Spanish employers' federation CEOE demands social security assume full cost of first 15 sick days to relieve €17 billion annual burden on business

Rising absenteeism

1.4 million workers are absent from their jobs each day due to temporary incapacity (IT), according to data presented by CEOE during a conference in Madrid on Tuesday. The annual cost of these sick leaves has climbed to €33 billion, a figure split almost evenly between businesses (€17 billion) and the social security system.

This is a country-wide problem.

The current burden on business

Under existing rules, the first three days of sick leave are unpaid unless a collective agreement provides otherwise. Between day four and day fifteen, the employer must pay 60% of the worker's regulatory base plus social contributions. Only from day sixteen does the social security take over. Since 69% of all IT episodes last less than 15 days, the bulk of the cost falls squarely on companies.

CEOE's immediate demands

Speaking at the closing of the event, CEOE president Antonio Garamendi said the social security should assume both the benefit payment and the social contributions for the first 15 days of common illness leave. He described this as an urgent stopgap while the government fails to fix the root causes.

If you do not provide a remedy to fix this, at least spare me the cost.

The organisation further wants companies to be exempt from common contingency contributions for leaves extending beyond one year, a category that has doubled recently due to administrative bottlenecks in the public health system.

Structural reforms sought

Beyond the cost-shifting proposal, CEOE and its member organisations renewed calls for deeper changes. They want mutual insurance companies (mutuas) to be allowed to issue medical discharge certificates, a power currently reserved to public doctors. They also asked for more healthcare professionals and inspectors, faster medical check-ups at three, six and nine months rather than waiting a full year, and the revival of dismissal for absenteeism, which was abolished by the government in 2020.

The root issue is not a public health crisis but inefficiencies in the administration, the health system and a regulatory framework that is not fit for purpose.

Reaction and next steps

The CEOE has yet to formally table the proposal with the government, as the social dialogue table on the matter has not been convened. Garamendi stressed the federation is open to talks with both the executive and trade unions, while insisting the current situation places an unsustainable burden on businesses.