The social benefits for employees they are one of the most effective tools for improving a company's value proposition without increasing gross salary. An increasing number of organisations in Spain are incorporating them into their human resources strategy, both for their impact on motivation and talent retention and for their tax treatment. You can see here the Edenred employee benefits solution.
In this guide we explain what they are exactly, how they differ from flexible remuneration, what types exist, what benefits they bring to both company and employee, and how to design a plan step by step.
Social benefits are benefits in kind paid by the company on top of the agreed salary: meals, transport, childcare, health insurance or training. Unlike flexible remuneration, these are not deducted from the employee’s payslip nor are they subject to the 30% limit, and they are deductible for the company against corporation tax as a staff-related expense.
Its purpose is to improve the worker's quality of life and strengthen their bond with the organisation. They are usually applied collectively – to the entire workforce or to specific groups or departments – and do not require the employee to sign any amendment to their contract.
OfNice tryro of the remuneration policy, the social benefits are one of the parts of what in human resources find out how Reward and recognitionthe whole of the the remuneration received by a worker, monetary and non-monetary.
The tax treatment depends on the specific product. Some benefits are exempt from personal income tax up to a statutory limit, whilst others are not; the same applies to Social Security contributions, which it varies depending on the type of benefit in kind in question. We analyse this in detail in our article on benefits and Social Security contributions.
The difference lies in who funds the benefit. Under the flexible remuneration scheme, it is the employee who voluntarily allocates up to 30% of their gross annual salary to income tax-exempt benefits through a salary novation. Under the employee benefits scheme, it is the company that bears the cost as additional remuneration on top of the salary, with no 30% limit.
Both approaches are based on the Article 42 of Law 35/2006 on personal income tax and they can offer exactly the same products: meal vouchers, transport vouchers, childcare vouchers, health insurance or training. What differs is the source of the money, the formal arrangements and the level of customisation.
La Flexible remuneration It is individual and optional: each employee chooses. Employee benefits are decided by the company and are applied as standard. Both options are deductible for corporation tax purposes and can be combined in a mixed model.
If you’d like to see the full comparison, including a table of dimensions and use cases, please see Difference between Employee Benefits and Flexible Remuneration.
In Spain, there are five main types of social benefits: restaurant card (exempt from income tax up to €11 per working day), public transport (up to €1,500 per year per employee), Nursery (fully exempt), Health insurance and training related to the post. All of these are tax-deductible for the company for the purposes of corporation tax.
Not everyone is valued equally depending on their role. We analyse preferences using data in Employee benefits: which ones are most highly valued?. Below are the most widely implemented ones and what each contributes. Below are examples of the most widely implemented social benefits and what each contributes:
Ticket Restaurant it is the most widespread social benefit in Spain. It covers the worker's daily meal and is exempt from income tax up to €11 per working day. For the company, 100% is deductible for corporation tax purposes.
The annual saving for the employee depends on their marginal tax rate. You can calculate it using our savings calculator.
Transport Ticket It subsidises journeys between home and work on public transport: buses, trams, trains and the underground. It is exempt from personal income tax up to €1,500 per employee per year, with a monthly limit of €136.36.
100% is tax-deductible for the company and contributes to sustainable mobility objectives.
Nursery Ticket It covers the cost of early years education for children aged 0 to 3. It is completely exempt from income tax, with no limit on the amount, making it the benefit offering the greatest tax savings per euro invested.
It is one of the benefits with the most direct impact on work-life balance. You can see others in our article on benefits that promote work-life balance.
The health insurance It provides access to faster healthcare and specialists with no waiting list. It is tax-deductible for the company and exempt from personal income tax (IRPF) up to €500 per year per insured person (employee, spouse and descendants), or €1,500 in the case of disability.
How to implement it, step by step, in Health insurance as a employee benefit.
Work-related training is exempt from personal income tax and is tax-deductible for the company. It is also the benefit that Spanish professionals rank highest among their priorities: 41% cite it as their top preference, ahead of health insurance (40%) and support for the care of dependants (36%), according to the Great Employee Benefits Study 2026 developed by researchers at Aalto University.
La Edenred Gift Card It is a flexible and personalised solution for one-off campaigns, incentives, or employee recognition.
It is nominative, rechargeable and can be adapted to different budgets, offering a modern and motivating way of rewarding performance.
