Bringing the warehouse in-house: your collective agreement changes and nobody tells you
Nextica Law & Tax orders a digital business's hiring once it is no longer just an office: identifying the collective agreement that applies when warehousing and order picking are brought in-house, campaign contracts for the November and sales peaks using the right instrument, the employment status of in-house couriers under the presumption in art. 16.2 of the Workers' Statute, working-time records per site where the warehouse runs shifts, and a review of last-mile subcontracting and the risks it brings with it.
The day it brings the warehouse in-house it changes collective agreement, risk profile and inspection exposure. Nobody tells it.
What's included
1. Determining the collective agreement that starts to apply once the operation is no longer just an office and takes in warehousing, order picking and delivery.
2. Reviewing the classification and grading of the new roles, using the scales of the relevant agreement and not the office one.
3. Designing the campaign
which contractual form fits the predictable peaks and where there is a real cause for a fixed-term contract.
4. Analysing in-house delivery versus subcontracted delivery, with the risk each model carries.
5. Working-time records per site once the warehouse runs shifts, which is not the same system that works for the office.
6. Reviewing last-mile subcontracting and the obligations inherited from it.
7. Day-one onboarding and training documentation, with the particularities of warehouse work.
THE DAY YOU BRING THE WAREHOUSE IN-HOUSE YOU CHANGE AGREEMENT
And nobody tells you, because the company is the same and so is the tax number.
Continuing to apply the office agreement to warehouse and delivery staff
it is determined by the predominant actual activity, and correcting retrospectively means regularising differences in scales, working time and allowances for every affected employee.
sectoral agreement applicable to the actual activityIn-house couriers engaged as self-employed
there is a presumption of employment for those providing paid delivery services where the company exercises organisational, management and control powers through a platform or an algorithm, and the burden of proving otherwise is reversed.
art. 16.2 Workers' StatuteCampaign peaks covered with fixed-term contracts year after year
where the peak repeats on predictable dates, the right form is the permanent-seasonal contract, and chaining fixed-term contracts without evidenced cause turns them into permanent ones.
Workers' StatuteCURRENT CONTRACTUAL MODALITIES IN 2026
| Mode | When to use | Key requirements and risks |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary indefinite | The standard modality since the 2021 reform. Preferable in case of doubt. | It can be full-time or part-time. For part-time work, specific hour recording and limitation of supplementary hours. |
| Fixed-discontinuous | Seasonal or cyclical activity, or work that is not provided continuously but is predictable. | Replaces the work and service contract for non-permanent but recurring activities. Incorrect design → can become ordinary indefinite. |
| Temporary replacement (art. 15.1.c ET) | Replace an employee with the right to job reservation (sick leave, maternity, leave of absence) or cover vacancy during the selection process. | The replaced worker or the reason for the vacancy must be identified. 3-month limit for vacancy coverage. |
| Alternating training (art. 11.2 ET) | Unqualified people for the position, under 30 years old. Bonuses in social security contributions. | Duration: 3 months to 2 years. Maximum workload: 65% in the first year, 85% in the second. Minimum compensation of 60%/75% of the minimum wage or the agreement. |
| Senior Management Contract (RD 1382/1985) | Senior management personnel who exercises powers inherent to the ownership of the company with full autonomy. | It is governed by RD 1382/1985 and not by the ET. Compensation in case of withdrawal: minimum 7 days/year unless otherwise agreed. No mandatory maximum legal probation period. |
Ordinary indefinite
Fixed-discontinuous
Temporary replacement (art. 15.1.c ET)
Alternating training (art. 11.2 ET)
Senior Management Contract (RD 1382/1985)
Frequently asked questions
Which collective agreement applies if I set up my own warehouse?
It stops being obvious as soon as the real activity changes. A company that only sold online from an office may end up, under the same tax number, with order picking, goods-in and delivery staff, and the predominant activity determines the agreement. In practice it is worth settling before hiring anyone, because the agreement decides pay scales, working time, job grades, allowances and calendar, and correcting retrospectively means regularising differences for every affected employee, not only for whoever claimed.
I have my own couriers. Is it enough for them to be self-employed?
No, and this is the area with the least room for manoeuvre. Art. 16.2 of the Workers' Statute establishes a presumption of employment for those providing paid delivery services where the company exercises organisational, management and control powers through a platform or an algorithm. In other words, the burden of showing there is no employment relationship is reversed. If delivery is part of the service being sold and is organised from within the company, the sensible route is employment or subcontracting to an operator with a real structure, not engaging individual self-employed couriers.
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