If you move to Spain assuming that you will automatically get employment out there you may need to think again. As in the UK job prospects are poor right now. Even the Spanish are having a hard time of it, as unemployment rates are at record highs and the economy is in bad shape.

Paradoxically though some British will find employment that the Spanish themselves would struggle to obtain. So, all is not doom and gloom, but ideally before you join the other million or so expats in Spain you should either have a job already lined up, or, have sufficient funds not to have to rely on work over there.

The traditional kind of work in Spain involves areas such as building and working in bars. These are the traditionally strong areas of the Spanish economy, and have been for a number of years. But, that`s all changing as homes aren`t selling, and people aren`t going out as much for entertainment.

There seems to be no shortage of builders in Spain. Most of course are locals, but some come in from Eastern Europe, and North Africa. And as with happens in many countries, not all are working legally.

 

Remember, employment in the building trade in the UK can be very different to doing the same in Spain. The weather for a start is a lot different in the summer. It gets a lot hotter, and for longer. Very often in the UK builders do the outside jobs when it`s dry, and when the weather turns wet they do inside jobs. In Spain they can go months without rain, so the outside work has to be done in the heat, though at Siesta time in the day they do downtools for a few hours. The basic pay for labouring starts at around 6 euros for manual work (not declared, which I wouldn`t advocate). If you take on a properly registered job then there is an unemployment payout scheme, similar to the UK. Health and Safety is almost non existent on building sites. Hard hats tend to be worn only when they get warned in advance that an inspector is due.

I`ve known builders who go over there, can`t find steady work, and have to return to the UK for several months of the year to take up employment here. That often means time away from their families and can put a strain on relationships.

If you are thinking of going to live in a place in Spain with a large British contingent then there are often some small jobs going - building walls, putting up fences, building patios etc - but they are short term and can`t be relied on to provide a steady year round income. When it comes to building houses or even pools those jobs are usually taken up by the Spanish themselves though.

Talking about pools, this is where there is sometimes a niche if you get in early enough on a new development. Some residents will take care of the cleaning of their own pools. Others will gladly pay someone to do their pool maintenance. And this is where a fellow Brit who is reliable can get good regular work. It pays about 16 euros a visit, the length of which may vary of course. A number of pools now being installed are the saltwater type, and they are a little more complicated to maintain than the more traditional standard chlorine pools. During summer the pool is usually cleaned once a fortnight, all materials being paid for by the householder, so the 16 euros is for labour only.

Another job which is particularly suitable to expats living in Spain is cleaning work. This can be either for residents who are prepared to pay for someone to clean their homes. Or, more usually, for rental properties. Landlords often live in the UK, and only visit their properties at intervals in the year, so they need someone to take care of their homes. Just for the cleaning you might get paid say 60 euros. And, if you `meet and greet` new arrivals and be there when they check out you can earn even more. So, you could end up looking after the pool, cleaning the property,and meeting and greeting, perhaps on occasions even picking up renters and dropping them back off at the airport.

As for bar/restaurant work that is quite popular, and as there are a lot of English bars in Spain a lot of work is available for Brits. Little if any knowledge of the Spanish language is needed, as most people going to English bars are British, or can speak English. The problem is that bar work can be very unsteady. Because of the recession these type of establishments are closing down altogether, or are being taken over. It`s amazing how many bars and restaurants change hands over any 12 month period. And that applies whether they belong to Brits, Spanish, Dutch or any other nationality.

Finally, just like in the UK there is always likely to be employment for those skilled in such things as teaching, which is where fluency in more than one language can be very advantageous.

I know of one family who moved to Spain where the daughter got a job in a hairdressing salon owned by some English people. The clientele was mostly British, but some were Spanish. It certainly helped her become fluent in speaking Spanish anyway. Some entrepreneurial types go one step further and become mobile hairdressers, providing a service mainly to the expat community.

In summary, yes there are jobs going for expats in Spain, but you could end up bitterly disappointed and out of pocket if you haven`t prepared well and thought out your plans thoroughly before you go.

 

 

 

 

  Contact Us | Privacy Policy  | Resources