Taking sick leave for anxiety, depression or burnout

Terms used

• Baja — The baja is official sick leave from work, issued by a doctor.
• Partes de confirmación — The partes de confirmación are the doctor's regular check-up forms that confirm your sick leave continues.
• Mutua — The mutua is an insurance body, working with the state, that can review sick leave cases.
• INSS — The INSS is Spain's national social security institute, which pays and can review sick leave.

Key rules

• Who signs: Your family doctor can issue the baja without a specialist report.
• Burnout: Burnout is recorded under another diagnosis, usually as common illness.
• Specialist wait: Public psychiatry and psychology waits can run to several months, so do not wait for them to start your baja.

Your family doctor can sign you off

A baja for a mental health condition works like any other baja. Your family doctor (médico de cabecera) at the public health service can issue it after assessing you. You do not need a specialist's report first.

In practice, the doctor will want to see your symptoms written down and how they limit you at your job. Book the appointment, describe plainly what you can no longer do at work, and ask the doctor to record it.

Burnout is not a diagnosis of its own

Spanish medical classification does not treat burnout as a separate illness. Doctors usually record it as an adjustment disorder or an anxiety-depressive disorder. It is treated as common illness, not a work accident, unless a link to your job is proven. Expect the baja to carry one of those labels.

How long it lasts and how check-ups work

Doctors use a published guide of standard durations for each diagnosis. For anxiety or depression, a common case sits at around one to two months. Your own case may be shorter or longer, because the doctor decides.

While you are on baja, you attend confirmation visits (partes de confirmación). They come about every 7 days at first, then every 14 days, and then every 28 days from the 31st day. The doctor sets your follow-up visits, so ask at each one when the next is due. The timeline below shows the sequence.

Your case can be reviewed by your mutua or the INSS, so keep your appointments and your records in order.

Waiting for a psychiatrist or psychologist

Public psychiatry and psychology waits are often weeks to several months, and they vary by region. Many people therefore rely on their family doctor for the baja and treatment, or pay for private care in parallel. Your baja does not depend on getting that specialist appointment.

Ask your doctor for a referral anyway. It starts you in the queue, and it adds to the record behind your baja.

Timeline and deadlines

• Get your first baja from your family doctor: At the first appointment where the doctor assesses you as unfit to work

• Attend the first confirmation visits (partes de confirmación): About every 7 days at first

• Keep attending confirmation visits: Every 14 days after the first stage

• Continue with monthly-style confirmations: Every 28 days from the 31st day of leave

• Expect a common case to last around one to two months: The INSS guide for anxiety or depression typically sits at a month or two

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a psychiatrist's report to get a baja for anxiety or depression?

No, your family doctor (médico de cabecera) at the public health service can issue a baja for anxiety or depression without a specialist report. The decision rests on their clinical assessment. Describe your symptoms and how they limit your work, because doctors usually want these written down.

Can I get a baja for burnout?

Yes, you can get a baja for burnout, but it is usually recorded as an adjustment disorder or an anxiety-depressive disorder, not as burnout itself. It is treated as common illness unless a link to your work is proven. The INSS or a mutua (an insurer that works with Social Security) may review the case.

How long will I wait to see a public psychiatrist or psychologist?

Waits for public psychiatry and psychology are often weeks to several months, depending on your region. Many workers rely on their family doctor in the meantime, or go to private care.