Discreet search · The contract

«Alta dirección» is not your title.It is your scope.

Two people carrying the same «Managing Director» card can have exit terms that look nothing alike. What separates them is not the title: it is whether the job meets three conditions in Spain's Royal Decree 1382/1985. If it does, your notice period, your severance and what you may sign on the way out all change.

7 days per year is the severance on employer withdrawal where nothing was agreed. In an ordinary contract, unfair dismissal is 33

Every figure on this page is cited to its article and linked to the Spanish official gazette. And the thing that decides whether it applies to you is the same thing that decides whether your CV stands up: the scope of the job — revenue, headcount, countries and who you reported to.

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The premise

Nobody applies for this regime.You are simply in it.

Most Spanish executives find out whether they were «personal de alta dirección» on the day they leave, when somebody puts a number in front of them that they were not expecting. Until then it looks like an administrative label with no consequences.

Here are the consequences. If the regime applies and the company decides it no longer wants you, article 11.1 defers to the contract and, where nothing was agreed, sets seven days of cash salary per year of service capped at six months' pay. In an ordinary employment relationship, a dismissal declared unfair is thirty-three days per year capped at twenty-four months. For somebody with twenty years in the building, the gap between those two sums is not a detail.

And it cuts both ways: your own notice period is three months, or up to six if that is what you signed, whereas in an ordinary relationship article 49.1.d defers to the collective agreement or local custom. It is the timetable the hiring company has not planned for, and the one that derails start dates already promised.

You are not «alta dirección» because of the title on the card. You are because of the powers you actually exercise.

It is the same idea that governs a good executive CV: the title is an empty data point and the scope is the data point. Here it also happens to be written into a statute.

First of all

The three conditionsthat decide whether it applies.

Article 1.2 defines senior management personnel as those who «those employees who exercise powers inherent to the legal ownership of the company, and relating to its general objectives, with autonomy and full responsibility limited only by the criteria and direct instructions of the person or of the senior governing and administrative bodies of the entity that holds that ownership». That definition can be broken down into three elements, but they are weighed together and none decides on its own: job title, budget, formal powers and reporting lines are evidence, not answers.

Powers inherent to ownership of the business
Being senior is not enough. This is about exercising faculties that strictly belong to the owner of the business: binding the company to third parties, deciding over its assets, representing it. What the courts look at are the powers actually exercised: a formal deed of authority is strong evidence, but its absence does not by itself rule out senior management status, nor does holding one guarantee it.
Over the company's general objectives
The statute says «general», not «important». Running one function — sales, the plant, finance — points more towards ordinary management than senior management. But it is not an automatic rule: Spanish case law also accepts that a particular function may bear on matters central to the company’s general objectives. What gets examined is the real reach of the decision, not the name of the department.
With autonomy, and only one step below the owner
The only admissible limit on your autonomy is «the criteria and direct instructions» of the owners or the governing body. Day-to-day subordination to other executives is strong evidence against. But «committee», «parent company» or «one step» are not categories that decide on their own: what matters is who gives the instructions, with what powers and over which decisions. Nor does full responsibility require that no power be shared.
And with no written contract, content still decides
Article 4.1 requires the contract in writing, in duplicate. But it provides for the opposite case: in the absence of a written agreement, the employee is understood to be senior management personnel where the conditions of article 8.1 of the Workers' Statute are met and the professional service matches the definition in article 1.2. In other words: signing nothing does not take you out of the special regime, and signing a paper headed «alta dirección» does not put you into it if the job is not that.

Royal Decree 1382/1985 of 1 August, consolidated text: BOE-A-1985-17006. The official text is in Spanish; the quotations here are our translations. This page describes the general framework and is not legal advice. If severance turns on how your job is classified, this is one of the few conversations in a career that pays for itself with an employment lawyer.

What changes

Seven differences,and in six of them the contract wins.

Article 3.1 sets out the rule that explains everything else: the rights and obligations of this relationship «shall be governed by the will of the parties, subject to the provisions of this Royal Decree». The figures below are what the statute applies when the contract says nothing else. But «governed by the will of the parties» does not mean everything is disposable: the Spanish Supreme Court has struck down a clause removing severance on withdrawal altogether, so that protection has a minimum the contract cannot empty out. And mind the word «floor»: the nine months of probation and the two years of non-compete are maximums, not minimums. The contract is there to improve terms, not to remove mandatory ones.

