Self-employed sick leave in Spain: rules & pay 2026

A self-employed worker (autónomo) is entitled to sick leave, technically a temporary disability (IT) benefit, when illness or an accident prevents them from working. To access it they must be registered with the RETA, up to date with payments and, in most cases, have completed a minimum prior contribution period. Below you will find the requirements, how much you get paid, how long it lasts and how it is processed, with no fine print.

The difference compared with an employee is uncomfortable: when an employee falls ill, their company keeps running; when a self-employed worker falls ill, in many cases the business stops with them. That is why it is worth knowing exactly what the system covers before you need it.

In short: the autónomo’s IT benefit is requested with the doctor’s sick note, is normally managed through the mutua that collaborates with Social Security, and pays a percentage of the contribution base from the fourth day onwards. There are important nuances depending on the cause (common illness or work accident) and on the type of self-employed worker.

What self-employed sick leave is and who is entitled to it

The autónomo’s “sick leave” is the temporary disability cash benefit: an amount that partially replaces your income when you cannot carry out your activity because of an illness or an accident. It is not a leave of absence or a sabbatical; it is a contributory Social Security benefit.

Workers registered with the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) who meet the contribution requirements and are up to date with their payments are entitled to it. Since the reform that universalised coverage for professional contingencies, practically all self-employed workers also contribute for work accidents and occupational illness, not only for common contingencies.

It is worth setting the vocabulary from the start, because the confusion is common: “being on leave” (this benefit) is not the same as “deregistering” as self-employed. The latter means ending the activity and leaving the RETA. We cover it at the end of the article.

Requirements to apply for the leave

For Social Security to recognise the benefit, the self-employed worker must meet several conditions. They are not interchangeable: if one is missing, the application is denied.

• Registration with the RETA at the time of the triggering event.
• Being up to date with contribution payments. If there are debts, there is a window to settle them (the well-known “payment invitation mechanism”) before losing the right.
• Minimum contribution period: for leave due to common illness, a minimum contribution over recent years is required. For accidents (work-related or not) and occupational illness, no prior period is required.
• Coverage of the relevant contingency (common or professional) in the contribution base.
• Declaration of activity status: within the first few days after the leave begins you must notify the mutua or Social Security who will take charge of the business during the absence, or whether it will be interrupted.

According to Social Security, this last step, the activity declaration, is one of those that delays the most applications, because it is frequently forgotten. It deserves a reminder on the calendar the same day the doctor signs the note.

How much you get paid while on leave: amount and calculation

The amount is not a fixed figure: it is a percentage of the regulatory base, which is obtained by dividing the contribution base of the month prior to the leave by 30. Different percentages are applied to that daily base depending on the days elapsed and the cause.

Percentages according to Social Security regulations and the General Social Security Act (RDL 8/2015). 

The difference is significant: in a professional contingency you receive more and sooner (75% from the first day after the leave begins), whereas with a common illness the first three days generate no benefit and the percentage starts at 60%.

A calculation example

Let us assume, for illustrative purposes only, a contribution base of €1,000 per month. The daily regulatory base would be 1,000 / 30 = €33.33.

• Days 4 to 20 (common illness): 60% of €33.33 = €20/day.
• From day 21: 75% of €33.33 = €25/day, roughly €750/month.

The real amount depends on your specific base. Contributing on the minimum base lowers your monthly fee, but it also reduces what you will receive if you fall ill: it is a decision worth reviewing carefully, not out of inertia.

How long the leave lasts and when it is extended

Temporary disability has a limit. As a general rule, the benefit is maintained for up to 365 days, extendable by a further 180 when the worker is expected to be medically discharged within that time. Once that maximum period is exhausted, the case is reviewed and may result in a discharge, a new leave or the assessment of permanent disability.

It is not an automatic period: during the leave, the INSS or the mutua may summon the self-employed worker for a medical review, and the discharge may come early if they are deemed to have recovered.

How to apply for the leave, step by step

The procedure is simpler than it seems, as long as the deadlines are respected.

1. Go to your doctor. The public health service physician (or the mutua’s, in professional contingencies) issues the sick note if applicable.
2. Identify who manages your benefit. In most cases it is your mutua collaborating with Social Security; in some cases, the INSS.
3. Submit the note and the documentation within the established deadline. The management of sick notes, confirmation and discharge is governed by RD 1060/2022.  
4. Make the activity status declaration within the deadline, indicating whether the business continues, is left in someone else’s charge or is interrupted.
5. Attend the medical reviews and keep the confirmation notes until discharge.

Who pays the benefit?

It is paid by the collaborating mutua with which the self-employed worker has the contingency covered, or by the INSS failing that. It is not paid by “the company”, because the self-employed worker is their own activity. This is one of the points that raises the most questions: the money does not come from the tax office or the bank, but from the entity managing the benefit.

Do you have to keep paying the self-employed contribution during the leave?

Yes, at first. During the first 60 days of leave the self-employed worker keeps paying their monthly contribution as normal. From day 61 onwards, and since Royal Decree-Law 28/2018 came into force, you can request a waiver of the contribution for the duration of the disability, so the worker stops paying it.

This waiver is neither automatic nor universal: it must be requested, it depends on the duration of the leave and on being up to date beforehand. In the firm’s practice we see that many self-employed workers are unaware of this right and keep paying contributions that might not be due; reviewing the receipts during a long leave often brings surprises.

Particular cases worth knowing

The general scheme has exceptions depending on who you are and why you fall ill. These cases are precisely the ones most guides overlook.

Leave for mental health: anxiety, depression and stress

Anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders can give rise to IT leave just like any other common illness, provided a physician issues the note. The criterion is not the diagnostic label, but the real inability to carry out the activity.

For a self-employed worker, this type of leave has an added difficulty: the pressure of the business depending on them tends to delay the decision to stop. From a strictly legal standpoint, mental health has the same coverage as physical health; treating it as something “less justifiable” is a mistake that, on top of everything, prolongs the recovery.

Corporate self-employed and collaborating self-employed

Not all self-employed workers are equal when it comes to leave:

• The corporate self-employed worker (administrator or controlling shareholder of a company) contributes to the RETA and, meeting the requirements, accesses the IT benefit like any other self-employed worker. It is managing the business during their absence that tends to get complicated, not the right itself.
• The collaborating self-employed worker (a family member of the registered holder in the RETA) is also entitled to IT leave, with their own contribution requirements.

The practical difference lies less in the “yes or no” and more in how the continuity of the activity is documented during the leave.

Multiple employment (pluriactividad)

If you combine your activity as self-employed with salaried employment (pluriactividad), the leave can be managed in each regime as appropriate. It is one of the scenarios where an individualised analysis is most worthwhile, because the bases and the coverage do not always coincide.

Sick leave (IT) versus deregistering as self-employed

Here is the most widespread confusion, and it is worth resolving. They are two different things:

• Sick leave for temporary disability: you are registered with the RETA, but you cannot work due to illness or accident. You receive a benefit and, when you recover, you resume the activity. This is what this article explains.
• Deregistering as self-employed (cessation of activity): you stop trading and leave the RETA. It involves procedures with Social Security and with the tax office, and it is a completely different process.

If what you are looking for is the second one, closing your activity or processing the RETA deregistration, we will address it in a specific guide on how to deregister as self-employed. Do not mix the two procedures: the deadlines, the forms and the consequences have nothing to do with each other.