Legal structure for executive roles, remuneration and risk
We advise companies on senior executive employment matters in Spain, covering contracts, legal classification, remuneration, incentives, restrictive covenants, termination and related employment and tax implications.
Our work aligns each structure with the executive’s functions, responsibilities, autonomy and role within the organisation.
Senior executive arrangements in Spain require analysis beyond the job title. We assess functions, authority, reporting lines and autonomy to define the correct legal classification, contract and compensation structure.
The legal classification of a senior role determines the applicable rights, obligations and termination regime.
We assess the executive’s real functions, degree of autonomy, reporting structure, decision-making powers and position within the company before defining the appropriate contractual framework.
Executive compensation should support performance without creating unnecessary legal or financial exposure.
We advise on fixed salary, variable remuneration, annual bonuses, long-term incentives, commissions, retention mechanisms and benefits, including the conditions for accrual, payment, reduction and recovery.
Share-based compensation and long-term incentive plans require coordination between employment, corporate and tax considerations.
We advise on the employment law aspects of share options, phantom shares, restricted units, carried interest and other incentive structures, including vesting, leaver provisions and treatment on termination.
Senior executives frequently have access to strategic, commercial and confidential information.
We draft and review confidentiality, post-contractual non-compete, non-solicitation, exclusivity and intellectual property clauses, ensuring that their scope, duration and compensation are legally robust.
The termination of a senior executive relationship may involve contractual, employment, corporate and reputational considerations.
We advise on notice, severance, bonus entitlement, incentives, restrictive covenants, release agreements, negotiation strategy and litigation risk.
Where a senior executive works across jurisdictions, the Spanish employment position must be aligned with the wider group structure.
As founding members of L&E Global, Suárez de Vivero coordinates employment law advice with leading firms in more than 30 countries, supporting companies on international executive appointments, compensation structures and cross-border exits.
Functions, responsibilities, autonomy, reporting lines and legal status.
Contractual framework, remuneration model, incentives and protective clauses.
Contract drafting, plan documentation, approvals and executive communication.
Changes in role, remuneration, termination, disputes and ongoing compliance.
Employment counsel should be involved before the executive role, contract or remuneration package is finalised.
Early involvement is particularly important where the position includes broad decision-making authority, international responsibilities, variable remuneration, equity incentives, board functions or complex termination provisions.
Classification depends on the executive’s actual functions, powers, autonomy, reporting structure and position within the organisation, rather than job title alone.
It should regulate duties, powers, remuneration, incentives, confidentiality, restrictive covenants, termination rights, severance and other conditions specific to the role.
Yes. Bonus schemes, commissions, share options and other incentives can be used, provided their terms, conditions and employment and tax implications are properly structured.
Before appointment, promotion, contract signature or implementation of a new remuneration plan. Early advice helps ensure the correct classification and reduce future disputes.
Corporate restructuring requires precision before action