Spanish at Work — From Contracts to Coffee Breaks
Master workplace Spanish — contracts, meetings, emails, asking for time off, and the colloquial expressions your colleagues really use.
Key phrases
¿Qué tal el curro? ¿Mucho lío esta semana?
How's work? Crazy busy this week?
Después de dos años de contrato temporal, por fin me han hecho indefinida.
After two years on a temporary contract, they've finally made me permanent.
Estoy hasta arriba de trabajo, no me pases nada más hoy.
I'm up to my eyeballs in work — don't send me anything else today.
¿Nos tomamos un café? Luego sigo con el informe.
Shall we grab a coffee? I'll get back to the report afterwards.
Quería pedir dos días de asuntos propios para la semana que viene.
I'd like to take two personal days next week.
No voy a llegar al plazo — ¿me das hasta el lunes para entregarlo?
I'm not going to make the deadline — can you give me until Monday to hand it in?
Perdona que te interrumpa, pero creo que nos estamos yendo por las ramas.
Sorry to interrupt, but I think we're going off on a tangent.
Le adjunto el presupuesto actualizado. Quedo a la espera de su respuesta.
Please find attached the updated quote. I look forward to your reply.
Hoy ficho a las ocho porque tengo jornada intensiva.
I'm clocking in at eight today because I'm on a continuous shift.
Dicen que consiguió el puesto por enchufe.
They say he got the job through connections.
Voy a pedirle un aumento a mi jefa — cobro lo mismo desde 2023.
I'm going to ask my boss for a raise — I've been on the same pay since 2023.
¿Te vienes a unas cañas al salir? Va todo el departamento.
Coming for a few beers after work? The whole department is going.
Nobody Says “Trabajo” All Day
Your contract says trabajo, but your colleagues say curro. Tengo mucho curro (I’ve got loads of work on), ¿dónde curras? (where do you work?). Master this one word and you already sound less like a textbook. When the workload piles up you’re hasta arriba (up to your eyeballs) or agobiado/a (overwhelmed) — both heard hourly in any Spanish office.
Contracts and Getting Paid
Spanish working life revolves around your contract type. The dream is the contrato indefinido (permanent); the reality for many is the contrato temporal. Freelancers are autónomos, a word usually pronounced with a sigh because of the monthly fees and paperwork.
- el sueldo — salary, discussed as bruto (gross) vs neto (net)
- la nómina — your payslip
- cobrar — to get paid (cobro a final de mes)
- un aumento de sueldo — a pay rise
- pagas extras — the two extra monthly payments most Spanish employees get in summer and at Christmas
Meetings and Emails
Una reunión eats your morning; convocar una reunión is to call one. Useful moves: tomar la palabra (take the floor), estoy de acuerdo (I agree), and the diplomatic perdona que te interrumpa, pero… (sorry to interrupt, but…).
Email register matters. Formal: open with Estimado/a and close with un cordial saludo or atentamente. Between colleagues, a simple hola and un saludo — anything fancier reads as sarcasm.
Asking for Time Off
Holidays are vacaciones, but Spain also gives you días de asuntos propios — personal days you don’t have to justify. If you’re ill, the doctor puts you on la baja (sick leave). The natural request formula is quería pedir… — that imperfect tense softens the ask beautifully.
Cultural Tip: Respect the Coffee and the Lunch
The mid-morning pausa para el café is not slacking — it’s networking, and skipping it makes you the office hermit. And never, ever schedule a meeting between 2 and 3 pm: lunch is sacred. Many offices still run a jornada partida (split shift with a long lunch), though the jornada intensiva is winning ground fast.
Consider this your induction day — the full professional survival kit, from job interviews to IT meltdowns, lives in Daily Life and Culture, part of our Speak Spanish Like a Native book series.