Spain's absenteeism rate leaves our working day at 32 hours per week

Current situation of CEOE proposals on absenteeism and phase of the process

As of June 17, 2026, the CEOE's proposals to reduce workplace absenteeism are fundamentally in a phase of influence and execution through administrative agreements and collective bargaining agreements, not in a major specific legislative reform approved by the Parliament. The most advanced is the ratification by the Government in September 2024 of agreements to improve the management of temporary disability between public health services, INSS, and mutual insurance companies, which some regions are already applying. There is no record in the available information of any bill, legislative proposal, or royal decree-law whose main purpose is "to reduce absenteeism" and that directly derives from the CEOE's package of proposals. The next steps, if these ideas were to be turned into substantive regulatory changes, would involve initiatives by the Government or parliamentary groups and the possible regulatory development through royal decrees or ministerial orders.

1. What the CEOE has proposed and what has materialized so far

The CEOE has been warning about the increase in absenteeism and its economic cost. In a press release titled "Work absenteeism will grow by 10% in 2025", the employers' association estimates a significant increase in sick leaves, with more than 9.2 million cases and a cost exceeding 32 billion euros, describing absenteeism as an "endemic problem" that especially threatens SMEs [CEOE, 06/25/2025].

In the same note, the CEOE specifies several lines of action: strengthening health resources in public health services, INSS, and mutual insurance companies to improve diagnosis and monitoring of sick leaves; expanding agreements to improve temporary disability management between public health, INSS, and mutual insurance companies; and greater powers for mutual insurance companies in managing certain sick leave processes, with guarantee mechanisms for workers in case of disagreement [CEOE, 06/25/2025].

Part of these proposals has been translated into concrete agreements: the CEOE explains that the agreements to improve temporary disability between health services, INSS, and mutual insurance companies were negotiated among CEOE, CEPYME, CCOO, and UGT and ratified by the Government in September 2024, with territorial deployment beginning. INGESA and the Balearic Health Service have already signed them, while other regions are pending adherence, placing the measure in an administrative implementation phase rather than parliamentary processing [CEOE, 06/25/2025].

2. Absence of a major specific legal reform on absenteeism

Based on the available information, no comprehensive legislative text – neither a government bill, parliamentary proposal, nor royal decree-law – whose core is "reducing absenteeism" and that explicitly stems from the CEOE's proposal document has been identified up to June 2026. What is observed is:

On one hand, a regulatory and governance discussion around collaborating mutual insurance companies and temporary disability. In the CEOE's own account, a Social Security document dated June 2, 2025, proposes greater presence of the Administration and unions in mutual insurance companies, to which the employers' association responds by defending the management autonomy of these entities, which are private business associations, although it accepts public oversight of managed funds [CEOE, 06/25/2025].

On the other hand, there is a partial implementation through agreements and accords (such as those mentioned on temporary disability), which affect healthcare practice and coordination between public health, INSS, and mutual insurance companies, but which have not been reflected – according to consulted sources – in a new specific labor law approved or in advanced processing in Parliament.

3. Government position and political framework

The Government appears as a ratifying and deploying actor of the agreements to improve temporary disability, indicating some alignment in the diagnosis on the need to improve sick leave management. However, at the same time, it promotes – according to the CEOE – a strengthening of institutional and union presence in mutual insurance companies, an aspect the employers' association distrusts as it believes it limits their autonomy [CEOE, 06/25/2025].

Regarding specific political parties, available sources do not record detailed positions of PSOE, Sumar, PP, Vox, or others specifically on this package of proposals, beyond the general debate framework on temporary disability and mutual insurance companies. No further information is available in the consulted sources on specific parliamentary debates linked to these measures.

4. Possible next legislative steps to implement the proposals

If the Government wanted to transform the CEOE's ideas into structural changes in labor or Social Security legislation, there would basically be three routes:

a) Government bill or royal decree-law: the Executive could approve in the Council of Ministers a bill reforming, for example, the temporary disability regime or the statute of mutual insurance companies and submit it to the Congress for processing (amendments, debate, approval by Congress and Senate, and publication in the Official State Gazette). In cases of "extraordinary and urgent necessity," it could opt for a royal decree-law, which would enter into force immediately and must be ratified by Congress within 30 days, with the possibility of later processing as a bill to introduce modifications.

b) Parliamentary group legislative proposal: one or more groups in Congress or Senate could register a legislative proposal on absenteeism, mutual insurance companies, or temporary disability. It would follow a similar process to a bill but without government initiative and would require a sufficient majority to pass.

c) Regulatory development: without changing the basic laws, the Government could approve royal decrees or ministerial orders to develop specific aspects (management protocols for sick leaves, collaboration circuits between health, INSS, and mutual insurance companies, etc.), always within the existing legal framework. This route does not go through Parliament but also does not allow modifying the essential content of the law.

