The first three days of sick leave
Independent, non-governmental site
Work out a short leave: with 10 days you see the three unpaid days, the seven at 60% and what your agreement adds if you pick it.
Your pay for 10 days of leave
€252
Ordinary illness · September 2026 base (rule in force until 30 November 2026: the previous month)
| Daily regulatory base | €60 |
| Statutory benefit | €252 |
| Paid by the employer (days 4 to 15) | €252 |
| Paid by the INSS or mutua | €0 |
| Without leave you would have earned (gross) | €600 |
Ordinary illness requires 180 days of contributions in the last 5 years. Gross amounts: the benefit is subject to income tax and contributions. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
| Days | Dates | % | Who pays | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | 29 Oct 2026 – 31 Oct 2026 | 0% | Nobody: unpaid days | €0 |
| 4-10 | 1 Nov 2026 – 7 Nov 2026 | 60% | Employer, at its own cost | €252 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · Rules and agreements read in the BOE on 29 October 2026
For sick leave caused by an ordinary illness or a non-work accident, days 1, 2 and 3 carry no benefit. The law sets the start of the right on day four and nobody has to pay the earlier days, so your payslip will show three calendar days' pay deducted. With a daily base of 60 euros, a three-day leave pays nothing and a ten-day leave pays €252. There are three exceptions. For work accidents and occupational disease, the employer pays the first day's wage and the benefit starts on day two. In special situations, such as disabling menstruation, pay also starts the next day. And 8 of the 21 national collective agreements we have read guarantee 100% from day one for the first leave of the year.
What the law says
Article 173.1 of the General Social Security Act provides that the benefit for ordinary illness or a non-work accident is paid from the fourth day of leave, and that the employer pays days four to fifteen at its own cost. The rate for those days is set by Royal Decree 53/1980: 60%. Those days are not made up later, even if the leave lasts months: there is simply no benefit for them. The table compares a three-day leave for each cause on the same daily base.
| Cause | Day 1 | Days 2 and 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary illness | €0 | €0 | €0.00 |
| Work accident | €60.00 (wage) | €90.00 | €150.00 |
Agreements that pay from day one
The legal rule is a minimum, and agreements can improve on it. Of the 21 national agreements whose article we have read in the BOE, these guarantee 100% from day 1 for the first leave of the year due to ordinary illness: Banking, Savings banks, Insurance, Disability services, Social action, Publicly funded private schools, Nurseries, Contract catering. Some limit it to the first leaves: for the third leave of the year, the list drops to 5. Others only top up with a hospital stay or when the leave passes 30 days. The detail of each one, with its article, is in agreement top-ups.
Three days with your agreement
Your pay for 3 days of leave
€0
| Daily regulatory base | €60 |
| Statutory benefit | €0 |
| Paid by the INSS or mutua | €0 |
| Without leave you would have earned (gross) | €180 |
Situations paid sooner
From 1 December 2026, secondary disabling menstruation, pregnancy termination or loss, week 39 of pregnancy, organ donation, menopausal disorders and gender violence are paid from the day after the leave starts, and the employer pays the first day's wage. Before that date, menstruation and donation were paid from the first day of leave. We explain it in special situations. If you are self-employed, the first three days are unpaid for ordinary illness too and there is no employer for the following ones: the mutua pays from day four. Who pays each day after the third is covered in who pays sick leave.