When a woman suffers injuries caused by her partner or former partner and cannot work, until now her sick leave for gender-based violence was handled like any other sick leave for common illness or a non-work accident, with the same requirements as any other: a minimum contribution period if it is a common illness and three days without receiving the benefit. That changes on December 1, 2026. Royal Decree-law 31/2026 (Real Decreto-ley 31/2026), published in the BOE on October 21, creates a special temporary incapacity status for these injuries, with no prior contributions required and a benefit paid from the day after the leave begins.
In this article we explain what the new sick leave requires, which documents must exist, how much you receive, who pays each day and what is still unclear. If you are in this situation or want a specific case reviewed with complete discretion, you can write to Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.
What Changes on December 1, 2026: A Sick Leave of Its Own for Gender-Based Violence
Royal Decree-law 31/2026 of October 20 amends the General Social Security Law (Ley General de la Seguridad Social, LGSS) to reorganize the so-called special situations of temporary incapacity due to common contingencies. These are sick leaves that the law treats more favorably than ordinary sick leave. Incapacitating secondary menstruation, termination of pregnancy, pregnancy from week 39 and organ or tissue donation for transplant already existed. The reform adds two new ones: limiting conditions caused by menopausal disorders and injuries resulting from gender-based violence.
The decree’s own preamble explains the aim: to respond to health realities that affect the ability to work, «integrating the gender perspective and strengthening the protection of situations of special vulnerability».
In practice, sick leave for gender-based violence has three advantages over ordinary sick leave:
- No minimum contribution period is required. Sick leave for common illness requires 180 days of contributions in the previous five years.
- The benefit is paid from the day after the leave begins, not from the fourth day.
- The managing body or the mutual insurer pays from that next day. The employer only pays the salary for the day the leave begins.
The decree came into force on October 21, 2026, but these specific rules take effect «on the first day of the second month following publication», that is, on December 1, 2026.
Lucía’s Example: A Few Months of Contributions and an Injury
Lucía is 24, Peruvian, lives in Valencia with a residence and work permit and started working as a shop assistant four months ago. It is her first job in Spain. She suffers an injury caused by her former partner that prevents her from working for several weeks, and the doctor at her health center signs her off sick.
Under the previous rules, if her leave were handled as a common illness, Lucía would not reach the 180 days of contributions required for that contingency. If it were handled as a non-work accident, no prior contributions would be required, but she would not receive the benefit until the fourth day of leave, and from day 4 to day 15 the employer would pay it. If her leave starts on or after December 1, 2026 and the doctor identifies it as a special situation due to gender-based violence, no prior contribution period is required in any case and she receives the benefit from the day after the leave begins, paid by the managing body or the mutual insurer.
For that leave to keep its special status, one of the documents listed in the law must exist before the medical discharge (for example, a protection order or the medical report notifying the court), and it must state that the injury was caused by the assault. We look at this in detail below.
What the Law Says: New Article 169.1.a) 5th of the LGSS
The new special situation is in article 169.1.a) of the LGSS, which lists the situations that give rise to temporary incapacity. Its point 5 reads:
«5th. Those in which a woman may find herself as a result of injuries caused by the man who is or has been her spouse or is or has been linked to her by a similar relationship of affection, even without cohabitation, while she receives health care and is unable to work as a result of those injuries.»
The same paragraph adds the documentary requirement and the doctor’s role:
«For this purpose, it shall be necessary that, before the medical discharge due to recovery or improvement, the official medical documents notifying the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the court, a protection order, a decision ordering a precautionary measure or a report from the Public Prosecutor stating the existence of indications of gender-based violence have been issued; or that a conviction has been handed down. The medical practitioner of the Public Health Service shall identify these special situations by means of the corresponding coding. Those documents must expressly state the causal link between the injury that gave rise to the special situation of temporary incapacity and the act of violence that leads to the conviction, protection or opening of the investigation.»
The definition of the aggressor matches that of Organic Law 1/2004 on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender-Based Violence, which refers to violence against women by those who are or have been their spouses or are or have been linked to them by similar relationships of affection, even without cohabitation.
Requirements: Injury, Aggressor, Health Care and Medical Coding
Reading article 169.1.a) 5th, the special sick leave requires all of these conditions at the same time:
- A working woman who suffers injuries.
