Sick leave for the self-employed lawyer: temporary incapacity benefit, amounts and procedures

For a self-employed lawyer, falling ill has a double cost: income that stops and a social security contribution that does not. The temporary incapacity benefit (IT) of the RETA regime exists precisely for that scenario, but it works by its own rules, which are worth knowing before needing them: percentages, waiting days, who pays and what happens to the contribution.

What IT covers in the RETA

Temporary incapacity covers the loss of income when the professional cannot work due to common illness, non-work accident, work accident or occupational disease. Cover for common contingencies is mandatory within the contribution, and professional contingencies are also part of the system for the self-employed. Management runs through the mutual insurance society collaborating with Social Security (or the INSS, where applicable), which is who recognizes and pays the benefit.

How much is paid and from which day

The consolidated text of the General Social Security Law (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015) sets the percentages on the regulatory base, which in the RETA matches the chosen contribution base:

• Common illness and non-work accident: 60% of the base from day 4 to day 20 inclusive, and 75% from day 21 onwards. The first three days generate no benefit unless improved by agreement with the mutual society.
• Work accident and occupational disease: 75% of the base from the day after the leave starts.

In practice, a self-employed person on the minimum base receives a modest benefit: with a contribution base around the system's minimum, 60% amounts to a sum that rarely covers the fixed costs of a practice. Hence the importance of the choice of base and of voluntary coverages, a decision that connects directly with the debate on the mutualist alternative versus RETA for lawyers.

Who pays and how it is processed

Payment of IT arising from common contingencies falls to the mutual society from day 4 (days 4 to 15 are charged to the employer, a rule that for the self-employed shifts to the mutual), and professional contingencies are also managed by the mutual. The procedure:

1. Medical leave certificate: issued by the public health service doctor. The self-employed person must submit it to their mutual society, usually online, within a short deadline (three working days is the usual reference).
2. Communication of temporary cessation of activity: the mutual may require a declaration about the activity's situation; there is no need to close the practice or deregister from the RETA.
3. Confirmation and discharge certificates: while the leave lasts, the doctor issues periodic certificates that must be submitted.

The contribution during leave: it keeps being paid (with one exception)

The general rule is that the self-employed person remains obliged to contribute during IT. The relevant exception: once the leave exceeds 60 days, they are exempt from paying the contribution from then on while the incapacity persists. It is an exemption that is not applied automatically in all cases and should be confirmed with the Treasury or the mutual. The current contribution amounts and schedule are in the guide to the 2026 self-employed contribution for lawyers and its regularization.

Complements the sector uses

• Voluntary benefit improvements with the mutual: many mutual societies offer to top up percentages or cover the first three days for an additional premium.
• Private sick-leave insurance (daily subsidy): common among liberal professionals, with waiting periods and limits that must be read carefully.
• Cessation of activity: if the leave extends or leads to a definitive closure, the self-employed person may access the cessation-of-activity benefit, the "self-employed unemployment benefit", with its own requirements.
• A continuity plan for the practice: being able to delegate court duties and clients is the only "policy" that protects the client base; prior organization is part of prevention, just like professional liability insurance for lawyers.

Three decisions to make with a cool head

1. Contribution base: the higher the base, the higher the IT benefit, but also the monthly contribution. The decision is made with numbers, not by default.
2. Managing mutual society: the choice of mutual determines deadlines, apps and available improvements; it can be changed within the foreseen windows.
3. Voluntary coverages: consider the IT improvement and private subsidy before age 40-45, while premiums are still reasonable.

Health is the least protected asset of solo practice. Anyone practising alone should review their coverage with the same regularity with which they review their direct estimation and deductible expenses: once a year, with the numbers in front of them.