Long COVID is a condition characterised by the persistence of symptoms consistent with COVID infection for more than 12 weeks after the acute infection. With a significant number of workers affected by this condition, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) is increasingly recognising entitlement to absolute permanent disability benefit.
GRADES OF PERMANENT DISABILITY
Under Spanish legislation on this matter, workers who, as a result of illness or accident, suffer a reduction in their working capacity that prevents them from carrying out their usual work are entitled to have a PERMANENT DISABILITY recognised and to receive financial benefit according to the following grades:
1. Partial for their usual occupation: causes the employee a reduction of no less than 33% in performance in that occupation.
2. Total for their usual occupation: renders the employee unable to perform their usual occupation, but they may take up a different one.
3. Absolute for all work: renders the employee unable to perform any occupation or trade whatsoever.
4. severe disability: where the permanently disabled employee requires the assistance of another person for the most essential activities of daily life.
HOW TO APPLY FOR PERMANENT DISABILITY (P.D.) DUE TO LONG COVID
The procedure is initiated by an application submitted by the employee to the National Social Security Institute (INSS), either ex officio (by the managing body itself) or upon request from collaborating entities. In the specific case of Long COVID, the following documentation should in all cases be provided:
- Medical reports issued by specialists detailing the symptoms, their severity and duration, and the impact of those symptoms on the employee's working capacity.
- Documentation evidencing compliance with the required contribution period.
- Application form.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR P.D. DUE TO LONG COVID
While most of the cases currently referenced in case law relate to workers in the healthcare sector, particularly in proceedings to determine the nature of a condition, it has been estimated that between 5% and 10% of those affected by coronavirus (according to WHO estimates) may suffer from Long COVID that prevents them from carrying out their usual occupation.
By way of non-exhaustive illustration, we set out below a brief summary of these very recent rulings:
employment tribunal No. 14 of Madrid, ruling 242/2023: The sequelae suffered by the worker as a result of her COVID infection are muscular and osteoarticular in nature, making it difficult for her to walk more than 100 metres or to stand upright. She is also unable to perform sedentary tasks due to pain. She has been recognised as entitled to the benefit for ABSOLUTE PERMANENT disability in her profession as a steel fixer.
High Court of Justice of Galicia, Social Division, ruling 2297/2024: Following a COVID infection, the employee presents the following objective conditions caused by Long COVID syndrome: respiratory (chest pain and dyspnoea on exertion); cardiac (tachycardia); neurological (memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, anosmia); gastrointestinal (nausea, diarrhoea); dermatological (disseminated follicular lesions); general thermoregulatory disturbances; fatigue; dysautonomic symptoms; migraines; alopecia. The employee requires home oxygen therapy 24 hours a day. This dependence on round-the-clock oxygen supply prevents the employee from performing essential activities of daily living, and accordingly the court has declared and recognised the employee as being in a situation of ABSOLUTE PERMANENT disability.
High Court of Justice of the Principality of Asturias, Social Division, ruling 721/2024: The claimant works as a construction tradesperson and, following a COVID infection, developed a residual clinical condition that prevents him from carrying out his usual occupation: bilateral pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency, possible full-thickness tear of the left SE tendon, functional neurological disorder, and mixed adjustment disorder.
The ruling of the High Court of Justice of Burgos 379/2024 likewise upholds the disability claim on the basis of the effects arising from Long COVID.
OUR SPECIALITY: ADVISING YOU, LEGALLY.
Assessing disability arising from Post-COVID Syndrome is a complex matter. The patient's own perception, medical test results and the evaluating clinician's opinion do not always align or lead to clear-cut conclusions, yet this must not result in the condition being downplayed or dismissed, as it causes genuine harm to health (prolonging the period of work-related incapacity) and makes recovery for a safe and effective return to work considerably more difficult.
The majority of cases of persistent COVID syndrome resolve within six months; however, some cases involve a significantly longer recovery, making the return to work all the more challenging.
This is precisely where our speciality and our calling lies, advising and supporting you at the moment of your return to the workplace. Our approach focuses on adopting a cautious and preventive stance, and guiding you through the process of applying for recognition of permanent disability where the severity, persistence and occupational impact of your symptoms justify doing so.
