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Fijo Discontinuo in Mallorca: Seasonal Contract, Llamamiento and the ERTE Trap

Responsible for this content: Frank Menze

If you work in tourism on Mallorca or hire staff, sooner or later you'll come across the fijo discontinuo – the Spanish seasonal contract that confuses many German employees and employers because it is neither a fixed-term contract nor short-time work. It's a third category: a permanent employment relationship that switches, according to plan, between activity and inactivity. It is precisely this construction that leads to misunderstandings – above all the assumption that a hotel employee's winter break is an ERTE. It is not. In this guide, you'll learn how the contract works legally, how the call-up (llamamiento) for the new season proceeds, what rights exist during the inactivity phase, and why the distinction from Art. 47 ET is not merely academic but decisive for claims, deadlines and rights to sue.

Fijo Discontinuo Mallorca: Contract, Llamamiento, ERTE 2026

Are you planning a seasonal job on Mallorca, or do you want to employ fijos discontinuos as an employer with legal certainty?

What a fijo discontinuo really is

The term sounds like a contradiction – "fixed" (fijo) and "discontinuous" (discontinuo) at the same time. But that's exactly the core of it: under Art. 16 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores, this is expressly a contrato por tiempo indefinido, i.e. a permanent contract. It is concluded for work of a seasonal nature or for activities that, while not seasonal, are carried out intermittently – that is, with recurring interruptions – with certain, determined or undetermined periods of performance.

For you as a German reader, the most important sentence in this article is probably this: A fijo discontinuo is not a fixed-term contract with an expiry date. The employment relationship legally continues, even if not a single day is worked in winter. Only the actual work performance and pay are paused.

Feature fijo discontinuo Classic fixed-term contract
Contract duration permanent (Art. 16 ET) time-limited, ends automatically
Return to work via Llamamiento (call-up) new contract required
Length of service counts from the contract start date, across all cycles starts anew with each new contract
Typical industries Hospitality, catering, education (tutoring/extraescolar), advertising installation project-based activities
Protection against dismissal as with permanent contracts ends upon expiry of the term, generally no protection against dismissal

This type of contract is also applicable to work carried out under foreseeable commercial or administrative contracts (contratas), as well as between temporary employment agencies and workers supplied by them.

The key distinction: why the seasonal break is not an ERTE

This is the point where most explanations online get muddled – and it's crucial for your rights.The seasonal inactivity of a fijo discontinuo is, legally speaking, not an ERTE.Both instruments are set out in the Estatuto de los Trabajadores, but in entirely different articles with different logics.

Fijo discontinuo (Art. 16 ET) ERTE (Art. 47 ET)
What it is a permanent contract with regularly recurring phases of activity and inactivity a temporary suspension or reduction of working hours due to business necessity
Why work stops the season has come to an end – this is the normal state of the contract economic, technical, organisational, production-related reasons or force majeure – an extraordinary event
Procedure no procedure required, the break follows automatically from the contract itself notification to the labour authority together with a simultaneous consultation period with employee representatives
Return to work through llamamiento (recall) through the end of the ERTE measure

Practical consequence: A hotel on Playa de Palma that closes in November does not place its fijos discontinuos "on ERTE". Their contract already provides for the winter break from the outset – it is not an extraordinary event, but the planned contractual cycle. An ERTE would only come into consideration if, during the ongoing season, work unexpectedly collapses, for example due to a sustained drop in revenue.

Note: If your employer tells you in the middle of the season that you are "on ERTE", you should check whether a formal procedure under Art. 47 ET, including notification to the labour authority, has actually taken place – or whether a regular seasonal break is wrongly being relabelled here.

The contract: form and mandatory information

A fijo discontinuo contract must always be concluded in writing (Art. 8.2 ET). The contract must contain the essential elements – in particular the expected duration of the activity period as well as working hours and their distribution over time. These last two details may initially be estimated and are made concrete at the time of the actual call-up.

What collective agreements can additionally regulate, but which the law itself leaves open:

Subject of regulation Who determines it?
Objective and formal criteria of the llamamiento Collective agreement, or failing that, company agreement
Sector-wide employment pool for periods of inactivity Collective agreement
Permissibility of part-time work under fijo discontinuo Collective agreement
Minimum call-up duration per year Collective agreement
Maximum duration of inactivity between contratas/assignments Collective agreement; if no provision exists, three months

apply. So if you sign an employment contract of this type, it's always worth taking a look at the relevant collective agreement for your sector (Convenio Colectivo) – it contains the specific figures that the law deliberately leaves open. Employers hiring staff for the first time should take a look beforehand at our guide Hiring employees in Spain.

The llamamiento: how the call-up for the season works

The llamamiento is the formal call to work that marks the start of the activity period. The law sets out clear but deliberately open requirements for this:

  1. The call-up must take place in writing or in another verifiable form.
  2. It must contain precise details on the conditions of re-entry.
  3. It must take place with reasonable advance notice.
  4. The specific objective and formal criteria – such as order of priority or deadlines in days – are set out in the collective agreement, not in the law itself.

