Liability prevention · Contractor control · Full compliance (Spain)
📌 SECTION 1: YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLE RULES (The Iron Rules)
| Rule | What You Actually Do |
|---|---|
| 1. Only hire companies | Never hire a self-employed person (autónomo). Contract must be with a company that has a CIF and multiple employees. |
| 2. Prefer specialists | Hire one company for pool, another for garden, another for trees — safer than «jack of all trades». |
| 3. You do NOT supply tools | The company brings its own mowers, pool test kits, chemicals, ladders — you supply only water & electricity. |
| 4. You instruct the company, not the worker | Speak only to company supervisor, never directly to the worker about work. |
| 5. You do NOT set schedules | Never tell worker start/finish times or holidays — company manages its staff. |
| 6. Verify documents before hiring & every 3 months | If you don’t ask, you can be liable. Asking protects you. |
| 7. Inspect work within 7 days | Check everything. Report defects in writing → 48h to fix. |
| 8. Keep all records for 4 years | Every email, document, photo — keep 4 years after contract ends. |
📋 SECTION 2: BEFORE YOU HIRE (Pre-Contract Steps)
Step 1: Write Your Task List
- Daily pool tasks (summer/weekends)
- Winter pool tasks
- Opening/closing pools
- Summer lawn by block, winter lawn tasks
- Hedge & tree pruning (note poisonous oleander)
- General maintenance (lights, garage doors, leaks, weeds, irrigation)
- Deep cleaning concrete & terracotta
- Preventative schedules
Step 2: Specialists or One Company?
| Option | Risk | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Specialists (3-4 companies) | Lowest | ✅ Preferred |
| One company does everything | Medium | Acceptable only if they meet all criteria in Step 3+4 |
Step 3: Request Documents from Every Bidding Company 🔍
Subject: Document request before contract signing
– TGSS certificate (Social Security up to date)
– AEAT certificate (Tax agency)
– Annual accounts / solvency certificate
– Vida Laboral (last 6 months employment history)
– Civil liability insurance (min €600,000)
– Company CIF + TC2 worker list
– Legionella control plan (RD 487/2022) + biocide cert
– Low voltage authorisation (if electrical), tree climbing insurance
– Supervisor name + 3 current client references.
Step 4: Review Documents — Red Flags 🚩
| Document | Red Flag | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Vida Laboral | Only 1 employee (the one coming to you) | REJECT — shell company |
| TGSS/AEAT | Missing, expired, older than 3 months | REJECT |
| Insurance | Doesn’t mention pool chemicals or tree work | REJECT |
| Client list | Refuses to provide or only 1 client | REJECT — too dependent on you |
Step 5-6: Call Other Clients & Site Visit with Supervisor
Ask: how long, any failures, document issues? Walk entire property with company supervisor (never the worker). Explain: «All communication goes through you, we never instruct workers directly.»
Step 7: Independent Legal Review (Mandatory)
Lawyer must answer in writing: 1) Is there a convenio colectivo requiring subrogación? 2) Does this Blueprint protect from cesión ilegal? 3) Can management office override these rules?
Step 8: Rainy Days & Weather Delays 🌧️
| Condition | Company must: | Payment? |
|---|---|---|
| Light rain — work possible | Work as scheduled | ✅ full amount |
| Heavy rain + indoor tasks available | Perform indoor/covered tasks | ✅ for hours worked indoors |
| Heavy rain, no indoor tasks | Reschedule within 48 good-weather hours | ❌ no pay for cancelled day |
| 3 consecutive rain days | Provide catch-up plan, complete within 7 good-weather days | Pay only work done |
Step 9: Weekend & Holiday Work (Pool mandatory by law)
Pool (RD 742/2013 + Andalucía Decree): daily cleaning/testing required EVERY DAY pool is open, including weekends/holidays. Company must attend. No prior approval needed for pool tasks.
Non-pool work: requires written approval 7 days in advance. No extra fees unless contract specifies.
Step 10: Workers Crossing Specialties (Your Approval Rule)
Workers may perform tasks outside specialty ONLY with your prior written approval (email). For technical work (electrical, pool chemicals, legionella, climbing trees) worker must hold legal certification.
