From 1 August 2026, all companies will have six months to report the main or sole occupation of their workers to the General Treasury of Spanish Social Security.
This new obligation is included in Royal Decree 643/2026 and affects all employees registered under any of the company’s contribution account codes. However, the information will not need to be reported again when it has already been recorded with Spanish Social Security.
What must companies report to the TGSS?
Companies must review their workforce and identify the code that best represents the occupation performed by each worker, in accordance with the current National Classification of Occupations.
In other words, they must report the code corresponding to each employee’s sole or main occupation. This code identifies the type of work carried out by the employee.
When a person performs several functions, the company must identify their main occupation. This review may be more complex in multi-skilled roles or in small companies, where the same person performs different tasks during their working day.
Which workers are affected by this new obligation?
The report must be made for all employees registered with the company, regardless of the contribution account code to which they are linked.
Therefore, the measure is not limited to new hires. Companies must also review the employees who are already part of their workforce and check whether Spanish Social Security already has their occupation code.
Only those workers whose code has already been previously reported will be excluded from this communication.
Why does Spanish Social Security need this information?
The occupation code will make it possible to obtain more precise information on the functions carried out by workers.
Spanish Social Security will use this data to prepare the reports needed to assess the possible recognition of reduction coefficients for the retirement age in certain occupations that are especially arduous, toxic, dangerous or unhealthy.
For this reason, it is important that the occupation reported corresponds to the work performed by each person.
New deadline for reporting terminations and data changes
In addition, Royal Decree 643/2026 also extends the general deadline for reporting terminations and changes to workers’ data to Spanish Social Security.
From 1 August 2026, companies will have six calendar days, instead of the previous three days, to report these changes.
This deadline applies, for example, when an employment termination takes place or when any of the data that the company must keep updated before the General Treasury of Spanish Social Security changes.
How should companies prepare to report their workforce occupations?
Over the next six months, companies should:
- Check whether Spanish Social Security already has the occupation code of each worker.
- Review the functions performed by each person within the organisation.
- Identify their sole or main occupation in accordance with the current classification.
- Avoid the reported code becoming outdated if their functions or position change.
The choice may require special review when the worker performs several tasks or when the company’s internal job title does not clearly match an occupation under the official classification.
From LEIALTA’s labour department, we provide comprehensive advice to support companies in Spain in the management of their employment relationships, regulatory compliance and adaptation of internal procedures.