Note: There is no fixed legal notice period in days for the Llamamiento. Figures such as "15 days" or "45 days" circulate in various sources, but – if correct at all – come from individual Convenios Colectivos and cannot be applied across all sectors as a blanket rule. Always check the Convenio Colectivo that applies to your company.

In addition, the company must provide the employee representatives at the start of each calendar year with a calendar showing the forecast call-ups for the year or half-year, as well as the actual registrations as they occur. If an expected call-up fails to materialise or the company breaches the agreed criteria, those affected can bring the relevant claims – the time limit for doing so begins from the moment the call-up fails to happen or from when they became aware of it.

Just how active the Llamamiento actually is on Mallorca is shown by current figures from practice: according to the UGT-Servicios union, around 70 % of fijos discontinuos on Mallorca had already been called up for the coming season by February 2026 – with particularly strong activity in Playa de Palma, Calvià, Alcúdia and Cala Millor, while the situation on Ibiza and Menorca was noticeably more subdued.

Registering during the inactivity period: the SOIB campaign

Anyone not working during the winter break must register as a jobseeker with the Servicio de Empleo de las Illes Balears (SOIB) in order to be able to assert claims with the employment office. The Balearic Govern runs its own campaign for this every year:

Campaign detail Information
When to register as soon as the season ends and the inactivity period begins — not just weeks later
Responsible body SOIB (Servicio de Empleo de las Illes Balears), Consejería de Trabajo
Automated procedure available without a Cita previa for everyone who has previously been registered with SOIB
Cita previa required for first-time registrations, as well as foreigners who have not renewed their residence/work permit
Contact channels soib.es and the SOIB app; the current phone numbers and opening hours are listed there
Applications processed in the last campaign (Mallorca) 90,643 procedures, of which 26,440 were done online

In practice, the automated procedure runs via a Presolicitud form for unemployment benefit on the SEPE website; you then receive an SMS confirmation from SOIB with information about the renewal dates for your Demanda de Empleo (DARDE). Details about the actual application to the state employment office can be found in our guide Claiming Paro; the pure registration as a jobseeker is described separately in Registering as a jobseeker with SOIB.

Note: Whether unemployment benefit (prestación por desempleo) is actually paid during the inactivity period, and how much, depends on your individual contribution history and is assessed by SEPE. We deliberately do not quote reliable percentages or benefit periods here without official confirmation – have this calculated for your specific case by a Gestoría or directly with SEPE.

Seniority and protection rights that are often overlooked

The perhaps underestimated advantage of the fijo discontinuo relates to length of service (antigüedad). It is calculated based on the total duration of the employment relationship since the start of the contract – not on the sum of months actually worked. The only exceptions are conditions that, by their nature, must objectively, proportionately and transparently be treated differently.

This is particularly relevant for you regarding two issues:

  • Severance payments: Since the antigüedad runs continuously from the first contract year and does not reset to zero at every winter break, a significantly higher severance entitlement can build up over several seasons than with a chain of fixed-term contracts. You can find details on this in Severance pay Spain.
  • Reconciliation rights: Fijos discontinuos must not suffer any disadvantages because they exercise reconciliation rights (e.g. parental leave), are justifiably absent, or exercise other legally or collectively agreed rights.

In addition, the company is obliged to inform employees about vacant permanent full-time positions, so that fijos discontinuos can apply for a voluntary conversion into an ongoing permanent position.

So when does an ERTE actually apply?

An ERTE under Art. 47 ET allows the company to temporarily reduce working hours or suspend contracts – but only for economic, technical, organisational or production-related reasons of a temporary nature, or due to force majeure.

ERTE requirement Specification
Economic reasons negative economic situation, e.g. current or expected losses
"Sustained" decline Revenues/turnover are in two consecutive quarters below the corresponding quarter of the previous year
Scope of application regardless of company size and number of employees affected
Procedure Notification to the competent labour authority plus a consultation period with employee representatives, a maximum of 15 days (shorter for companies with fewer than 50 employees)

An ERTE is therefore the right instrument when, for example, a hotel is temporarily unable to employ staff in the middle of the high season due to an unexpected drop in bookings – not for the winter cutback that was planned anyway.

Why the labour inspectorate is taking a closer look

The fijo discontinuo has been in the focus of the Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (ITSS) since the labour market reform (Real Decreto-ley 32/2021), because in some sectors it is misused instead of regular fixed-term or permanent contracts. According to reports from gestoría practice, around 83,600 companies already received a letter from the ITSS in the first quarter of 2022 requesting a review of their fijo discontinuo contracts; a further "Plan de Choque ITSS" is reported to have covered additional companies and employment relationships in 2025. It is also reported that in 2024 the inspectorate converted a considerable number of temporary or supposedly discontinuous contracts into regular permanent contracts.

Note: These figures come from journalistic and industry sources, not from an official ITSS statistical reference found in this research. Above all, they are meant to show you one thing: an employer who uses a fijo discontinuo contract where there is actually a regular permanent position risks having it reclassified by the authorities. If in doubt, have contracts checked by a specialised Steuerberater Mallorca firm or Gestoría.

