Report · January 1, 2025

Employment Issues in Video Game Development: Spain

Published by AEVI

Summary

The guideaims to help video‑game publishers, developers and related staff in Spain navigate employment legislation while fostering safe, productive workplaces. It stresses that compliance with the Workers’ Statute, the 2022 labour reform and the Remote‑Working Law is essential to avoid costly legal sanctions and to protect staff from the health‑risk phenomenon known as “crunch.” Key findings highlight the danger of false self‑employment, where workers appear independent but are actually subject to employer control. Spanish courts identify dependency, subordination and fixed remuneration as hallmarks; violations can trigger Social‑Security fines of €3,750‑€12,000 per worker, plus surcharges up to 150 % of unpaid contributions. The guide confirms that indefinite contracts are the default; fixed‑term contracts are permissible only for production‑related needs or to replace absent employees, with a maximum six‑month duration for the former and 90 days per calendar year for the latter. Misusing temporary contracts converts the relationship to permanent status and incurs fines of €751‑€7,500 per affected employee. Remote work must be voluntarily agreed, cover at least 30 % of a worker’s time, and include employer‑funded equipment costing roughly €25‑€35 per month; non‑compliance also attracts fines of €751‑€7,500. Occupational‑risk prevention is mandated under Law 31/1995, with penalties ranging from €45 to €983,736 depending on severity, and requires systematic risk analyses to curb physical and psychosocial harms linked to crunch periods. Additionally, firms must maintain objective daily time‑recording systems, respect the irregular distribution of hours (up to a 10 % pool, notified five days in advance), and implement digital‑disconnection protocols, equality plans for organisations with over 50 employees, and whistle‑blowing channels. Overall, the guide provides a practical checklist for Spanish video‑game companies: verify contract types, assess self‑employment arrangements, formalise remote‑work agreements, enforce occupational‑risk measures, and ensure accurate time‑keeping and compliance with broader digital‑and‑equality obligations, thereby reducing legal exposure and promoting healthier work environments.

From the report

AEV ASOCIACION ESPANOLA DE VIDEOJUEGOS Employment issues in video game development Guide prepared by Guide prepared by

Contents 1. How are employment relationships regulated? How do they affect the video game sector? 5 2. False self-employed workers: a risk to avoid 5 3. What kind of employment contract? Different options 7 4. What are the consequences of incorrectly entering into temporary contracts? 8 5. How to regulate remote work in a video game company 8 6. Occupational risk prevention 9 7. The daily working time record: Is it compulsory? 10 8. The irregular distribution of working hours 11 9. Other obligations 11

AEVI | EMPLOYMENT ISSUES IN VIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT Introduction to the Guide Author: This guide will be of great use to you if you are in the Daniel Cifuentes (Pérez-Llorca) video game industry, whether you are a publisher, a [email protected] developer or work in marketing. In the video game industry, success depends on many professionals working together. This guide is designed to help you optimise all aspects of team and process management within your company, ensuring a productive environment and compliance with employment legislation in Spain. Specifically, this guide will be useful regarding the following: Hiring employees and the concept of false self-employment: How are employment relationships governed in the video game sector, and what legal and economic risks does false self-employment entail? Types of contracts and their correct execution: Why is permanent employment the norm in Spain, and what are the consequences of using temporary contracts outside the legal requirements? Flexible organisation of work: How are remote working and flexible working hours implemented in a video game studio, and how are working hours and the registration of these hours managed? Prevention of occupational hazards: Why is it essential to prevent the crunch and protect the physical and psychological health of teams, and what are the legal obligations in terms of occupational risk prevention?

1. How are employment relationships regulated? How do they affect the video game sector? In Spanish law, employment relations are regulated, fundamentally and in their most essential aspects, by the provisions of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of 23 October, which approves the revised text of the Workers’ Statute Law (better known as the “Workers’ Statute”). The following guidelines are based on this text, which is directly relevant to the video game sector. 2. False self-employed workers: a risk to avoid In the world of work, there are two main types of workers: self-employed workers (who work on their own account) and employees (who work for a company or employer). A self-employed worker offers his services or products and assumes the risks of his business; this means that if his business does well, he earns more, and if it does badly, he may lose money. Video game developers of all kinds are often immersed in a highly dynamic and competitive environment. The need to adapt quickly to changes in technology, market trends and player demands can lead to situations where hiring self-employed workers becomes a strategic option.

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Type: Report

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dly, he may lose money. Video game developers of all kinds are often immersed in a highly dynamic and competitive environment. The need to adapt quickly to changes in technology, market trends and player demands can lead to situations where hiring self-employed workers becomes a strategic option. Self-employed workers offer flexibility and specialisation, allowing companies to tackle specific projects with specialised skills without making long-term commitments. In addition, in the video game industry, where project cycles can be variable, hiring self-employed workers provides the ability to quickly scale up the team during periods of high demand and scale down when necessary. This agility in the management of human resources allows companies to optimise their costs and maintain a highly trained team, which is vital for success in a sector as dynamic as the video game industry. However, as in other sectors, there are sometimes cases of false self-employment, which includes those people who, although they appear to be self-employed –in other words, they have signed a contract to provide commercial services –are not really self-employed because they provide their services in a regime of clear dependence and subordination (ajenidad) from their employer, and do not assume the risks and results of the business activity, as a true employee would do. The key factors that Spanish courts have identified as characteristics of a hidden ordinary employment relationship are: Dependency Subordination Highly personal nature and remuneration

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