Sick Leave for Autónomos in Spain: When It Is Paid, How to Apply, and How to Receive Benefits
In this article, I will explain how to obtain sick leave (baja médica) as an autónomo in Spain, based on my own experience.
In What Cases Can an Autónomo Take Sick Leave?
Every autónomo in Spain is required to register with Social Security and pay monthly contributions.
These contributions entitle you to social benefits in the following cases:
- Sick leave due to common illness or non-work-related accident — temporary incapacity.
- Sick leave due to occupational disease or work-related injury.
- Leave for childbirth and childcare.
- Risk during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Disability pensions (incapacidad permanente).
- Pensions in case of loss of breadwinner (widowhood, orphanhood).
- Cessation of activity for reasons beyond your control (similar to “unemployment benefit” for autónomos).
- Retirement pension (jubilación).
What to Do in Case of Serious Illness or Injury?
Here we will focus on sick leave due to common illness or non-work-related accident (Baja médica por enfermedad común y accidente no laboral).
I enjoy playing padel, and one day, while returning a serve, I misjudged the speed and distance to the wall and broke my finger. I realized it was a fracture immediately, but I had to finish the match, since in my club a fracture is not considered a valid reason to stop playing.
In Spain, for injuries like fractures, you need to go to Urgencias (emergency room), just find the nearest one on the map. So, after making a makeshift bandage, I went to the nearest Urgencias to my home. I showed my finger, tarjeta sanitaria, and got a ticket for the queue.
The doctor examined my hand and sent me for an X-ray. It worked on the second try. Fractura (fracture) confirmed. The doctor redid my bandage, wrote a report (though mixed up the hand), scheduled a follow-up, and sent me home to recover.
You pay €600 per month (seg-social).
Urgencias does not issue sick leave, for that you need to book an appointment (sita) with your family doctor.
Then I went to my assigned hospital and immediately got an appointment with my doctor. The doctor examined my finger, read the traumatology report, and issued a sick leave certificate (minimum required documentation for Seguridad Social), Accidente no laboral, with a follow-up in a week.
The doctor can open sick leave for a certain period with the possibility of extension.
For autónomos, the procedure for obtaining sick leave for non-work-related injuries is the same as for work-related cases.
Sick leave for autónomos is opened by the doctor in the Seguridad Social system.
For injuries not related to professional activity, sick leave is paid from the 4th day of temporary incapacity (the first 3 days are usually not paid). The amount of benefits is on average 70% of the contribution base to Seguridad Social, from which temporary incapacity is calculated.
Call from the Mutua (Insurance Company)
The sick leave certificate is immediately sent to the Seguridad Social system and the mutua with which you have a contract. You do not need to go anywhere, everything happens automatically.
Mutua is a specialized insurance organization (full name: mutua colaboradora con la Seguridad Social), which collaborates with the state social security system. Every autónomo must choose a mutua when registering in the system (RETA) to cover certain risks and receive benefits in case of incapacity.
A few days after opening the sick leave, I was contacted by the mutua by phone (in my case, Ibermutua) to clarify details: reasons, expected duration, type of injury. They asked about my activity; I explained that I am a developer and work with text, and of course, I cannot type with a broken finger.
Then they scheduled an examination at the insurance company if the finger did not heal in a month. Otherwise, they asked to cancel the appointment.
Mutua may schedule check-ups during your sick leave.
Submitting an Application to the Insurance Company (Ibermutua)
After 3 weeks, several check-ups, X-rays, and one extension, the doctor closed my sick leave.
To receive sick leave payments, you need to register and submit an application to Ibermutua.
Registration
Go to https://digital.ibermutua.es/ and click Acceder as Personas
On the next page, choose any registration method:
- Registrarme con DNI (by document number)
- Registrarme con certificado digital (with digital certificate)
After registration, you enter your personal account.
Open the Benefits Page
In the top menu, select Gestiones —> Prestaciones
Select the Required Benefit from the List
For temporary incapacity - Pago Directo por Incapacidad Temporal
Click Comenzar trámite
Select Your Insurance Case
In the dropdown, select the relevant insurance case
Click Comenzar trámite
1. Verificación de requisitos previos
At the first step, the system checks that there are no debts and the contract is valid
Click Continuar
2. Application Form for the Benefit
- Specify province, children
- Below, check the daily payment base or change it if the amount is incorrect
- Confirm that all contributions were paid for the previous 3 months at the time of the incident
- Enter your IBAN for payments
Click Continuar
3. Modelo 145
Click Acceder al formulario
- Check/enter your data
- Family financial status
- Disability
- Information about dependent family members
-
- Fecha y firma de la comunicación - check the box
Click Guardar y adjuntar
4. Declaración de Actividad
Click Acceder al formulario
- Enter the business address Que dicho establecimiento tiene su domicilio social en:
- Specify the types of activity and their description in cuya actividad económica, oficio o profesión es la de:
- Check - Cese temporal o definitivo de la actividad durante la situación de incapacidad temporal del titular del establecimiento.
- Enter the city
Click Guardar y adjuntar
5. Required Documentation
- Bank account ownership certificate - a statement from the bank confirming you own the specified account
You can get it in any bank’s mobile app
Click Continuar
6. Contact Details
Confirm your contact details
Sign and Submit the Application
Check the box and click Firmar y enviar solicitud
You will receive a one-time password via SMS.
In my case, it was a nightmare, as any SMS code was not accepted.
I struggled for about an hour before the system accepted the code. As I understood, you need to enter it as quickly as possible — within 2-3 seconds after receiving it, otherwise it is considered expired.
Receiving and Calculating Payment Amounts
Two weeks later, I received a letter stating that I was granted a payment of €286.85 for 19 days. You may ask why so little? Here’s the explanation:
My base cotización in social security is set at €735.29, so all payments are calculated from this amount.
- The daily rate is calculated: 735.29 / 30 days = ~€24.51 daily BASE payment
- According to the daily base, payment is calculated by days according to the calculation rules :
- First day: 0% of the base
- Days 2-3: 0% of the base
- Days 4 to 20: 60% of the base
- From day 21: 75% of the base
If the correct base had been indicated — €1,732.03 — the payment would have been about €676.
When the base is recalculated and the missing amount is credited by social security, I will apply for a recalculation of the paid amount.
How to Declare Insurance Payments
Insurance payments are included in the annual RENTA as rendimientos del trabajo (income from work)
art 17.1.ª Ley 35/2006, de 28 de noviembre
1.ª Pensions and passive income received from public Social Security schemes and passive classes and other public benefits for situations of incapacity, retirement, accident, illness, widowhood, or similar, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 7 of this Law
Can You Issue Invoices and Work While on Sick Leave?
Answer: no. While on sick leave, you are officially in a state of temporary incapacity, and working is against the law.
If Mutua or Seguridad Social find out you worked during sick leave, payments may be stopped and fines imposed.
Do not issue invoices for dates that fall within the period of incapacity.
Conclusion
There is nothing complicated about receiving payments, the main thing is to do everything correctly and on time.
Wishing everyone good health!
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