Workers do not have to wait until the last day of the month to collect part of their salary. He Workers Statute recognizes the right to ask advances on account of work already doneeven if the usual collection date has not yet arrived. Of course, the law places clear limits on this right, which it is advisable to know before requesting it.
The right is not new: it is included in the article 29 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of October 23dedicated to the settlement and payment of salary. Let’s see what exactly you can demand from your company and what is outside this right.
Article 29 of the Workers’ Statute allows the salary already worked to be advanced
The first section of this article requires the payroll to be paid in a timely and documented manner, on the date and place agreed upon between the worker and the company, or in accordance with customary practices. It also establishes that the payment period for periodic and regular remuneration cannot exceed one month. However, the same article recognizes the right to dispose of part of the salary before the day set for payment arrives.
The rule establishes that the worker and, with his authorization, his legal representatives have the right to receive advances on account of work already done before the usual collection date. In other words, you can claim the money for the days you have already completed without waiting for the payroll to arrive. The law does not require a minimum period to pass: it is enough that those hours have already been worked.
The limits of the salary advance and how to request it from the company
The reference to work already done delimits the scope of the right: the advance does not cover future days, vacations pending enjoyment or any period that has yet to be worked within the current month. The law protects the salary already earnednot the one that has yet to be generated and that, therefore, does not yet give the right to collection.
If you need an advance for days that you have not yet worked, you can reach a voluntary agreement with the company, but this is not obliged to grant it to you under article 29. This situation is outside this right and will depend on what is negotiated individually or on the conditions provided for in the collective agreement.
Article 29 does not specify the response period, the exact form of the request or a maximum advance payment percentage; The limit is the salary already earned. The most prudent thing is ask for it in writing and record the exact days to which the advance corresponds. You can request it directly or, if you prefer, your legal representatives, as long as they have your express authorization.
Delays in payroll and interest of 10% per year provided for in article 29
Article 29 not only regulates advances: it also imposes obligations on the company in the ordinary payment of salary. Each payroll must be accompanied by a individual receipt and supporting documentationadjusted to the official model, unless the collective agreement or an agreement with the workers’ representatives establishes another. This document must clearly reflect both the perceptions and the deductions.
If the company is late in payment, the law also establishes economic consequences. The third section of article 29 provides for a late payment interest of 10% per year on the salary amounts owed, calculated according to the delay time. It does not mean that any delay will incur a full 10% surcharge: interest may need to be claimed to collect interest. He Workers Statute It also allows the payment of salary in legal tender, by check or through credit institutions, following a report from the works council or personnel delegates.