Your notice on resigning: three months, or up to six
Article 10.1: «a minimum notice period of three months» must be served, and «that period may be of up to six months where so established in writing in contracts entered into for an indefinite term or for longer than five years». The exception is in the same sentence: notice «need not be observed in the event of a serious breach of contract by the employer».
And if you do not serve it, you pay for it
Article 10.2: where the duty of notice is not met in whole or in part, the employer is entitled to «compensation equal to the salary corresponding to the duration of the period not served». Leaving one month early on a three-month notice has a calculable price, and the person who usually ends up paying it is the executive who had already committed to another start date. It works the same way in the other direction, and that is worth remembering: the second paragraph of article 11.1 entitles the senior executive to «compensation equal to the salary corresponding to the duration of the period not served» when it is the company that fails to give notice. It is separate from, and additional to, the severance on withdrawal.
Withdrawal: the company can let you go with no cause
Article 11.1: the contract may be terminated «by withdrawal of the employer, communicated in writing», with the same notice as in 10.1. No cause need be alleged — which does not mean any motive will do: a withdrawal masking retaliation or discrimination moves into fundamental-rights territory. Severance is whatever was agreed and, failing that, «seven days of cash salary per year of service capped at six months' pay». That six-month cap is what makes the severance clause the single most profitable point in the whole joining negotiation.
Unfair dismissal: 20 days, not 33
Article 11.2: where a disciplinary dismissal is declared unfair, the amounts are «those agreed in the contract, failing which twenty days of cash salary per year of service and up to a maximum of twelve months' pay». In an ordinary relationship, article 56.1 of the Workers' Statute is thirty-three days per year up to twenty-four months, with different rules in the eleventh transitional provision for contracts predating 12 February 2012. Article 11.3 adds that, where the dismissal is unfair or void, company and executive agree whether there is reinstatement or money and that «in the event of disagreement» payment is deemed to have been chosen. But that literal wording is not the whole regime: where the dismissal is void because a fundamental right was breached, the Spanish Supreme Court requires reinstatement and back pay. It is the qualification that makes this paragraph a consultation rather than a sum.
The four doors that let you leave with severance
Article 10.3: you may terminate with the severance provided for employer withdrawal on the grounds of substantial changes to working conditions that notably harm your professional development, undermine your dignity or are decided in serious breach of good faith; non-payment or continued delay in paying agreed salary; any other serious breach of the employer’s contractual obligations — and here the statute expressly carves out «cases of force majeure, in which the severance shall not be payable»; and «the transfer of the business or a significant change in its ownership that results in a renewal of its governing bodies or of the content and approach of its main activity». A sale on its own is not enough: that renewal effect is required — provided you leave within the following three months. That three-month clock is the one almost nobody knows is running.
The non-compete: two years and two requirements
Article 8.3: a covenant for after the contract ends «may not last longer than two years» and «shall be valid only if the following requirements are met: a) that the employer has an actual industrial or commercial interest in it; b) that the senior executive is paid adequate financial compensation». Article 21.2 of the Workers' Statute splits that period in two: two years for technical staff and six months for other employees. The two validity requirements are the same in both statutes, and the compensation is not a courtesy: it is a condition of validity.
And nine months of probation
Article 5.1: the probation period «may in no case exceed nine months, where the contract is of indefinite duration». Three quarters in which the company can withdraw with no severance. It is the most concrete reason not to resign from one job before reading the next contract from end to end.
What it costs

Six mistakesthat are paid for in money.

