How much sick pay you get in Spain
The figure depends on two things: what caused your leave and which day of it you are on. The rest is arithmetic on your contribution base.
How much sick pay you get during a baja (sick leave) depends on the cause. For common illness or a non-work accident, no benefit is paid for the first three days; from day 4 to day 20 you receive 60% of the base reguladora (the base used to calculate the benefit), and from day 21, 75%. For a workplace accident or occupational disease you receive 75% from the day after your leave begins. The daily base reguladora is generally your contribution base for the previous month divided by 30. Your convenio colectivo (collective agreement) may improve these figures, so check it before doing the sums.
Benefit bands
How much sick pay you get by type and day
The Seguridad Social (Spanish Social Security) distinguishes two causes of incapacidad temporal (IT, temporary incapacity), and each has its own payment timetable.
- Common illness or non-work accident: days 1 to 3, no benefit; days 4 to 20, 60% of the base reguladora; from day 21 onwards, 75%.
- Workplace accident or occupational disease: 75% of the base reguladora from the day after your leave begins.
- Contribution requirement: for common illness you need 180 days of contributions in the previous five years and must be registered with Social Security. For accidents, whether work-related or not, and for occupational disease, no prior contributions are required.
- Duration: up to 365 days, extendable by a further 180 if recovery is expected within that period.
The three unpaid days are what surprises people most. If your convenio says nothing about them, nobody pays for those days, and it shows on your payslip: on a salary of €1,800 a month, three days mean roughly €180 less, gross.
Seguridad Social, Prestación de Incapacidad Temporal, accessed 17 September 2026.
In numbers
How it is calculated: a 30-day example
Everything starts from the daily base reguladora. For common illness it is your contribution base for common contingencies in the month before your leave, divided by 30 if you are paid monthly.
Suppose your contribution base in the previous month was €1,800. The daily base reguladora is €60. Thirty days of leave for common illness work out like this:
- Days 1 to 3: €0.
- Days 4 to 20 (17 days at 60%, €36 a day): €612.
- Days 21 to 30 (10 days at 75%, €45 a day): €450.
- Total benefit: €1,062 gross, compared with €1,800 for a month worked.
If the same 30 days were due to a workplace accident, that would be 29 days at 75%: €1,305. The base for occupational contingencies is calculated differently (overtime from the previous year is added separately), so the real figure may be somewhat higher. If you are paid by the day, the divisor is the number of days in the month (28, 29, 30 or 31). If you started work that same month, the days actually contributed are used.
The contribution base usually includes a proportional share of the pagas extra (extra salary payments), which is why the example is only a guide. Your payslip gives the exact figure.
Seguridad Social, amount of temporary incapacity benefit. Example worked out by Global Health using those rules; it is not an official calculation.
Employer, INSS or mutua
Who pays sick leave for common illness
From day 4 to day 15, your employer. From day 16, the INSS (National Social Security Institute) or the mutua. But you almost always receive the money the same way: through your payslip.
The general rule is pago delegado (delegated payment): your employer advances the benefit on the same schedule as your salary and then deducts it from its Social Security contributions. That is why the question ‘which day does the mutua pay?’ usually has an unexciting answer: the day you are paid your salary. Only in certain cases does the paying body pay you directly; if that applies to you, you will be told.
Contributions continue during sick leave: the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (LGSS) keeps the obligation to contribute during temporary incapacity, whatever its cause. The benefit is also taxed under IRPF (Spanish personal income tax) as employment income, so you will see tax withheld on your payslip.
Many collective agreements add an employer-paid top-up that raises what you receive during sick leave. The BOE's labour case-law review cites, for example, an agreement that guaranteed 90% of gross monthly salary.
Seguridad Social, IT; Ley General de la Seguridad Social, art. 144.4 (BOE); Agencia Tributaria, IRPF 2025 manual; Revista de Jurisprudencia Laboral 7/2023 (BOE).
Paperwork
Sick notes: what you have to do
Less than before. Since 1 April 2023 you no longer have to give your employer a copy of your sick notes.
The doctor who issues the parte de baja, a confirmation note or the parte de alta (fit-for-work note) gives you a copy. The INSS sends the details to your employer electronically, by the first working day after receiving them at the latest. Confirmation notes arrive at intervals that depend on the expected length of the leave: at most every 14 days for leave of 5 to 30 days, every 28 days for 31 to 60 days, and every 35 days for 61 days or more.
A private practice, including ours, does not issue the parte de baja for temporary incapacity. It is issued by a doctor in the Servicio Público de Salud (public health service) or, for occupational contingencies, by the mutua's doctor. What we can do is assess you, treat you and issue a medical certificate (justificante médico) for your absence where appropriate. If your leave is for a mental health problem, our guide to sick leave for anxiety explains what the doctor assesses and what an INSS inspection involves.
Real Decreto 1060/2022 (BOE-A-2023-160), accessed 17 September 2026.
Global Health Spain
Medical care when you need it
The Seguridad Social calculates the benefit. A doctor assesses your health.
- Online medical consultation and medical certificate
- Sick leave for anxiety: who issues it and what is assessed
- Doctors in Spain
- Contact Global Health
Need to see a doctor today?
Video consultation with registered doctors. Where appropriate, a medical certificate for your absence. For questions about the service, write to us.
Official sources
Sources for this guide
Seguridad Social, BOE and Agencia Tributaria, accessed 17 September 2026.
Amounts and time limits are those in force as of September 2026. Your collective agreement may improve them.
FAQ
Questions about how much sick pay you get
How much do I lose for 3 days of sick leave?
If the leave is for common illness and your convenio does not improve on the rules, those three days generate no benefit: you lose your salary for those days. On €1,800 a month, about €180 gross.
Is sick pay the same for anxiety or depression?
Yes. The benefit depends on the cause (common or occupational), not on the diagnosis. Sick leave for anxiety with a common cause follows the 60% and 75% bands.
Do contributions continue while I am on sick leave for common illness?
Yes. The obligation to contribute continues during temporary incapacity, whatever its cause, so those months count towards your vida laboral (employment record).
Can a private doctor sign me off sick?
Not with the parte de baja for temporary incapacity: that is issued by a doctor in the public health system or at the mutua. A private practice can assess you and issue a medical certificate.
