Sick leave for the self-employed gets its own base: what changes under RDL 31/2026

Self-employed workers now have their own calculation rule for the temporary incapacity benefit. Royal Decree-Law 31/2026, of 20 October, on improving the protective action of Social Security and other social rules - published in the BOE of 21 October under reference BOE-A-2026-21872 - adds a letter h) to article 318 of the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law, setting a specific regulatory base for the RETA: the contribution base of the month immediately preceding the month before the triggering event, divided by thirty.

The provision, already in force, declares applicable to the self-employed "in matters of temporary incapacity, the provisions of chapter V of Title II, except: the last two paragraphs of article 170.2, article 171.2 and 3, article 173.3 and the third paragraph of article 174.5", according to the text of the rule as shown in its consolidated versions.

What changes in practice

Until now, calculating a self-employed worker's sick leave relied on references to the general regime that raised application doubts. The new wording resolves the calculation with a closed formula: instead of taking the base of the month immediately before the leave, the provision steps back one further month. If the leave starts in December, the reference base is October's; if it starts in January, November's. That base is divided by thirty to obtain the daily amount, to which the percentages provided for each stage of the incapacity are applied.

The new paragraph also resolves two cases of recent registration: if registration in the RETA occurred in the same month as the leave, the rule for that month applies; if registration was in the month before the leave, the contribution base of the month immediately preceding the leave is used.

Differences from the general regime

The two regimes move in parallel, but not with an identical formula. The general regime gets a new wording of article 171 of the LGSS, while the self-employed have their own rule in article 318.h). The monthly time reference is the same in both, but the divisor differs: in the RETA it is always thirty, whatever the contingency, whereas the general regime looks at the contribution days and factors overtime into professional contingencies. In addition, the days borne by the employer provided for in the general regime are deemed not applicable in the RETA.

As for effective dates, the RETA rule applies from 21 October 2026, while other changes in the same royal decree-law defer their entry into force: that is the case of the exclusion from regularisation of contribution bases during the benefit for caring for minors with cancer or other serious illness, which will apply from 1 January 2027 and which we analyse separately in this other piece.

The special temporary incapacity situations

The same royal decree-law reorganises, through article 169.1.a) of the LGSS, the special situations of temporary incapacity for common contingencies and lists five: secondary incapacitating menstruation and that due to termination of pregnancy, voluntary or not; the worker's pregnancy from the first day of the thirty-ninth week; organ or tissue donation for transplant; limiting pathology from a codified secondary menopausal disorder; and injuries caused by gender violence, with the requirement of the official health documents or the judicial resolution the provision details.

Three details of these situations matter especially to the self-employed. Organ donation is paid at one hundred per cent of the common contingencies regulatory base. In the first, third, fourth and fifth situations no minimum contribution periods are required, while for common illness article 172 keeps the requirement of 180 days of contributions within the five years immediately preceding the triggering event. And article 173.1 orders the subsidy in these special situations to be paid from the day after the leave, not from the fourth day as under the general rule.

The calendar is worth noting: the effects of articles 144.4, 169.1.a), 171, 172 and 173.1 are deferred to the first day of the second month following publication - that is, 1 December 2026 - under the fourth final provision, while letter h) of article 318 appears in the consolidated text as added with entry into force on 21 October 2026 itself. The first transitional provision limits application of the new system to processes started from that date.

Reading for the firm and the gestoria

For professionals advising the self-employed, the new regulatory base requires revising the benefit simulations offered in activity planning: the two-months-back reference can significantly alter the amount of the leave when the worker has recently changed their contribution base, a decision that under the real-income system can change several times a year. It is also worth telling clients that the rule applies immediately, with no waiting period: leaves started since 21 October are already calculated under the new provision.

The rule is part of a broader package improving protective action that is worth reviewing in full during annual reviews of self-employed client portfolios, together with the quota regularisation changes and the new communication channels with the Treasury for firms, such as the enforcement collection consultation channel through CASIA we analyse in this piece.

It is also advisable to review with the gestoria the contribution base being paid under the RETA and the trend of recent monthly payments: with the reference shifted two months back, the base of earlier months weighs more than ever on the subsidy amount, especially if surgery or long-term leave is anticipated. It is also worth checking whether the process fits one of the five special situations, because that changes the day from which payment starts and, in organ donation, the applicable percentage.

In practice, the recommendation for gestorias and advisers is twofold. On one hand, it is worth reviewing RETA temporary incapacity decisions issued since the royal decree-law entered into force, to check that the regulatory base applied already follows the new letter h) and not the previous calculation. On the other, the self-employed client should be warned that the quota they choose each month determines not only what they pay but also the benefit they will receive if they fall ill, so a contribution base set low reduces the monthly quota but also the protection in case of sickness.

For the basic concepts of social-security law and the obligations mentioned, the Agente Lex legal dictionary covers the figures discussed in this piece.

Frequently asked questions

What is the new regulatory base for self-employed sick leave?

It is the calculation rule for the RETA temporary incapacity benefit introduced by article 318.h) of the LGSS: the contribution base of the month immediately preceding the month before the triggering event, divided by thirty.

Since when does it apply?

Since 21 October 2026, the date RDL 31/2026 was published in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-21872).

What if the self-employed worker registered recently?

If registration was in the same month as the leave, the rule for that month applies; if it was in the previous month, the base of the month immediately before the leave is used.

Is it the same as in the general regime?

No. The time reference is the same, but the divisor in the RETA is always thirty and the days borne by the employer are deemed not applicable, among other differences.

What other measures does RDL 31/2026 bring?

Among others, the exclusion from annual regularisation of contribution bases during periods of benefit for caring for minors with cancer or other serious illness, effective from 1 January 2027.

Sources

• Conversor IAE CNAE, "Bajas medicas de autonomos: que cambia el RDL 31/2026", 9 November 2026.
• Text of Royal Decree-Law 31/2026 (BOE-A-2026-21872), consulted on 10 November 2026 in its consolidated version via lawly.es; the verbatim quotations of article 318.h) were checked character by character against that version.

Direct access to the BOE was unavailable at the time of writing; the quotations were verified against two independent reproductions of the official text.