Unauthorized crossover = no payment. Three unauthorized crossovers in 30 days → immediate termination.
📄 SECTION 3: WHAT THE CONTRACT MUST COVER
- You contract the company, not workers
- Company supplies all tools
- No direct instructions to workers
- Company controls schedules and holidays
- Task list attached
- 7-day inspection + 48h correction period
- Penalties: 10% deduction uncorrected defects; termination after 3 defects
- No subcontracting without approval
- You can request TGSS/TC2/insurance every 3 months
- Anti-cesión ilegal clause + indemnification
- Termination for breach / 30 days convenience
- Weather delays clause, weekend/holiday clause, specialty crossover clause
🧑⚖️ SECTION 4: RESPONSIBILITIES
Community owners: approve budget, decide specialists vs one company, approve contracts >1 year.
President: sign contracts, request documents, site visits, maintain Libro Registro, inspect work, approve weekend/crossover work.
External management office: allowed to collect bids & draft contracts, but PROHIBITED from overriding this Blueprint, approving weekend/crossover work, or signing without community approval.
🔄 SECTION 5: AFTER YOU HIRE (Ongoing Actions)
Monthly
- Request TC2 (worker list), verify worker on site matches
- Inspect work within 7 days, log defects, send defect notice (48h to correct)
- Apply 10% penalty if not corrected, check rainy day compliance & unauthorised crossovers
Every 3 Months
- Request updated TGSS, AEAT, insurance certificates → if missing after 10 days, terminate
Every 6 Months
- Request Vida Laboral (if now shows 1-2 employees → terminate immediately)
Every Year
- Full site walk-through, review contract, confirm certifications valid
📘 SECTION 6: THE LIBRO REGISTRO (Logbook)
You must keep: company name/CIF, contract dates, location, work type, number of workers & names from TC2. Also Weather Log, Weekend/Holiday Approval Log, Approved/Unauthorised Crossovers Log. Keep all records 4 years.
🎭 SECTION 7: SITUATION SCRIPTS (What to say & do)
Worker wants to borrow a tool: «I cannot lend tools. Your company provides them.»
Poor workmanship: take photos, send defect notice, 48h to fix, else deduct 10%. Three defects → terminate.
Unauthorized weekend work or crossover: email supervisor: work rejected, no payment. Third incident → terminate.
🚫 SECTION 8: TERMINATION (When & How)
Immediate termination (no notice): 3 uncorrected defects in 30 days, false documents, safety violation, unauthorised subcontracting, loss of certification, cesión ilegal finding, failure to reschedule rain work within 48h, unauthorised weekend/holiday work, 3 unauthorised crossovers in 30 days.
Termination for convenience: 30 days written notice. No termination fee allowed.
📦 SECTION 9: TRANSITION PLAN
Joint site visit with previous contractor (if possible) and new contractor. Document pools, equipment rooms, lawns, hedges, trees, concrete & terracotta, garage doors, lights. Create Condition Report + photo log + sign-off sheet before new contractor starts.
✅ SECTION 10: COMPLETE CHECKLIST (Print & follow)
| Phase | Key actions |
|---|---|
| Before hiring | Decide specialists, task list, document request, reject red flags, site visit with supervisor, legal review, confirm rainy day/weekend/crossover rules. |
| During contract (monthly) | TC2 request, verify worker, inspect within 7d, defect notice, penalty or termination, weather log, crossover log. |
| Quarterly / Biannual | TGSS, AEAT, insurance; every 6 months Vida Laboral; annual full site walk. |
| After termination | Final TGSS + TC2, keep all records 4 years, maintain logs. |
🛡️ SECTION 11: WHY THIS BLUEPRINT PROTECTS YOU
- Prevents liability for unpaid Social Security (regular TGSS requests = legal defence)
- Prevents cesión ilegal (no direction of workers, no tools, no schedules)
- Provides clear defect & penalty system, immediate termination rights
- Stops unqualified workers via specialty crossover approval & cert requirements
- Eliminates disputes on rainy days, weekends, holidays with contract clauses & logs