At the current moment, what is evidenced by the sources is mainly the phase of agreements and regulatory debate; any step towards a substantial legislative reform will depend on whether the Government or parliamentary groups politically embrace the CEOE's proposals and formalize them in one of these normative tools.

Initial summary

The CEOE president, Antonio Garamendi, serves as the highest authority and representative of Spain's main business employers' association, with competencies combining institutional representation, strategic direction of the organization, and leadership of social dialogue with the Government and unions. According to the statutes and public descriptions of the confederation, the president chairs and directs the main governing bodies, has a casting vote to break ties, can propose new commissions, and call early internal elections. Garamendi reached this position after a long career in business associations (AJEBASK, CEAJE, CONFEMETAL, CEPYME, and CEOE itself) and a career linked to private enterprise. The consulted sources do not indicate that he has held elected or executive political offices: his role is that of business representative and social agent, not a party leader.

Competencies and functions of the CEOE president

Institutional representation and legal responsibility

According to the CEOE statutes and internal practice, the president is the highest representative of the Confederation and acts on its behalf before public institutions, international organizations, other business organizations, and the media. This function includes judicial and extrajudicial representation of the entity, with the limitations set by the statutes themselves, as well as the ultimate legal responsibility for compliance with current regulations and the internal rules of the employers' association, as reflected in the updated CEOE statutes available at CEOE and CEOE (statutes July 2023).

Direction of governing bodies and casting vote

The president convenes, chairs, and directs the sessions of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee, which are the governing, management, and permanent action bodies of the confederation. He is responsible for ensuring the execution of adopted agreements, complying with and enforcing the statutes, and exercising a casting vote to break ties in the bodies he chairs, as detailed in the confederation's statutory texts (2021 version and 2023 version).

Strategy, internal organization, and social dialogue

In practice, the Presidency defines the CEOE's strategic line, coordinates the action of collegiate bodies, and supervises the management of human and material resources. The statutes allow him to propose to the Board of Directors the creation of specialized commissions and a permanent commission as a consultative body, reinforcing his role in organizational design. Additionally, he leads the employers' participation in social dialogue, that is, in negotiation tables with the Government and unions on matters such as labor reform, minimum wage, Social Security, or fiscal policy, a function repeatedly reflected in media coverage of his activity, for example in profiles and news from CEOE itself (election by acclamation) and in his role in the Ibero-American Business Council (pro tempore presidency of CEIB).

Delegation and internal renewal

The president can temporarily delegate his functions to any of the vice presidents or, failing that, to members of the Executive Committee, ensuring continuity of institutional representation. Likewise, the statutes grant him the power to call early elections and terminate the mandate of governing bodies, giving him decisive weight in the internal renewal of the organization (CEOE statutes July 2023).

Antonio Garamendi's professional and associative career

Education and business activity

According to his biographical profile in business forums such as Nueva Economía Fórum, Antonio Garamendi holds a law degree and has developed his professional career on three levels: family businesses, his own entrepreneurial projects, and participation on boards of directors and management bodies of various companies. He comes from a family linked to the business world and has worked in industrial and service sectors, as well as consulting, although the consulted sources do not provide an exhaustive and homogeneous list of all companies where he has held positions.

Rise in the business organization

His public profile is mainly built through business associationism. The cited profile notes that he was founding president of the youth association AJEBASK, president of CEAJE and CIJE, member of the Board of the Biscayan employers' association CEBEK, and president of sectoral commissions within CEOE, such as the Energy Commission and the Business Creation Commission (biography at Nueva Economía Fórum). He has also presided over CONFEMETAL and has held or holds board memberships in the Institute of Economic Studies, the FORMETAL Foundation, and bodies of the business fabric of Bizkaia.

At the national employers' level, before becoming CEOE president, he was president of CEPYME and vice president of CEOE itself. The confederation itself recalls that he accessed the presidency in 2018 as the sole candidate and was elected by acclamation (CEOE – election by acclamation; profile at RTVE). Currently, besides presiding over CEOE, he serves as pro tempore president of the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB) and as independent director and vice president of AENOR Internacional, chairing its Appointments and Remuneration Committee (Nueva Economía Fórum).