✕
Assuming you are owed 33 days per year
It is the figure everybody repeats because it is the one in article 56.1 of the Workers' Statute, and it is correct for an ordinary employment relationship. If your job fits article 1.2 of RD 1382/1985 and your contract says nothing else, the floor is seven days per year capped at six months on withdrawal, and twenty capped at twelve on unfair dismissal.
✕
Committing to a start date before reading your notice clause
The hiring company asks «when can you start?» in the second conversation, and the reasonable-sounding answer is «a month». If your real notice is three months — or six — you have already created a problem. Sometimes it is fixed by agreeing a different start date or a waiver of notice; when it is not, article 10.2 puts a price on the salary for the period not served. Better not to promise the date before knowing the period.
✕
Signing a non-compete without checking the compensation
Two years is the maximum article 8.3 allows, not the reach of every covenant: what actually restricts you is the activity, the territory and the period the specific clause describes. That is why its scope matters as much as its length. The same article requires «adequate financial compensation» as a condition of the covenant's validity, not as a gesture. If there is none, there is a conversation to have before signing and not after leaving.
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Letting the three months after a change of owner run out
Your company is bought, the board changes, the plan changes. The natural reaction is to wait and see. Article 10.3.d gives a right to leave with severance, but only «within the three months following» those changes. Waiting six months to see how it develops turns a right into an ordinary resignation.
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Taking a board seat elsewhere without saying so
Article 8.1 speaks of other employment contracts, and a board seat usually is not one: article 1.3.c of the Workers’ Statute excludes from its scope activity limited to merely holding the office of director. So the presumption in 8.1 — «where the link to the other entity was public and was not excluded in the special employment contract» — does not automatically answer the board question. You have to look at the nature of that relationship and at the duties and conflict rules that apply to you.
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Thinking the heading on the contract settles it
A contract headed «alta dirección» does not turn into senior management a job that exercises no ownership powers over general objectives; and the absence of a written contract does not escape the regime, because article 4.1 infers it from what the work actually was. The final word belongs to a judge of the social jurisdiction — article 14 says so expressly.
When it is decided

Three moments,and only one is negotiable.

Article 2 says this relationship «is based on the mutual trust of the parties». It is a fine sentence and it is also the problem: trust is not written down, and what was not written down is what gets argued about at the end.

01
Signing, which is the only real lever
Everything that matters can be agreed: severance on withdrawal, severance on unfair dismissal, the length of notice, the compensation for the non-compete. It is the moment when you have the most negotiating power, because it is when they want you inside. Things are negotiated afterwards too — variations, exit agreements, waivers of notice — but from a worse position. Whatever is not agreed there is governed by what the statute says.
Negotiate the exit on the way in
02
The change of ownership, with its three-month clock
A sale, a merger, a fund that comes in and renews the board. It is the moment a door opens that closes by itself after three months, and the article requires the termination to have taken place within that period, not merely to have been decided. What to do in those three months is not necessarily to leave: it is to know the door exists and decide in time. Letting it pass closes this particular route, not any other right you may have.
Decide, do not wait
03
The exit, where nothing is negotiated any more
Here what was agreed carries most of the weight, although article 4.1 is a reminder that with no written contract the classification follows what the job actually was, and although exits get negotiated too. And here the governing question appears: was the job really senior management? Both sides have an interest in the answer that suits them, and the answer turns on facts — powers, signing authority, who you reported to — that are documented beforehand, not afterwards.
Documentation carries the weight

And if you are at the third moment without having been through the first, the order is still the same: gather the facts of your scope — powers granted, the deed of authority, minutes recording your attendance, who you reported to — before sitting down to argue about a figure. Those facts are also, precisely, what holds up an executive CV.

How ZenitJob handles it

The same datadoes both jobs.

ZenitJob is not a law firm and will not tell you whether you are «alta dirección». What it does is something that turns out to be the same preparatory work: putting the real scope of every job you have held into writing. They are the same facts argued over when a relationship has to be classified, and the ones a committee looks at to decide whether to interview you. To be blunt: the diagnostic is about your CV, not about the law — it does not say whether you are «alta dirección» or what you are owed.

1
Base CV
Your scope, job by job
You tell your career out loud and it comes back structured around what actually matters: revenue, budget, direct and indirect headcount, countries and who you reported to. Those are the four data points that turn a title into a fact.
2
Diagnostic
We tell you which job has no scope
The free analysis walks your CV job by job and flags which ones are missing an amount, a headcount, a geography or a year. It invents no figure: it lists the ones that are not there, which is the only honest thing to do with data you have not given us.
3
Tailoring
And you reuse it in every application
With the scope written once, each CV and each letter is tailored to the specific posting without rewriting anything. That is what makes it possible to apply to a few well-chosen things, which at executive level is the only approach that works.
4
Discretion
Without announcing that you are looking
Everything happens inside your account: nothing is published on your profile, nothing notifies your network. If you are still inside the company with a team reporting to you, the full procedure is in the guide to searching without your employer knowing.

Start with the free diagnostic — no sign-up. If you are also still employed, the two sister pieces to this page are searching without your employer knowing and Open to Work for recruiters only.