- Injuries caused by her spouse or former spouse, or by the man with whom she has or had a similar relationship of affection, even if they never lived together. The relationship does not need to be ongoing.
- That she receives health care while the leave lasts.
- That she is unable to work as a result of those injuries. Being a victim is not enough: the injury must prevent her from working.
- That the Public Health Service doctor identifies it as a special situation using the corresponding coding.
- That one of the documents listed in the law exists before the medical discharge, with the express causal link between the injury and the violence.
As with any sick leave, the maximum duration of temporary incapacity is 365 days, extendable by another 180 days when it is expected that during that time the worker may be discharged as recovered.
If you are unsure whether your sick leave fits this special situation, Fernanda Vargas, employment lawyer in Madrid, can review your documents. You can see how she works on her labor law and Social Security page.
The Documents That Must Exist Before the Discharge
This is the point most worth understanding. The law requires that, before the medical discharge due to recovery or improvement, one of these documents has been issued:
- The official medical documents notifying the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the court (the report that health services send when they treat an injury of this kind).
- A protection order.
- A decision ordering a precautionary measure.
- A report from the Public Prosecutor stating the existence of indications of gender-based violence.
- Or a conviction.
They are alternatives: one of them is enough. The rule does not expressly require a complaint by the worker herself, although in practice several of those documents (the protection order, the precautionary measure, the prosecutor’s report or the conviction) come from proceedings that are already open. The medical report notifying the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the court is issued by the health services themselves.
In addition, the document must state expressly the causal link between the injury that causes the leave and the act of violence. A generic document that does not link the injury to the assault would not meet this requirement.
The law does not explain what happens if the document arrives after the discharge, or how it is proven to the managing body or the mutual insurer. That is why the worker should keep a copy of everything issued during the leave and, if in doubt, have her case reviewed as soon as possible.
How Much You Receive and Who Pays Each Day
Article 171.1 of the LGSS sets the amount for these special situations: a benefit «equivalent in amount to the temporary incapacity benefit for common contingencies», paid under the rules of article 173.1. In other words, you do not receive 100% of your salary by law (unless the collective agreement improves the benefit): the percentages of ordinary sick leave apply, which are 60% of the regulatory base up to day 20 and 75% from day 21.
The difference lies in when payment starts and who pays. Article 173.1 puts it this way:
«In the special situations of temporary incapacity provided for in article 169.1.a), the benefit shall be paid, by the managing or collaborating body covering temporary incapacity for common contingencies, from the day after the leave from work, with the employer paying the full salary for the day of the leave.»
| When | Who pays | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Day the leave begins | The employer | Full salary for that day |
| From the next day | Managing body (INSS) or collaborating mutual insurer | Temporary incapacity benefit |
The regulatory base is the one that applies to temporary incapacity for common contingencies. If you want to see how it is calculated from December 2026, we explain it in the article on how sick pay is calculated from December 2026.
During the leave, the obligation to pay contributions continues: article 144.4 of the LGSS says so expressly for the special situations of article 169.1.a).
Ordinary Sick Leave vs Sick Leave for Gender-Based Violence: Comparison Table
| Aspect | Sick leave for common illness | Special sick leave for gender-based violence (from December 1, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum contribution period | 180 days in the previous five years | Not required |
| Day the leave begins | No benefit | Full salary paid by the employer |
| Days 2 and 3 | No benefit | Benefit paid by the INSS or the mutual insurer |
| Days 4 to 15 | Benefit paid by the employer | Benefit paid by the INSS or the mutual insurer |
| From day 16 | Benefit paid by the INSS or the mutual insurer | Benefit paid by the INSS or the mutual insurer |
| Amount | 60% up to day 20 and 75% from day 21 | Equivalent to ordinary sick leave |
| Documentary requirement | No | One of the documents in the law, with a causal link, before the discharge |
| Contributions during the leave | Continue | Continue |
The table reflects the general legal rule. Many collective agreements improve sick pay and require the employer to top up the salary: it is worth checking yours.
The comparison shows that the change matters above all to two groups: workers with few contributions whose leave was handled as a common illness, who until now could be left without benefit, and any worker in the first days of leave, who no longer go unpaid.