Institutional role and absence of partisan political career

The consulted political databases and available biographical profiles agree that Antonio Garamendi has not held elected or executive political offices (there is no record of parliamentary seats, government portfolios, or public party membership). His presence in the political sphere occurs as a social agent: he participates in social dialogue tables with the Government and unions, intervenes in European forums on competitiveness – for example, within the CEOE-EU framework (CEOE-Europe interview) – and represents Spanish business in international spaces through CEOE and CEIB. His political influence, therefore, is indirect and channeled through negotiation, business lobbying, and the formulation of proposals on economic, labor, and regulatory policy.

Brief answer

Absenteeism due to temporary disability (TD) in Spain is mainly regulated by the Workers' Statute, the General Social Security Law, and its regulatory development on medical certificates and sick leave management. Exemption from contributions for the company is not general but depends on the contingency causing the TD and whether the worker is in a situation of temporary disability, relapse, medical discharge, or assimilated situation. In sick leaves due to professional contingencies (work accident or occupational disease), the company is exempt from certain contributions from the day after the leave begins, because the payment of the benefit falls on Social Security or the mutual insurance company, although it remains obliged to contribute for other contingencies. In common contingencies, the company generally maintains its obligation to contribute, except in specific cases (for example, when the contract ends and the person moves to a different protected situation).

1. Applicable labor and Social Security regulatory framework

In the Spanish legal system, workplace absenteeism associated with temporary disability is governed, in combination, by several key norms:

First, the Workers' Statute (ET), as the basic labor relations law, sets rights and duties regarding attendance at work, disciplinary regime, and causes for contract suspension. TD is a typical cause of contract suspension, with job reservation and right to economic benefits paid by Social Security or mutual insurance companies, without terminating the employment relationship.

Second, the General Social Security Law (LGSS) defines: the protected situation of temporary disability (common illness, non-occupational accident, work accident, or occupational disease), access requirements to the benefit, calculation of the regulatory base, and responsibilities of the company and managing or collaborating entity (mutual insurance company). This law determines when the company advances payment (delegated payment) and when it is limited to contributing.

Based on this legal framework, the royal decrees and orders regulating the management and control of temporary disability processes (issuance of sick leave certificates, confirmation, and discharge by public health services or mutual insurance companies) specify deadlines, official forms, and communication between companies and Social Security. These regulatory developments directly link the recognition of TD with contribution obligations and the possible cessation of delegated payment.

2. Absenteeism due to temporary disability and company obligations

From a legal-labor perspective, absenteeism due to TD is not a "breach" of the duty to attend work but a justified absence, provided there is a valid sick leave certificate. This implies:

Contract suspension (the person does not provide services nor receives salary but receives TD benefits) and, in parallel, the continuation of the obligation to contribute, except when the law expressly states otherwise. The company participates in the cost via Social Security contributions and, in many cases, through delegated payment of the benefit later offset in contribution settlements.

In common contingencies (common illness and non-occupational accident), the company is obliged to: pay the salary for the first day of leave, assume the economic supplement from the 4th to the 15th day when applicable, and contribute throughout the TD while the contract remains valid. Exemption from contributions does not occur merely due to the leave but due to changes in the legal situation (for example, contract termination with transition to another benefit).

3. Exemption or modification of contributions in TD

Legally, there is no general figure of "total exemption" from contributions due to absenteeism, but specific rules depending on the contingency and phase of TD. Broadly, for a company to be exempt, totally or partially, from certain contributions in a situation related to temporary disability, it requires:

First, that the worker's situation changes from mere TD to another protected situation (for example, contract termination and transition to unemployment, recognition of permanent disability, or retirement). In these cases, the company's obligation to contribute for that worker ceases because the employment relationship has ended or moved to a different regime. This exemption derives directly from the LGSS and affiliation and contribution regulations.

Second, that there is a specific coverage in professional contingencies. In sick leaves due to work accidents or occupational diseases, the financing scheme is different: the cost of the economic benefit falls entirely on Social Security or the mutual insurance company from the day after the leave begins, which frees the company from direct payment of the benefit beyond the part legally corresponding. However, this does not mean total absence of contributions: the company continues contributing for other contingencies while the contract is in force.

Third, that all formal requirements for recognition of TD are met: issuance of medical certificates according to procedure, timely communication by the company, maintenance of affiliation and registration in Social Security, and correct identification of the contingency (common vs. professional). Without a recognized leave according to Social Security regulations, the specific contribution regime and cost assumption by the managing entity or mutual insurance company are not activated.

4. Practical keys for companies

In practice, the company can only stop contributing for a person on TD when the general obligation to contribute disappears, that is, when the employment relationship ends or a legal cause of suspension without contribution obligation occurs. While the contract continues and the person is on medical leave, the general rule is the maintenance of contributions, with nuances depending on the contingency and phase of the disability.