Common questions

Questions about «alta dirección»

Am I «alta dirección» if my title is Managing Director?
The title does not decide it. Article 1.2 defines senior management personnel as «those employees who exercise powers inherent to the legal ownership of the company, and relating to its general objectives, with autonomy and full responsibility limited only by the criteria and direct instructions of the person or of the senior governing and administrative bodies of the entity that holds that ownership». Those are conditions about what the job actually is, not about what it is called, and they are weighed together: neither the org chart nor signing authority decides alone. This page describes the general framework and is not legal advice: if severance turns on it, take it to a Spanish employment lawyer.
How much notice must I give as a senior executive?
Article 10.1 sets «a minimum notice period of three months», and allows «up to six months where so established in writing in contracts entered into for an indefinite term or for longer than five years». It need not be observed «in the event of a serious breach of contract by the employer». If you do not serve it, 10.2 entitles the employer to «compensation equal to the salary corresponding to the duration of the period not served».
How much severance am I entitled to?
It depends on the route. On withdrawal by the employer, article 11.1 defers to the contract and, failing that, sets «seven days of cash salary per year of service capped at six months' pay». Where a dismissal is declared unfair, 11.2 again defers to the contract and, failing that, to «twenty days of cash salary per year of service and up to a maximum of twelve months' pay». In an ordinary employment relationship, article 56.1 of the Workers' Statute is thirty-three days per year up to twenty-four months. The contract can improve those amounts, which is why the severance clause is the one worth negotiating on the way in; what it cannot do is empty out the minimum protection on withdrawal, which the Supreme Court has held to be mandatory. They are also distinct routes out, not two price tags on the same exit.
Can I hold a second contract or a board seat elsewhere?
Under article 8.1, «senior management personnel may not enter into other employment contracts with other companies, save with the employer's authorisation or a written agreement to the contrary». It adds a qualification worth knowing: «the employer's authorisation is presumed where the link to the other entity was public and was not excluded in the special employment contract».
Is the non-compete clause in my contract valid?
Article 8.3 says the covenant for after the contract ends «may not last longer than two years», and «shall be valid only if the following requirements are met: a) that the employer has an actual industrial or commercial interest in it; b) that the senior executive is paid adequate financial compensation». If there is no compensation, there is a validity problem worth a consultation before signing rather than after leaving.
My company has been sold. Can I leave with severance?
It depends on what the sale changed. Article 10.3.d covers the case of «the transfer of the business or a significant change in its ownership that results in a renewal of its governing bodies or of the content and approach of its main activity, provided the termination takes place within the three months following those changes». The three-month window is the detail people forget.
Can my probation period really be nine months?
It can, if there is a probation agreement and that is what was agreed. Article 5.1 allows a probation period that «may in no case exceed nine months, where the contract is of indefinite duration»: it is a conditional maximum, not a period that comes as standard. It is not an automatic period: it depends on there being a valid probation agreement and on its length. Article 14 of the Workers' Statute sets no single general maximum for ordinary employment — it varies with the collective agreement, the qualification and the size of the company — so the comparison has to be made against your specific contract. It is one reason not to resign from one job before reading the next contract from end to end.
Sources

Where every figure comes from

Every legal figure and every quoted phrase comes from the consolidated text of these statutes, cited by article so that you can check them one by one. What is not a quotation is flagged for what it is: a summary of an article, court doctrine where the literal wording is not enough, and illustrative examples — twenty years of service, an interview exchange — that come from no statute and are not data.

BOE · Royal Decree 1382/1985 regulating the special employment relationship of senior management personnel, consolidated text (articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 14) BOE · Workers' Statute, consolidated text (articles 1.3.c, 8.1, 14, 21, 49.1.d, 56.1 and the eleventh transitional provision) BOE · Civil Code, consolidated text (article 5, how periods expressed in months are counted)

The official text of both statutes is in Spanish and the quotations here are our translations. The BOE consolidated texts carry their own warning: this consolidated text is for information only and has no legal force. The RD 1382/1985 version is current to 6 March 2012. References to Supreme Court doctrine are cited for what they decide on the specific point, not as a universal rule: how a job is classified is decided case by case. And what is here is not legal advice: it is the map that gets you to a consultation with the questions already framed. ZenitJob does not classify employment relationships or calculate severance, and its CV diagnostic does neither.

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