Temporary disability

Legal framework and benefits

Temporary incapacity begins with a medical certificate of sick leave, issued by a physician in the public health service or, in the case of work-related accidents covered by a mutual insurance company, by the company’s medical services. The certificate of sick leave includes the estimated duration of the illness, and confirmation certificates are issued at intervals that depend on this duration: for illnesses of less than five calendar days, the sick leave and return-to-work certificates can be issued in the same act; for illnesses between five and thirty days, the first confirmation certificate is issued within a maximum of seven days, and subsequent certificates every fourteen days at most; for illnesses between thirty-one and sixty days, the first confirmation certificate is issued after seven days, and subsequent certificates every twenty-eight days; and for illnesses of sixty-one days or more, the first confirmation certificate is issued after fourteen days, and subsequent certificates every thirty-five days.

Temporary disability benefits due to common illness are paid from the fourth day of sick leave (days four through fifteen are paid by the employer, and from the sixteenth day onward by the managing entity or mutual insurance company) at 60 percent of the regulatory base until the twentieth day and 75 percent from the twenty-first day onward. A minimum contribution period of 180 days in the five years prior to the leave is required. In cases of temporary disability due to occupational contingencies, the benefit is paid from the day following the start of sick leave at 75 percent of the regulatory base, without a waiting period. Collective bargaining agreements may establish additional payments payable by the employer.

Once the initial 365 days have elapsed, the National Social Security Institute is the sole authority responsible for granting an extension of up to 180 additional days, initiating the permanent disability claim, or issuing a discharge certificate. During the first 365 days, the medical services of the managing entity and the mutual insurance companies may conduct monitoring examinations, and in cases of common contingencies, the mutual insurance company may submit discharge proposals to the public health service. The worker is obligated to attend any scheduled medical examinations.

Temporary disability and prevention of occupational risks

• Indicator of health damage. Temporary disability processes, especially those resulting from occupational contingencies, provide information on work-related damages and allow for the identification of priority positions and risks.
• Absenteeism. Temporary incapacity is the main component of absenteeism due to health; its analysis by causes, duration, positions and groups allows for targeted prevention.
• Occupational contingency. When the origin is work-related, the company must report the accident, investigate the damage and review the risk assessment, regardless of the management of the benefit.
• Reincorporation. Article 25 of Law 31/1995 and health surveillance after prolonged absence for health reasons (Royal Decree 39/1997, article 37) require assessing fitness and adapting the job when necessary.
• Confidentiality. The diagnosis is not included in the data the company receives; health information is managed by medical services with guarantees of confidentiality.
• Risk during pregnancy and breastfeeding. These are benefits distinct from temporary disability, linked to the inability to adapt or change the job, and their management is based on risk assessment.
• Mental health. Processes related to mental disorders represent a growing and long-lasting part of temporary disability; their prevention is linked to the assessment of psychosocial risks .

Management in the company

• Electronic receipt of reports. The company receives the report data through the National Social Security Institute and transmits it to the RED system within the established deadlines.
• Internal communication. The employee informs the company of their sick leave status according to internal procedures, without needing to submit paper forms.
• Delegated payment. The company pays the subsidy under a delegated payment system in the cases provided for and offsets it in the contributions, and directly assumes the cost of the fourth to fifteenth days in common contingencies.
• Monitoring. Recording of processes, durations, causes (common or occupational) and relapses, with analysis by positions and areas.
• Coordination with the mutual insurance company. In cases of work-related contingencies and in collaboration with other contingencies, the mutual insurance company carries out the monitoring, the examinations and the proposals for discharge.
• Return to work. Reintegration procedure with fitness assessment, temporary or permanent adaptation and communication with the prevention service.
• Data protection. Processing limited to necessary administrative data, without access to the diagnosis.

Organizational application: how to manage temporary disability with a preventive approach

1. Define the internal procedure for communicating the leave and for electronically receiving the reports, with the responsibilities of human resources, payroll and prevention.
2. Record each process with its contingency, duration, position and area, and transmit the data to the RED system within the deadline.
3. In the event of work-related incidents, report the accident or occupational disease, investigate the damage, and review the risk assessment and planning.
4. Periodically analyze data on temporary disability by cause, duration, positions and groups, along with data on accidents and health surveillance, to guide prevention.
5. Establish a procedure for returning to work after prolonged absences, with medical examination for reintegration when appropriate, assessment of fitness and adaptation of the job.
6. Coordinate with the mutual insurance company the monitoring of processes and adaptation proposals, respecting the confidentiality of health data.
7. Report to the health and safety committee the aggregated indicators and the measures taken.

Preventive management software allows you to register temporary disability processes, relate them to positions, risks and contingencies, calculate absenteeism indicators and manage the return to work and adaptations with traceability and separation of health data.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Requiring the employee to submit paper reports, an obligation that was eliminated on April 1, 2023.
2. Treating temporary disability only as a payroll issue, without analyzing its causes or relating it to prevention.
3. Do not investigate work-related injuries because the benefit has already been processed.
4. Reintegrating people after prolonged absences without assessing their aptitude or adapting the job.
5. Accessing or attempting to access the diagnosis, violating confidentiality.
6. Ignoring the growing weight of mental health processes and failing to act on psychosocial risks.

The specific requirements for the benefit, the deadlines and the procedures are detailed in the General Social Security Law and in Royal Decree 625/2014; this sheet is for informational purposes.

Regulatory and reference framework

• Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of October 30. Consolidated text of the General Social Security Law; temporary incapacity (articles 169 to 176).
• Royal Decree 625/2014, of July 18. Management and control of temporary incapacity processes during the first 365 days of their duration.
• Royal Decree 1060/2022, of December 27. Amendment of Royal Decree 625/2014; elimination of the delivery of reports by the worker and electronic communication to the company.
• Law 31/1995, of November 8. Law on Prevention of Occupational Risks; health surveillance (article 22) and especially sensitive workers (article 25).
• Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17. Regulation of Prevention Services; health surveillance after prolonged absence for health reasons (Article 37).
• Royal Decree 1993/1995, of December 7. Regulation on the collaboration of mutual insurance companies in the management of Social Security.

The ministerial orders implementing Royal Decree 625/2014 regulate the forms and transmission deadlines, and collective agreements may establish supplements to the benefit.