The retail collective agreement that applies to you: the staff who open, close and run the season
Nextica Law & Tax orders the hiring side of a store network: identifying the collective agreement that actually applies —the XII Catalan retail agreement or the sub-sector agreement for textiles, food or metal retail—, job classification and grading, permanent-seasonal contracts for campaigns and sales with their call-up, working time and irregular distribution, and how holiday opening fits the Catalan trading-hours regime of Law 18/2017 and national Law 1/2004.
The wrong collective agreement across eight stores' payroll goes unnoticed until the ninth store's claim arrives.
What's included
1. Determining the collective agreement that actually applies to each store format, by real activity and not by the registration code.
2. Reviewing job classification and grading across the network, looking for the same role paid under two different scales.
3. Designing the campaign
permanent-seasonal contracts with call-up in the form and order the agreement sets, and fixed-term contracts only where there is a real cause.
4. The holiday opening calendar and how it is covered, coordinated with the working time and rest the agreement requires.
5. Part-time contracts and their annexes, with the supplementary hours agreement written down and not assumed.
6. Onboarding paperwork
job information, training and equipment, done on day one and signed.
7. An annual review before the season, which costs far less than arguing about the contracts afterwards.
A CRITERION APPLIED WRONGLY IS APPLIED WRONGLY IN EVERY STORE
In a network, an employment mistake is not individual: it replicates as many times as there are stores, and it surfaces all at once.
Wrong collective agreement
it is determined by the company's actual activity, not by the code chosen at registration or the one the previous adviser applied. Correcting retrospectively means regularising differences for every affected employee, not just for whoever claimed.
Catalan retail agreement or the applicable sub-sector oneStaffing the campaign on fixed-term contracts when it repeats every year on predictable dates: the natural form is the permanent-seasonal contract, with call-up and with length of service counting the whole relationship. The labour reform narrowed the fixed-term margin considerably.
Workers' StatuteOpening on a public holiday outside the calendar and the applicable trading-hours regime: the offence is a retail one, and holiday work also has its own treatment in the collective agreement.
Law 18/2017 and Law 1/2004CURRENT 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 to my shop in Catalonia?
The Catalan retail agreement, unless the main activity has its own sub-sector agreement —textiles and clothing, food, metal retail, among others— in which case that one prevails. It is determined by the company's actual activity, not by the code chosen at registration or the agreement the previous adviser happened to apply. In a network with different store formats more than one agreement can coexist, and that is where errors pile up: same job, same duties and two different pay scales is the claim that arrives by itself.
How should Christmas and sales campaigns be staffed?
Where the campaign repeats every year on predictable dates, the natural form is the permanent-seasonal contract, with the call-up in the manner and order the collective agreement sets and with length of service counting the whole relationship. A fixed-term contract is only available where there is a real, defined cause, and the labour reform narrowed that margin considerably. In practice, reviewing a network's campaign contracts before the season costs far less than arguing about them afterwards, because a criterion applied wrongly is applied wrongly in every store.
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