Sick leave by country / Spain
Sick leave and sick pay in Spain
Who pays when someone is ill, how much, for how long, and what the certificate rules are — in plain English, whether you run a team in Spain or work on one.
In Spain ordinary sickness (incapacidad temporal por contingencias comunes) is unpaid for the first three days unless the collective agreement says otherwise. The employer pays 60% of the contribution base from day 4 to day 15; Social Security or the mutua pays 60% from day 16 and 75% from day 21, for up to 365 days extendable by 180. Most collective agreements top this up to full pay. A medical certificate (baja) is needed from the first day.
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How it works
Spanish sick pay is a Social Security benefit administered through the employer. The worker needs a baja médica from the public health service from the first day; since 2023 the doctor sends it electronically and the worker no longer delivers copies. For common illness, days 1–3 carry no statutory pay, days 4–15 are paid by the employer at 60% of the previous month's contribution base, and from day 16 the INSS or the employer's mutua pays 60% until day 20 and 75% from day 21 — though the employer usually advances it under pago delegado and recovers it against contributions. Work accidents and occupational disease are paid at 75% from the day after the accident by the mutua. Collective agreements routinely raise everything to 100% and pay the first three days; the convenio, not the law, is the practical rule for most Spanish workers.
Worth knowing: Since 2023 the worker no longer delivers the baja to the employer; the health service transmits it to the INSS, which informs the employer. Employers asking for paper copies are working from old rules.
If you run a team in Spain
Check the convenio colectivo first — most require 100% and payment from day one. Legally you owe 60% of the base for days 4–15, then advance the INSS benefit through payroll (pago delegado) and deduct it from your Social Security payment. Receive the electronic baja and follow-up partes; you cannot demand a paper copy. Sick leave does not consume annual leave, and leave keeps accruing.
If you work in Spain
Get your baja from the public health doctor on the first day; the report goes to the INSS and your employer electronically. Unless your convenio is better, expect no pay for three days and 60% for the next twelve. Check your convenio — most employees in Spain get full pay.
Sickness and annual leave
Falling ill during annual leave suspends the leave: the days are converted to sick leave and the holiday can be taken later, up to 18 months after the end of the year for temporary incapacity. Annual leave accrues in full during sickness.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Spain annual leave page — 22 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Sick pay rules turn on dates: the day the illness started, the day the certificate was due, the day the employer's obligation ends and the benefit takes over. In Spain those dates decide who pays and how much, and they have to be provable months later — to a payroll auditor, an insurer, or the employee. A shared spreadsheet rarely survives that; a tracker like Leavo records each absence with its dates and approvals alongside annual leave, so the record exists before anyone asks for it. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Sick leave in Spain: common questions
Are the first three days really unpaid?
By law, yes, for ordinary illness. Most collective agreements and many company policies pay them; work accidents are paid from the day after the accident.
What is the 'mutua'?
A collaborating insurer that manages work-accident cover and, if the employer has chosen it, common-illness benefits from day 16. Employees deal with the public health doctor for the baja regardless.
How long can temporary incapacity last?
365 days, extendable by 180 if recovery is expected; after that the case is reviewed for permanent incapacity.
What happens if I fall ill during my annual leave in Spain?
Falling ill during annual leave suspends the leave: the days are converted to sick leave and the holiday can be taken later, up to 18 months after the end of the year for temporary incapacity. Annual leave accrues in full during sickness.
Source
Primary source: Ley General de la Seguridad Social, arts. 169–176 (incapacidad temporal); Real Decreto 625/2014. Rates and caps change — often every January or April — and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme. Confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.