700 euros for 12-hour shifts sparks outrage in Spain

Twelve hours a day for 700 euros: an offer that exposes the hospitality crisis

A job advertisement for a waiter in Spain proposes working from 07:00 to 19:00, Monday through Saturday, with two daily breaks and only one day off per week, in exchange for 700 euros a month and registration with Social Security. Shared via the account SoyCamarero (I am a Waiter), the text has sparked outrage on social media and a flood of criticism regarding conditions in the hospitality sector. The candidate's response, a 27-year-old young man, sums up the bewilderment: "Are you messing with me?"

The offer, presented as a WhatsApp conversation, details a 12-hour workday six days a week. This equates to 72 hours weekly and 288 hours monthly. The calculation is devastating: 2.43 euros per hour worked. The Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) stands at 1,134 euros gross per month across 14 payments, rendering the proposal illegal. Indignation spread quickly: "In the end, you pay to go to work," "Overtime is paid at the end of the shift with lashes," or "The Spanish dream!!!" were some reactions.

Is it legal to work 72 hours a week for 700 euros?

No. A 12-hour workday six days a week, with only one rest day, far exceeds legal limits, and the offered salary is well below the SMI. The offer also includes Social Security registration, which does not make it less illegal: the amount is below the interprofessional minimum and the schedule exceeds the maximum allowed. The calculation is simple: 288 hours a month at 2.43 euros an hour. Any labor inspector worth their salt would have grounds for sanctions.

The reaction online was immediate. Many messages urged reporting to the Labor Inspectorate: "What he needs to do is pass this text to the relevant authority and have them prepare an inspection, since they surely already have someone under those conditions." Others recalled that this is not an isolated case: "4-hour contract and 9 hours of work, 1-hour contract and 6 hours of work, 8-hour contract and 11 hours of work (in this last one I did about 310h/month). Local bosses exist, much more than you think."

Hospitality: a sector facing a staff shortage

The lack of personnel in hospitality is a reality that feeds back into offers like this. Endless shifts, low wages, and precarious working conditions lead more and more people to reject working as waiters. The viral message itself illustrates this: an entrepreneur offers 700 euros for 72 hours a week and is surprised the candidate doesn't accept. The SoyCamarero account has become a megaphone for these practices, although its credibility has also been questioned. Some argue that many published conversations are invented to gain notoriety. "Soy Camarero posts inventions on Twitter to sell his book," notes one message. Another adds: "That account always publishes WhatsApp conversations about third-world conditions that abusa all possible laws. That such cases come out every week seems quite unrealistic to me."

Skepticism is not unanimous. "I don't understand why there are so many accusations that the offer is fake. Have any of those saying so worked in hospitality or know someone who does? Conditions like that are common, if not worse, even in places with relatively low unemployment," another participant replies. The discussion then shifts to the credibility of media outlets echoing a WhatsApp screenshot: "A newspaper claiming to be serious builds a news story around a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation posted by a guy on Twitter. Very professional indeed."

The hospitality business: margins, taxes, and terraces

Beyond the specific offer, the debate moves toward the economic viability of bars. One message describes the case of a hospitality owner with an inherited bar, no mortgage or rent, who cannot hire anyone: "Between taxes, the terrace, electricity, water, suppliers... He has had the same car for 20 years, a half-paid-off house, two kids under 13... Totally drained, going bald and fat. Hospitality kills you." The response trinc: "The terrace is free not to use public space for private benefit. If he takes it, it's because it compensates. Terrace fees are ridiculous compared to that space in a premises."

Tax pressure and rents are cited as causes of precarity. Public reviews are also mentioned: "What really kills working conditions in hospitality, besides tax pressure and rents, is the habit of public reviews: if the margin is already very small and only those with very good prices, very good products, and very good service get good reviews, we know what will happen to workers." Against this, another current argues that reviews benefit customers and businesses doing things right: "Public reviews benefit customers, indirectly also workers, and also benefit companies that do things well. They clearly harm scammers, fraudsters, and cheats."

Why are these conditions accepted?

Economic necessity and lack of alternatives explain why these offers find candidates. "If there is no complaint, the labor inspectorate doesn't act or go, and to complain requires data that either aren't available when reading that job offer or the job seeker doesn't want to bother and ends up accepting the offer if they are very needy," points out one message. Precarity thus becomes a vicious circle: the worker accepts because they have no other option, and the employer offers the bare minimum knowing someone will accept it.

Unfair competition also appears in the debate. "Before the big crash of 2008, many waiters thought they were middle class. I knew one who took out a loan of 3,000 to go on vacation," recalls a participant. "I worked in hospitality in London and have seen a waiter with £200 in tips in his pocket in one evening," adds another. Comparison with other countries highlights salary differences and the importance of tips, which rarely compensate in Spain.

The future of hospitality: more regulation or less?

Outrage over the offer of 700 euros for 72 hours a week reflects a structural problem. Complaints about labor exploitation are the tip of the iceberg of a sector that, according to workers themselves, operates with precarious contracts and endless shifts. The Labor Inspectorate has the final word, but without a complaint, there is no action. Meanwhile, the staff shortage worsens and bars continue to close. The question is whether the solution lies in more regulation, a wage increase, or accepting that the current model is unsustainable. With these ingredients, it is strange that anyone wants to be a waiter.