Spain's sick‑leave benefits cost firms €4.8bn annually as mental‑health absences soar

The salary supplements paid by employers for temporary disability amount to €4.838 billion a year, roughly 30 % of the total expense that companies bear for sick leave, according to the Association of Work Accident Mutuelles (AMAT). Social‑security contributions during the same period add another €9.351 billion, making the overall cost to businesses in the tens of billions of euros. The Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) has called for measures to ease this financial burden.

In parallel, mental‑health related sick leaves have reached record levels. In 2024 Spain recorded 671,618 cases of temporary incapacity for mental‑behavioral disorders, the highest since 2016. The first seven months of 2025 already show 420,783 such processes, with only 708 classified as occupational contingencies. The average duration of mental‑health leaves is 2.5 times longer than the overall average, affecting sectors such as commerce, hospitality, health and education. The UGT‑produced report urges action on workplace psychosocial risks.