month in duration but plenty of jobs don't have anything at all (so no social security) Permanent contracts do exist, but then so do extraterrestrials.
No social security number means no access to a GP; you'll have to pay and go private.
There are plenty of people here from South America and Eastern Europe who are happy to work for diddly-squat.
If you need to do a 'normal' job for a living I really would not bother, as otherwise, unless you've a decent pension or a few hundred grand - you'll just dry up and blow away. I've seen it happen loads of times.

Sorry to be a killjoy, but life is harder here than in the UK if you have not got a job with a permanent contract, as the safety nets do not exist that do in Britain.

Hence the UK being no.1 destination for immigrants.