Not all benefits provide the same savings per euro invested. Nursery places and restaurant cards top the list due to their level of tax exemption, but the optimal choice depends on the composition of the workforce. We explore this in which social benefits are the most tax-advantaged in Spain.
For the company, the main advantage is that improves the remuneration received without increasing the gross salary, with the cost being deductible for corporation tax purposes. For the employee, this increases their disposable income because the exempt products are not subject to personal income tax. In both cases, the effect is the same: each euro invested yields a higher return.
If you’d like to put a bespoke plan in place, you can find out more about our employee benefits solution for businesses.
An SME can introduce employee benefits without having its own human resources department. The usual approach is start with one or two products that are widely adopted – restaurant and transport cards –, contracting them through a provider that manages all operations, and expanding the catalogue depending on the staff's response.
The entry cost is low: there are no minimum staff requirements for most solutions, and management is carried out via an online platform, with no significant administrative burden on the company.
For an SME, the competitive argument is straightforward: it competes for the same talent as large companies, but with a smaller wage margin. Employee benefits make it possible to bridge part of that gap without affecting the fixed-cost structure.
Three recommendations to get you started:
At how to plan the employee benefits budget We’ll work through the calculation in more detail.
Designing a social benefits plan requires four steps: identify the actual needs of the workforce, select a provider, define the catalogue and test it, and measure the impact. The most common mistake is starting with the catalogue rather than with needs, which produces plans with high investment and low utilisation.
Needs vary greatly depending on one's stage of life. An employee with young children will value nursery provision; another without their own vehicle, transport. Before defining anything, it is advisable to gather this information using surveys, team meetings or conversations with veteran profiles.
Segmenting by age, family situation and location usually provides more useful information than a general survey of the entire workforce. Generational differences are especially marked: the Gen Z's favourite workplace benefits do not match those of more experienced profiles.
The criteria that carry the most weight: network of accepted establishments and merchants, employee usability, capability of the management platform, support for the HR department and experience in similarly sized companies.
It is also worth comparing the billing model and what part of the administrative management the provider takes on. If the company still manages its benefits on paper or in spreadsheets, this is the time to review it: digitise the benefits reduces administrative burden and improves the utilisation rate.
Depending on the employees' needs, the social benefits will be selected. Afterwards, it is advisable to start gradually by launching social benefits and testing them to check cOhThe Committee is pleased to note how well it has been received by workers. In this way we can select the social benefit(s) that work best.
Define indicators before launching: adoption rate, recurring usage, average saving per employee and satisfaction. Cross-reference that data with staff turnover and absenteeism after a few months.
The measurable impact is in the withholding tax. Market data in Spain shows a clear gap between what talent expects from a company and what they perceive they receive, and it is precisely this gap that employee benefits make it possible to reduce without altering the salary structure.
Although remuneration is the primary requirement that professionals consider when choosing a company, when evaluating their current employer that perception drops to tenth place, according to the Randstad Employer Brand Research 2026, compiled from more than 7,800 surveys in Spain.
That gap between expectation and experience is the terrain where employee benefits yield the most: they don't compete with salary, they complement it in the employee's perception.
Along the same lines, the 81% of professionals consider the benefits package to be a decisive factor when assessing a job offer, and 77% of companies plan to increase their investment in profits in 2027. How the market is performing and what is expected for the coming financial year, in 2026 trends in flexible remuneration and benefits.
That is why employee benefits behave less like payroll expenses and more like an investment in team stability, with a return in reduced staff turnover and avoided replacement costs.
There is no universal optimum catalogue. The choice depends on four variables: the staff profile, the available budget, the HR objectives and the management structure available to the company.
As a starting point: prioritise daily use benefits, check the tax treatment for each product, and measure adoption from the first month. A small, well-utilised plan always beats a broad, ignored one.
If you want to design a plan tailored to your company, contact Edenred and we'll help you define it.
If you are deciding between formulas: Difference between employee benefits and flexible remuneration compare both using a dimensions table and use cases.
If you already know the model and need figures: How to plan the employee benefits budget for 2026.
If you are looking for the greatest tax saving per euro invested: Which employee benefits are the most tax-advantageous in Spain.
Professional with extensive experience in Human Resources and client management, specialising in optimising the employee value proposition and developing strategic business relationships.
Throughout her career, she has built a profile that combines a solid foundation in talent management, compensation, and employee relations, with a clear customer and business orientation. Her experience allows her to deeply understand the needs of organisations and align them with solutions that directly impact employee well-being, retention, and engagement.
