Get a Job & Work in Benidorm 2023/2024 + New Vacancies

This page is a guide to finding jobs in Benidorm for 2023 including a list of job vacancies as well as suggestions on where to find work and what type of vacancies you may expect to find.

Make sure to read Simon’s experience of working in Benidorm below, it is essential reading!!!

Also a good read is our moving and living in Benidorm page.

Working in Benidorm in 2023 & 2024

Benidorm is a popular place to find work as it is a busy happening place. Benidorm is the major tourist resort on the northern Costa Blanca in Spain. You can reach Benidorm after a two hour plane ride from most United Kingdom airports. There are three international airports within a ninety minute drive to Benidorm being Valencia, Murcia and Alicante.

Benidorm is one of the most popular Spanish towns in which people are looking to find jobs. Being a tourist resort, it has many job openings and vacancies in the catering trades such as cook, waiter, dishwasher, bar tender, cleaner, animators, dancers etc.

Many people come to Benidorm for the summer season looking for seasonal bar jobs and you will usually get one pretty easily. Certainly this is the most common type of job available.

Here is a letter we received from Simon who gives a great insight into finding work in Benidorm:

Hi ALL,

Just wanted to add some info for people. I have lived and worked in Benidorm myself. And left due to serious illness in the family forcing me to return to care for them.

The advice on this site is very honest.

YOU MUST SPEAK SPANISH. No matter what you wish to do, i.e. work for an English business, or one whom deals with English people. You’re in Spain, you NEED to speak Spanish!! You need to order food, drink, give directions to the taxi driver, deal with police, hospital, dentist, and what about getting the Electric bill sorted, and water, council tax, and how about getting the phone and broadband connected?? and then, what about when it goes wrong etc. You’re in Spain, it’s not for them to speak English, but you to speak their language.

When English people find someone who does not speak English in the UK, be that someone whom lives there, Polish for example, or on holiday – you just shrug your shoulders at them and move on. EXPECT THE SAME WHEN YOU’RE IN SPAIN!

Posting and looking online will not get you a job. Being there. Talking to people. Meeting people, will find you work. Every job I ever had, was found by knowing someone.

Get your documents. NIE for example. Some many work without them illegally – but it’s not in your interest. You need a foot print, a history to be able to claim benefits, pensions etc.

Expect to work hard. More than you’d think! At one point I had something like 8 different “jobs”, and often was working in a shop, doing something that wasn’t related to the business.

Skills and things in demand will be the low end basic work if you’re looking at English speaking work. You can find nice people, good jobs, and a better quality of life. I am now married, and my dog whom is Spanish after 10 yrs, are moving back to Spain! Just a different location 

Good luck ppl!

Hotel Jobs

There are also plenty of other jobs in the tourist sector notably hotel jobs in Benidorm such as holiday reps, cleaners, receptionists etc. Examples of hotels in Benidorm to search for vacancies would be Don Pancho Hotel Benidorm, Dynastic Hotel Benidorm, Flamingo Oasis Hotel Benidorm, Gran Delfin Hotel, Levante Club Hotel Benidorm, Mediterraneo Hotel and Melia Benidorm Hotel.

Summer Jobs 2023

There are also lots of opportunities for summer/seasonal work in Benidorm. It is however important to know that if you do choose to work in the tourist industry that the work is seasonal mainly from March until October and that the wages paid are about 60% of what is earned by your Northern European counterparts, although the cost of living is 90% of that of Northern Europe.

A limited knowledge of the Spanish language is ideal but not compulsory, making these kind of jobs fiercely competitive between all nationalities across the board.

Very popular on the job scale in this field are cleaning jobs in Benidorm as they are well paid, in abundance and all year round as people’s homes as well as villa companies require cleaners.

Work in the tourist industry is mainly done in shifts or split shifts. On the positive side you can spend your time off at the beaches of Benidorm such as Playa Poniente or Playa Levante. This line of work also takes its toll on family life and relationships so it is ideally for singles without partners or families as the hours are ad-hoc and long. You are also dealing with some very difficult customers, most people are in Benidorm to get drunk and party at crazy adult Benidorm acts like Sticky Vicky it isn’t for everyone, put it like that!

If Benidorm appeals to you, consider working the summer in Ibiza or Magaluf.

This area of the Costa Blanca is fantastic with many attractive tourist resorts, you may like to find out more in our Costa Blanca information guide.

How To Find Work

Jobs in Benidorm can be found by the usual means of internet, radio, newspaper, word of mouth etc. There are a lot of competition for jobs so it is important that you apply for a job with a contract.

These kind of jobs will entitle you to the Spanish state pension, a limited unemployment and of course to medical care.

As your new employer will also be paying his fair share of these contributions he will make sure he employs the best candidate for the job.

Of course there are many other jobs just like anywhere else such as lawyer, doctor, teacher, nurse, policemen, pharmacist, shop assistant, laundromat etc.

Working hours differ greatly from Northern Europe due to the extreme heat. A typical Spanish working day starts at ten in the morning until one and then everyone has a siesta. Work resumes at four in the afternoon until around eight in the evening. Most of these jobs require a good working knowledge of the Spanish language.

It should be noted that jobs in the civil service such as teachers and jobs in the police force are reserved for Spanish nationals.

