How sick leave (baja médica) works in Spain, step by step

Terms used

• Baja — The baja is the official medical leave from work, issued by a doctor when you are unfit to work.
• Parte de baja — The parte de baja is the medical form that starts your sick leave.
• Alta médica — The alta médica is the medical discharge that ends your sick leave.
• INSS — The INSS is the national Social Security institute that manages sick leave benefits.
• Mutua — The mutua is a mutual insurance body that manages work accident and occupational illness benefits.

Key rules

• Tell your employer: Tell your employer about your absence the same day, even though the doctor sends the form electronically.
• Confirmation visits: Missing a confirmation visit can put your pay at risk, so note every date.
• Privacy: Your employer's copy shows no diagnosis.
• Discharge: Your leave ends with an alta médica, and you return to work on the date it gives.

The short version

Go to your public health service doctor, get the baja, and tell your employer the same day. Then attend every confirmation visit until you are discharged. Missing a visit or not telling your employer is how people put their pay at risk.

Step 1: See your public health doctor

Book an appointment with your GP in the public health service (SNS) as soon as you are too ill to work. The doctor decides whether you are unfit for work. If you are, the doctor issues the parte de baja electronically.

You get a copy of the parte. Your employer's version carries no diagnosis. Keep your own patient copy somewhere safe.

Ask how long the doctor expects the leave to last. That estimate sets how often you must come back.

Step 2: Tell your employer

Tell your employer you are absent, by phone or message, the same day. You do not need to carry paper to the office: the doctor sends the parte electronically, and the data reaches your company through Social Security. The old deadline for handing in paper copies no longer exists.

Still tell your employer promptly. Not reporting your absence at all can lead to disciplinary action under your collective agreement.

Step 3: Go to your confirmation visits

The doctor issues a confirmation parte at set intervals. These are the maximum gaps between visits:

• Expected leave under 5 days: the first confirmation is within 7 days of the baja.
• 5 to 30 days: every 14 days.
• 31 to 60 days: every 28 days.
• 61 days or more: every 35 days.

In practice your doctor may group visits differently, so write down the date of each next visit before you leave the surgery. These intervals apply to common illness and non-work accident bajas in the public health service.

Step 4: Discharge (alta médica)

The leave ends with an alta médica. It can come from:

• your family doctor, when you have recovered or improved;
• the health service's medical inspectors;
• the INSS, once it has taken over control of your case, including at the end of the 365 days;
• your mutua, for a work accident or occupational illness.

The leave also ends if you reach the maximum duration, are classed as permanently incapacitated, retire, or die. When you get an alta, go back to work on the date it gives you, unless you are disputing it. If you are unsure, ask your doctor or the INSS.

What to keep

Keep every parte you are given. The checklist below covers your first 48 hours, the timeline shows the visit schedule, and the quick answers cover diagnosis privacy, private doctors, pay for the first days and pensions.

Timeline and deadlines

• Tell your employer you are absent. The doctor sends the form electronically, so you do not need to hand over a paper copy: Promptly, on the day you stop work

• Go back for confirmation visits if the leave is expected to last 5 to 30 days: At most every 14 days

• Go back for confirmation visits if the leave is expected to last 31 to 60 days: At most every 28 days

• Go back for confirmation visits if the leave is expected to last 61 days or more: At most every 35 days

• Receive the discharge (alta médica) from the family doctor, the health service's medical inspectors, the INSS, or the mutua for work accidents and occupational illness: When you recover or improve, or when the INSS takes over, including at the end of the 365 days

What to do in your first 48 hours of sick leave

• See your public health service (SNS) GP as soon as you are too ill to work, and ask for a baja if the doctor agrees you are unfit.

• Ask the doctor how long they expect the leave to last, because that sets how often you must come back for a confirmation.

• Take your copy of the parte de baja, the medical leave form.

• Tell your employer about your absence the same day, by phone or message. The doctor sends the form electronically, so you do not need to deliver paper.

• Check that your employer's copy shows only dates and the type of leave, with no diagnosis.

• Write down the dates for your next confirmation visits. They come every 7 days if the leave is expected to last under 5 days, every 14 days for 5 to 30 days, every 28 days for 31 to 60 days, and every 35 days for 61 days or more.

• Check that you have 180 days of contributions in the last 5 years if your illness is a common illness, because sick pay depends on it.

Quick answers about sick leave

Does my employer see my diagnosis on the baja?

No, your employer does not see your diagnosis on the baja. Their copy shows only details such as dates and the type of leave. Health data is specially protected, so you do not need to share it.

Can a private doctor give me a valid baja?

No, a private doctor cannot issue a baja that starts sick pay. Only public health service doctors, or a mutua's doctors where the mutua manages your leave, can. You can still use a private report as supporting evidence when you ask the public doctor.

Are the first days of sick leave paid?

No, Social Security does not pay the first 3 days of common-illness sick leave. Many collective agreements or employers add a complement for those days, so check your contract.

Does time on baja count toward my pension?

Yes, time on baja counts toward your contribution record and pension. Contributions continue during the leave, and the time counts for waiting periods and pension calculation.