How your pay is affected during temporary sick leave

When do I get paid during my temporary sick leave?

In the event of a temporary incapacity (known in Spain by its initials 'IT' (incapacidad temporal)), the company will pay the amount stipulated by law as temporary incapacity benefit, which it will then recover by deducting these amounts advanced by the INSS (National Institute of Social Security) from the social security contributions it has to pay at the end of the month.

At present, the IT benefit is paid in the following brackets and percentages:

In general, payment is made by the company as a delegated payment with the same frequency as wages.

In cases of common illness or non-occupational accident, payment between the 4th and 15th day of sick leave is the responsibility of the employer and after the 16th day, the INSS or the mutual insurance company is responsible for payment.

regulatory base

The regulatory base is an amount used by Social Security to calculate the contributory benefits an employee is eligible to receive.

In the case of temporary incapacity due to common causes (common illness or illness not caused by an accident), the Regulatory Base is the result of dividing the amount of the worker's contribution base (gross monthly salary) in the month prior to the date of the start of the temporary incapacity by the number of days in that month (30 if the worker has a monthly salary; 30, 31 or 28, 29 if they have a daily salary).

In the event of an accident at work or occupational illness, the Regulatory Base will be the sum of the contribution base for occupational contingencies for the previous month, excluding overtime, divided by the number of days to which that contribution corresponds, and the contribution for overtime for the previous or current calendar year.

Click here for more information on the Social Security website.

Amount of the temporary incapacity benefit:

Days 1, 2 and 3 of the illness are not paid.
From day 4 to day 20, 60% of the regulatory base will be paid.
Please note that from day 15 onwards, the company will make a delegated payment, i.e. these amounts are then deducted by the company from social security contributions (the company is advancing the temporary incapacity benefit that must be paid by the INSS).
From day 21 onwards, the company must pay 75% of the Regulatory Base (under the same conditions as are outlined in the previous point).

How much does the company have to pay during the Temporary capacity leave?

The company must pay what the law stipulates, as outlined in the previous section.

However, it may be the case that Collective Agreements (Convenios Colectivos) have stipulated that workers in that sector should maintain their salary and that, therefore, the company should pay up to a certain percentage of the salary as a wage supplement even though they are not working (normally up to 100%).

Thus, for example, Article 26 of the State Collective Agreement for Consulting, Information Technology, and Market and Public Opinion Research Companies sets out the following:

"Article 26. Benefits for illness and accidents at work.
1. Apart from the provisions of the Social Security Law on benefits, the most favourable conditions established by custom or spontaneous concession by companies shall be respected.
2. In the event of illness lasting more than thirty days, companies affected by this Agreement shall, from the fifth day (inclusive) of the relevant sick leave, supplement temporary incapacity benefits up to 100% of the salary for a maximum period of twelve months from the start date of the sick leave."

If, for example, the worker is initially granted 24 days of sick leave, the percentages indicated in the previous section will apply in accordance with the law.

If, on the other hand, the initial 24-day leave is extended beyond 30 days, the provisions of the Collective Agreement shall apply, and the company, since the illness will exceed 30 days, shall pay the supplement up to 100% of the salary from the fifth day of leave.

When the company receives the FIE file from the INSS with the information regarding the sick leave, indicating the date of the next medical review, it will be notified of the duration of the sick leave. If there is not enough time in the current month to prepare the payroll in accordance with the salary supplement indicated in the Agreement, the situation must be corrected in the following month by paying 100% of the supplement for both the current month and the previous month in which there was not enough time.