If you have qualifications as a teacher, in Benidorm you won’t be able to teach in Spanish schools but you can at the Costa Blanca International College in Benidorm or at the Lady Elizabeth Schools in Javea and LLiber, or at Xabia International College.

Starting or Buying a Business

Alternatively of course if you don’t fancy working for someone in Benidorm there is always the possibility of going the self-employed route, by setting up your own business in Benidorm, opening a bar is very popular. It is important to take note that you will need to pay at least three hundred Euros monthly in compulsory social security contributions as well as VAT or IVA which is due from the first Euro and on every Euro you earn.

IVA in Spain is currently 21%. You have to come to Spain with good starting capital to be able to make a go of it. Alternatively of course you can always buy an already established business in Benidorm which can be easier on your nerves and wallet in the long run.

Where To Get a Job

Many jobs that are really popular with English people are in the real estate sector. Second to the tourist industry jobs, jobs in the construction industry have been the driving force in the Spanish economy over the last decade and of course there are many real estate agencies in Benidorm selling houses, apartments, villas, fincas, guest houses, hotels etc.

There are almost as many real estate offices in Benidorm as there are bars and restaurants. Of course branching off real estate are the tradesmen associated with housing such as plumbers, electricians, plasterers, tillers, painters etc.

These jobs are probably amongst the most highest possible earnings and best paying jobs in Benidorm.

Popular self-employed businesses in Benidorm are specialty English shops and villa maintenance companies, villa rental and apartment rental agencies.

As there are so many villas and apartments in Benidorm being rented by owners and companies, so there are many companies (and therefore jobs) to supply services to such as gardening services and even just general care and maintenance.

So when it comes to getting work in Benidorm, the possibilities are endless whether self-employed or employed, even a little translating services will do just fine.

Jobs for English-Speakers in Benidorm

Most Benidorm jobs and positions will be in the tourist industry although mostly of a seasonal and part-time nature, these include promoting for bars and nightclubs, dancers, hotel work, club promotors and reps, catering jobs such as chefs and cooks, singers, bands, comedians, waiters, waitresses, airport jobs, villa rental jobs, tour and travel reps, blanket tour sales reps, car hire jobs and cleaning jobs. There will be some related driving jobs in Benidorm such as coach driving jobs and driving people to the airport and back as well as related driving jobs such as taxi jobs and HGV jobs.

Other job vacancies in Benidorm for English speakers will be in the property market industry in the areas where expats live although currently this market is very depressed with the recession. This includes sales positions which are almost always commission based as well as jobs for people in property maintenance companies – in other words construction jobs and building jobs for English speaking people.

Other typical jobs you are likely to find would be those that cater to the large expat population in Benidorm and the surrounding area, these include: cleaning swimming pools, gardening jobs, villa cleaning jobs, bar jobs and bar work for barmen and barmaids, hairdressing jobs, shop and retail work in English goods shops, taxi service, driving jobs including removals, restaurant jobs such as chefs, waiters and waitresses, fitness jobs, beautician jobs, pet care jobs, computer services, business services such as graphic design, computer repair, insurance sales positions, customer service jobs, there are many English newspaper and magazines requiring writers and sales people etc..

There are few management jobs in Benidorm, few marketing jobs, legal jobs, education jobs, media jobs, office jobs or executive jobs for professional people although there are some secretarial and administrative positions working for companies such as legal and financial companies. You also won’t find many care or nursing jobs available in Benidorm.

Anyone searching for vacancies and I.T. jobs in Benidorm (IT stands for information technology) also will find very few opportunities available, look instead to English-speaking jobs in Madrid or jobs in Barcelona.

Holiday Reps

One very popular way of finding work and jobs in Spain is to consider working as a holiday rep. This is because many tourists visit Benidorm on what is known as package holidays. This involves booking a holiday with a major tour operator such as Thomsons or First Choice.

Holidaymakers pay a fixed price which includes a number of different components such as flights, hotels, food and airport transfers. on hand in a hotel in Benidorm is a holiday rep or representative who is there to deal with any problems, questions and the arranging of excursions and tours. A very demanding job energy-wise being a rep in Benidorm best suits people who are looking for a bit of excitement rather than a career.

Tradesmen & Construction Work

Construction and building jobs in Benidorm are highly possible because of the large expat population in Benidorm who need tradesmen who can speak English.

If you are a tradesmen such as a builder, electrician, plumber, painter, tiler, plasterer, bricklayer, labourer or another construction type tradesman then you are likely to find jobs in Spain although wages are fairly low at about €80-€130 a day.

Most Popular Places to Work in Spain:

• Work in Barcelona
• Work in Gran Canaria
• Work in Ibiza
• Work in Lanzarote
• Work in Mallorca
• Work in Magaluf
• Work in Marbella
• Work in Tenerife

Other Types of Work:

• Bar Jobs
• Catering Work
• Construction Work
• Holiday Rep Work
• Hotel Work in Spain
• Summer Work in Spain
• Teach English in Spain

Main Benidorm Pages You Might Like

• Benidorm Tourist Information
• Airport Transfers
• Benidorm Apartments to Rent
• Benidorm Estate Agents
• Benidorm Long Term Rentals
• Benidorm Map/Where is Benidorm?
• Benidorm Nightlife

Helpful Pages on Moving to Spain:

Guide to Moving to Spain

Long-Term Rentals & Lets

Property

I Hate Living in Spain

For a full index of pages see our main work/jobs in Spain page.