Commuting accidents: sick leave on the way to work
Independent, non-governmental site
The calendar starts from an accident on the way to work: you will see that pay starts the next day and at 75% straight away.
Your leave calendar
28 October 2027
Date on which 365 days are reached if the leave continues. Work accident (or commuting).
| Last expected day | 17 November 2026 |
| INSS or mutua from | 30 October 2026 |
| You move to 75% on | 30 October 2026 |
| Day 365: the INSS takes over | 28 October 2027 |
| Day 545: benefit ends | 25 April 2028 |
Dates count calendar days, weekends and holidays included (LGSS arts. 169 and 173).
| Days | Dates | % | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 Oct 2026 | 100% | Employer: day’s wage |
| 2-20 | 30 Oct 2026 – 17 Nov 2026 | 75% | INSS or mutua (advanced by the employer) |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Rules and agreements read in the BOE on 29 October 2026
An accident on your way to or from work is a work accident, even though it happens outside the workplace and outside working hours: Spanish law calls it an accident in itinere. It is paid like any work accident, with the day's wage paid by the employer and 75% of the base from the next day, and needs no contribution days. If it were treated as a non-work accident, you would be paid as for an ordinary illness: nothing for the first three days and 60% up to day 20. With a daily base of 55 euros and 20 days of leave, the difference is €277.75. The law does not define the journey, so what is argued in each case is whether you were travelling between home and work, on your usual route, within a reasonable time and by a normal means of transport.
What the law says
Article 156.2.a) of the General Social Security Act treats as a work accident one suffered by a worker on the way to or from the workplace. It says nothing more, which is why the details have been settled case by case: the journey must be made because of work, must start or end at your home, must take place reasonably close to your working hours and must use a suitable means of transport. Home can also be a second residence from which you normally travel to work. None of these conditions is written in the Act: they are the ones applied when each specific accident is assessed.
| Item | Commuting (work) | Non-work accident |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | €55.00 wage | €0 |
| Days 2 and 3 | €82.50 | €0 |
| Total over 20 days | €838.75 | €561.00 |
| Contribution days required | None | None |
When it is disputed
Disputes tend to come from three situations. The first is detours: a short stop for something routine does not break the journey, but a personal plan in between may. The second is timing: an accident hours after leaving work will hardly be treated as commuting. The third is place: a fall inside your own home, once the journey is over, no longer counts. None of this changes the rate set by Decree 3158/1966: if it is accepted, you get 75% from the next day.
What the accident pays
Your pay for 20 days of leave
€915
| Daily regulatory base | €60 |
| Statutory benefit | €915 |
| Wage for the day of leave (employer) | €60 |
| Paid by the INSS or mutua | €855 |
What to do
Report the accident to your employer as soon as possible, explaining where and when it happened, and ask it to notify its mutua. Keep anything that proves the journey: the police traffic report if there is one, the emergency report showing the time, witnesses, your clock-in record. If the mutua does not accept it and your doctor signs you off for a non-work accident, you can ask the INSS to determine the cause, as explained in work accidents. If you are self-employed, article 316.2 of the Act limits cover to the journey to declared premises other than your home; see self-employed.