Bogus self-employment and body shopping: the Inspectorate's first target in tech
Nextica Law & Tax prepares and defends tech companies before the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate on what it actually examines: how self-employed contractors who work continuously and with the company's equipment are classified, the unlawful supply of workers in technical subcontracting chains prohibited by art. 43 of the Workers' Statute, working-time records where hours are flexible and remote, and the overtime that goes undeclared because nobody records it.
The freelancer who invoices every month, on a company laptop and in the daily stand-up, is the first thing the Inspectorate looks at.
What's included
1. A prior audit of contractors invoicing continuously
exclusivity, equipment, hours, integration into the team and years in the same position.
2. Reviewing technical services contracts performed at the client's premises
defined scope and deliverables, your own manager directing the work, and a price that is not hours per head.
3. Checking the working-time record for a team with flexible and remote hours, which is where the standard system does not fit.
4. Reviewing actual overtime against declared overtime, and how it is compensated and declared.
5. Orderly regularisation of whatever does not hold up, before the inspection arrives and with the cost calculated.
6. Preparing the first-visit folder and appointing a single point of contact.
7. Submissions against the infringement report and the assessment, and a plan to correct whatever the inspection exposes.
THE FREELANCER WHO INVOICES EVERY MONTH
On a company laptop, in the daily stand-up, and for the past three years. It is the first thing the Inspectorate looks at in this sector.
Bogus self-employment
it is not decided by the label but by whether the work is performed within the company's organisation and direction. The consequence is not only retroactive registration: it is contributions for the open years, the surcharge, and a relationship that becomes permanent.
Workers' StatuteUnlawful labour supply in body shopping
the line is crossed when the contractor merely places labour at the client's disposal without contributing its own organisation, resources or direction. The consequence is that the worker gets to choose which company to become permanent at.
art. 43 Workers' StatuteA working-time record that does not exist because 'hours are flexible'
the obligation does not disappear with flexibility or with remote work, and without a reliable record the evidence the employee produces gains credibility.
art. 34.9 Workers' StatuteLABOR SANCTION TABLE — LISOS 2026
Law of Offenses and Sanctions in the Social Order (LISOS), Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000. Updated amounts 2026.
| Degree | Minimum | Medium | Maximum | Frequent violations in inspections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 60 € | 185 € | 625 € | Minor formal defects in contracts or communications |
| Serious | 750 € | 4,005 € | 7,500 € | Without workday record · incorrect contracts · lack of registration in SS · breach of agreement |
| Very serious | €7,501 | 40.985 € | €225,018 | Without mandatory Equality Plan · illegal transfer of workers · violation of fundamental rights |
Light
Serious
Very serious
Frequently asked questions
What turns a freelancer into bogus self-employment?
Not a label, but facts: that the work is performed within the company's organisation and direction, with set hours, with instructions, with company equipment and with periodic pay, and without bearing any real business risk. The indicators that weigh most in practice are exclusive or near-exclusive invoicing, integration into the team and its routines, the absence of the contractor's own structure, and years spent in the same situation. The consequence is not only retroactive registration: it is four years of contributions, the surcharge, and a relationship that becomes permanent.
My technicians work at my client's offices. Is that unlawful labour supply?
It depends on whether what you supply is a service or people. The line in art. 43 of the Workers' Statute is crossed when the contractor merely places labour at the client's disposal, without contributing its own organisation, resources or direction, and it is the client who directs the day-to-day work. What saves a technical services contract is having a defined scope and deliverables, your own manager directing the team, your own resources, and a price that is not simply hours per head. The consequence of unlawful supply is that the worker gets to choose which company to become permanent at.
Cases we have worked on
- tecnologia
Pacto de socios que desbloqueó la entrada de un inversor
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