Most common mistakes

  • Confusing ERTE with a seasonal break. The planned winter break of a fijo discontinuo does not require an ERTE procedure – if it is wrongly labelled as such, this often conceals an actual dismissal or a missed Llamamiento.
  • Generalising day-based deadlines for the Llamamiento. There is no uniform statutory deadline – it is set out in the relevant collective bargaining agreement and varies by sector.
  • Miscalculating Antigüedad. Employers who reset length of service to zero for each season are in breach of Art. 16 ET – as a rule, the count runs from the start of the contract.
  • Equating fijo discontinuo with a fixed-term contract. Anyone who believes the contract simply "expires" may under certain circumstances forfeit their entitlement to the Llamamiento for the next season.
  • No SOIB registration during inactivity. Without timely registration as a jobseeker, entitlements and deadlines can lapse without effect.
  • Assuming dismissal merely from non-recall. A missed call-up only counts as dismissal under narrow conditions – it usually requires an explicit statement from the employer. More on this in Finiquito & Dismissal.

What happens next? Conversion, Vida Laboral and dismissal

At the end of a season or after several years as a fijo discontinuo, three questions typically arise:

  1. Can I switch to a continuous permanent position? Yes, provided the company advertises corresponding vacant full-time positions – the company is obliged to inform you about this, and you may apply voluntarily.
  2. How do I prove my contribution periods to the authorities or for my pension? Via the Vida Laboral, which documents all your employment periods with the Seguridad Social – even across several seasons. Details on this in Retrieving the Vida Laboral.
  3. What happens if the employer no longer calls me up? If a Llamamiento fails to materialise without a formal dismissal having been issued, you should react in good time and, if necessary, consider the relevant legal claim – the deadline runs from the moment you became aware of the failure to call you up.

Anyone who is signed off sick after the season or wishes to switch to another form of employment will find additional information in Sick leave in Spain and Working as an Employee.

Checklist for Seasonal Workers and Employers

For Employees For Employers
Have the contract in writing, with the activity period clearly stated Ensure the contract is in writing with all mandatory details (Art. 8.2 ET)
Check the Llamamiento (recall) conditions in the applicable Convenio Colectivo Set objective recall criteria in the Convenio Colectivo or via a company agreement
Register as a jobseeker with the SOIB immediately after the season ends Send the employee representatives an annual calendar with recall forecasts
Check your own Vida Laboral regularly Calculate antigüedad correctly from the start of the contract, not freshly each season
Keep an eye on deadlines for filing claims if no recall occurs Have the contract type regularly checked against ITSS criteria

Conclusion

The fijo discontinuo is the central form of employment for Mallorca's tourism industry – a permanent contract with a built-in seasonal rhythm, not a fixed-term contract, and certainly not an ERTE. Anyone who grasps this distinction also understands why the winter break is not grounds for dismissal, why length of service continues to accrue over the years, and why the Llamamiento is not merely a courtesy from the employer but a contractual obligation. For employees, this means registering with the SOIB in good time, knowing their own Convenio Colectivo, and seeking legal advice early on if anything is unclear. For employers, it means keeping clean documentation, meeting deadlines, and not misusing this contract type as a substitute for a regular permanent position – the labour inspectorate is now paying close attention to this.

Official Sources

Is a fijo discontinuo contract fixed-term or open-ended?
It is explicitly open-ended (Art. 16 ET). Only the actual work performed is divided into active and inactive phases; the employment relationship itself continues without interruption.
Is the winter break of a fijo discontinuo worker considered an ERTE?
No. The planned seasonal break arises directly from the contract itself (Art. 16 ET) and is the normal state of affairs. An ERTE under Art. 47 ET is a separate, extraordinary procedure for unexpected business emergencies, involving notification to the labour authority and a consultation period.
How far in advance must the llamamiento (recall to work) take place?
The law does not specify a fixed number of days' notice. It merely requires written form or another verifiable form, precise details of the conditions for return to work, and a "reasonable" lead time. Specific deadlines are set out in the relevant collective bargaining agreement.
Does the period of inactivity count towards my length of service?
Yes. Antigüedad (seniority) is calculated based on the entire duration of the employment relationship since the contract began, not just the months actually worked – this is particularly relevant for severance pay claims.
Do I need to register with the SOIB during the winter break?
Yes, in order to claim benefits as a jobseeker. Register as soon as the inactivity period begins; the current procedures and deadlines can be found at soib.es.
What happens if my employer doesn't call me back for the next season?
If the expected llamamiento fails to materialise, you may, under certain circumstances, bring the relevant claims. The deadline for doing so starts from the point at which the recall failed to occur, or from the moment you became aware of this.
Can I move from a fijo discontinuo contract into a permanent full-time position?
The company must inform staff about available open-ended full-time positions, so that you can apply for a voluntary conversion. However, there is no automatic entitlement to this.
Does the fijo discontinuo arrangement only apply in the hotel industry?
No, it is also common in other sectors with recurring but not year-round activity, such as education (private tutoring/extracurricular activities) or project-based contracts (contratas). However, the clear focus is on the tourism sector.