Sickness cash benefit

• Employees
• Self-employed workers
• Beneficiaries of the Voluntary Social Insurance Scheme (Scientific Research Fellows)

if temporarily incapable of work for a reason other than occupational disease.

• Situation of temporary incapacity certified by the competent health services.
• 6 continuous or non-continuous calendar months with registration of pay-slips at the date of the sickness, taking into consideration, if necessary, the month in which the sickness occurs, if in that month there was registration of pay-slips (qualifying period).

All periods of compulsory affiliation to any social protection scheme providing for sickness cash benefits, including the civil servants scheme, with registration of pay-slips, shall be considered, insofar as they do not overlap.

• 12 days of effective work with registration of pay-slips within the period of 4 months immediately prior to the month preceding the beginning of the incapacity (effective work index – this condition does not apply to self-employed workers nor to seafarers).
• The beneficiary should not be in detention, except if he or she was receiving the sickness benefit at the time of detention.
• If you are a self-employed worker or are covered by the voluntary social insurance scheme, your social security contributions must be in order at the date when your entitlement to the benefit is recognised.

The benefit is paid after:

• the 4^th day of incapacity for work (waiting period of 3 days) for employees
• the 11^th day of incapacity for work (waiting period of 10 days) for self-employed workers
• the 31^st day of incapacity for work (waiting period of 30 days) for beneficiaries of the voluntary social insurance scheme
• the 1^st day for all beneficiaries in the following situations:
• hospitalisation or out-patient surgery in establishments of the National Health Service or in private establishments with a legal functioning licence from the Health Ministry
• tuberculosis
• illness that started during the period of concession of parental benefit and lasts after its termination.

You may be entitled to the Benefits compensating for holidays and Christmas bonuses, so in your own interest please read this document.

The daily amount of the sickness benefit is calculated based on a percentage of the reference earnings, variable according to the duration of the incapacity for work or the nature of the sickness.

In case of tuberculosis

The reference earnings - calculated under the formula:

R/180, in which

R stands for the total earnings of the first 6 months prior to the second month preceding that of the beginning of the illness (excluding Holidays, Christmas and other similar bonuses).

If the qualifying period is not accomplished due to aggregation of contributory periods, the reference earnings is calculated differently   

Increase in the amount of the benefit

In cases where the sickness benefit is 55% or 60% of the reference earnings there is an increase of 5% when the beneficiary complies with one of the following conditions:

• reference earnings is equal to or less than 500 €
• household includes 3 or more descendants till 16 years of age, or till 24 years of age if entitled to family benefit for children and young people
• household includes descendants entitled to an increase in the family benefit for children and young people due to disability.

Increased amounts

Limits to the benefit amount

• Minimum: 30% of the daily amount of the Social Support Index - SSI (4,80 €/daily) or of the reference earnings, if inferior to that minimum amount
• Maximum: net amount of the reference earnings.

The net amount is the result of the deduction of the contributory social security tax paid by the beneficiary and the Individual Income Tax (IRS) from the gross amount of the reference earnings.

SSI / 2024 = 509,26 €

The Certification of a Temporary Incapacity for Work is issued by the competent health service doctors (health centers, services for drug prevention and treatment and hospitals with the exception of emergency services) and sent electronically to the social security services. Based on the information received, the latter verify the entitlement conditions for the benefit and proceed to the payment, if all criteria are met. 

If the certification of the illness is done manually by a doctor, the health services will provide the beneficiary with the original of the Certificate of Incapacity for Work that the beneficiary should then send to the social security service of the area of residence, within 5 working days from the date of its emission.

You may be entitled to the Benefits compensating for holidays and Christmas bonuses, so in your own interest please read this document.