How Sick Leave Works in Spain — What Expats and Tourists Need to Know
Spain's sick leave system has two distinct tracks. Understanding the difference helps you know what this service can and cannot provide.
Public system sick leave (Incapacidad Temporal — IT)
The parte de baja is issued by a public health service doctor or, if the cause is a workplace accident or occupational disease, by the mutua (Royal Decree 625/2014, art. 2). It is sent electronically to the INSS and, where the requirements are met, gives access to Social Security sickness benefit.
Global Health does not issue sick-leave, confirmation or discharge certificates (partes de baja, confirmación or alta).
Private medical certificate
A private medical certificate issued by an OMC-registered doctor is a clinical document that certifies the patient was assessed and presents a health condition incompatible with work activity on the date of consultation. This certificate:
- Is issued exclusively at the doctor's clinical discretion following full assessment
- Can be given to your employer; acceptance depends on the collective agreement and company policy
- Is particularly useful for self-employed workers and freelancers
- Can be shared with your public health service doctor as clinical information; the sick-leave decision is theirs
- Is a clinical document signed by a registered doctor — not a parte de baja
Who This Service Is For
Employees without a registered Spanish GP
You are ill and need documentation for your employer today — but you are not registered with a public GP. Most employers accept private medical certificates for short-term absences, particularly when you have not yet been able to get a public system appointment.
Expats and international residents
You are registered in Spain but either have not yet been assigned a public GP or cannot get an appointment quickly enough. Your employer requires documentation and you need it today.
Self-employed workers and freelancers
As a self-employed worker in Spain, your parte de baja is still issued by your public health service doctor (or the mutua for work-related conditions), and the benefit is usually managed by your mutua colaboradora. A private medical certificate does not replace that parte; your doctor can explain the route.
Tourists and short-stay visitors
You have fallen ill during your visit to Spain and need clinical documentation — for your employer at home, your travel insurance, or other purposes. Our doctors assess your symptoms and issue a medical certificate where clinically justified.
What Your Consultation Includes
Full clinical assessment
Your doctor takes a complete history of your symptoms — onset, duration, severity, associated symptoms, relevant medical history, current medications, and the nature of your work activity. The assessment is clinical and structured — not an administrative formality.
Clinical assessment of your fitness for work
Your doctor assesses whether your clinical presentation is compatible or incompatible with your work activity, what type of documentation is clinically appropriate for your situation, and whether you should pursue formal IT certification through the public system or your mutua.
Private medical certificate — at the doctor's clinical discretion
If your doctor determines that your clinical situation justifies it, they issue a private medical certificate the same day, recording the date of assessment, symptoms, clinical findings and their opinion on your fitness for your work, without the diagnosis if you prefer. It is not a parte de baja for temporary incapacity.
Additional clinical documentation — at the doctor's discretion
If your illness requires treatment — including management of infections where clinically indicated — your doctor issues the appropriate clinical documentation the same day.
Guidance on the public system pathway
If your clinical situation suggests you need formal IT certification through the public system or your mutua, your doctor advises clearly on the steps to take.
What This Service Cannot Do
Transparency is part of clinical quality. Some things this service cannot provide:
- We do not issue partes de baja, confirmación or alta — these are issued by the public health service or the mutua
- We do not issue documentation without clinical assessment — the medical certificate is issued exclusively at the doctor's discretion following full assessment of your symptoms
- We do not issue retroactive certificates — our doctors cannot clinically certify a period of illness they did not assess at the time
- We do not guarantee the certificate — the decision is exclusively clinical, based on the medical assessment