Self-Employed Workers
The new sick leave also covers self-employed women (autónomas). Article 318.h) of the LGSS, introduced by the same decree, applies the temporary incapacity chapter, which includes the special situations, to the self-employed scheme, and specifies that when applying article 173.1 «references to the days on which the salary or the benefit is payable by the employer shall be deemed not to apply».
For self-employed women, the regulatory base is the contribution base of the month immediately before the month preceding the leave, divided by thirty, with specific rules if registration in the scheme is very recent.
When It Applies and What Is Still Unclear
The decree’s first transitional provision states that the changes to the special situations of temporary incapacity «shall apply to temporary incapacity processes started after its entry into force». As those rules take effect on December 1, 2026, the reasonable reading is that they apply to sick leaves starting on or after that date, although the rule does not say so precisely. A sick leave that began earlier will, in principle, follow the rules for ordinary sick leave.
Several questions also remain open:
- Medical coding. The law says that the Public Health Service doctor will identify these situations with the corresponding coding, but how this will work in practice has not been published.
- Proof of the document. It has not been specified how the document linking the injury to the violence reaches the managing body or the mutual insurer.
- A late document. The rule requires it to exist before the discharge, but does not say what happens if it is issued afterwards.
- Days 2 and 3. The 60% rule was set at the time for the period from day 4 to day 20 of ordinary sick leave; the decree refers to that amount without detailing how it applies to the first days.
- Validation. A royal decree-law must be validated by the Congress (article 86.2 of the Constitution).
The reform follows the same logic as the new menopause sick leave, created by the same decree: no qualifying period and payment from the next day.
Other Labor Rights of Victims That Already Existed
The new sick leave adds to the rights that Organic Law 1/2004 already granted to working women who are victims of gender-based violence. Its article 21 provides, under the terms of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores), the right to reduce or reorganize working time, to geographic mobility, to a change of workplace, to adaptation of the job, to suspension of the employment relationship with the job kept open and to termination of the contract.
The same article provides that absences or lateness caused by the physical or psychological situation resulting from gender-based violence are considered justified and will be paid when the social care services or health services so determine, and that the worker must notify the employer as soon as possible.
Being on sick leave does not leave the worker unprotected against dismissal either. If you want to know when a dismissal during sick leave may be null and void, we explain it in the article on dismissal during sick leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since When Does Sick Leave for Gender-Based Violence Exist?
The special temporary incapacity status for injuries resulting from gender-based violence was created by Royal Decree-law 31/2026, published in the BOE on October 21, 2026. The decree came into force that same day, but this special situation takes effect on December 1, 2026. The first transitional provision applies it to sick leave processes started after its entry into force; the reasonable reading is that it covers sick leaves starting on or after December 1, although the rule does not say so precisely. Earlier sick leaves are governed, in principle, by the rules for ordinary sick leave.
Do I Need a Minimum Contribution Period to Receive This Benefit?
No. In this special situation no minimum contribution period is required, unlike sick leave for common illness, which requires 180 days of contributions in the previous five years. The general conditions for access to the benefit and the requirements of the special sick leave must still be met.
Do I Have to File a Complaint for the Leave to Count as Gender-Based Violence?
The law does not expressly require a complaint. It requires that, before the medical discharge, one of these documents exists: the official medical report notifying the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the court, a protection order, a decision with a precautionary measure, a report from the Public Prosecutor with indications of gender-based violence or a conviction. That document must state that the injury was caused by the assault. If none of them exists before the discharge, the leave would not meet the requirements of the special situation.
How Much Do I Receive and Who Pays Me During the Leave?
The amount is the same as for ordinary sick leave: 60% of the regulatory base up to day 20 and 75% from day 21, unless your collective agreement improves it. On the day the leave begins your employer pays your full salary and, from the next day, the benefit is paid by the INSS or the mutual insurer that covers your common contingencies.
Will My Employer Know That the Leave Is Due to Gender-Based Violence?
The rule does not regulate what information the employer receives about the reason for the leave. What does change for the employer is payment: it only pays the salary for the day the leave begins, and from the next day the managing body or the mutual insurer pays. If you are concerned about how it will be communicated in your case, check with Fernanda Vargas first.
For more information and personalized assistance, contact Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.