A recent ruling affecting absenteeism

Workplace absenteeism increased in Spain during the first quarter of 2026, according to Randstad data. Taking into account the number of people in employment, based on the Labour Force Survey, it is estimated that, on average, the number of people absent from work each day was 5% higher than in the same quarter of 2025. In this article, as employment law specialists, we examine this issue and the latest court ruling on the matter.

What is workplace absenteeism?

It is the absence of an employee from their workplace during a period in which they should be carrying out their duties as part of their working day.

Absenteeism can be classified as follows:

• Justified. This occurs when the absence is the result of a legally recognised and properly evidenced reason. This includes cases of temporary incapacity due to illness or an accident. For example, a bout of flu lasting several days or a workplace accident that requires the employee to be on sick leave for a month.
• Unjustified. This occurs when the employee fails to attend work without any valid justification.

Factors influencing workplace absenteeism

Workplace absenteeism is a complex issue influenced by many factors, including the following:

• Poor economic conditions. For any employee, the remuneration they receive is essential, and when they feel it is not appropriate for the work they perform, they may experience stress and anxiety that can lead to sick leave.
• Workplace conflicts. Maintaining a positive working environment is often difficult due to problems between colleagues or managers who are unable to foster teamwork. These situations can lead to absences and sick leave.
• Mental health. In recent years, there has been greater awareness of the importance of mental health and the need to protect employees' wellbeing in order to prevent absences caused by anxiety or chronic stress.
• Work-life balance issues. Many companies do not provide sufficient flexibility to achieve a genuine work-life balance, leading some employees to resort to sick leave or absence.
• Lack of proper planning. Poor shift planning or excessive workloads can result in stress, loss of motivation and reduced engagement, ultimately leading to absence or sick leave.
• Illness being regarded as a ground for discrimination. Several court rulings have declared certain dismissals to be automatically unfair due to discrimination based on illness. This has changed the way businesses deal with such situations.
• Lack of resources to monitor absences. Public authorities do not have sufficient resources to monitor absences and ensure compliance with the law or prevent fraud. This may contribute to some instances of absenteeism.

What does the Supreme Court say about workplace absenteeism?

A recent ruling by the Employment Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court examines which cases of legitimate absence from work may be taken into account when calculating an attendance bonus provided for under a company's collective agreement.

The judgment distinguishes between the following types of absence:

• Absences that occur where the law allows employees to be absent from work while retaining their pay are considered justified because there is an important reason for the absence and continued remuneration. The employment contract remains in force during the absence, so the attendance bonus cannot be reduced, as this would unfairly disadvantage the employee.
• On the other hand, there are absences due to sick leave resulting from a workplace accident or common illness. In these situations, the employer does not pay the employee because the employment contract is suspended. Consequently, there is no salary and there is no obligation to pay an attendance bonus, which is a salary-related benefit.

It might be argued that these cases involve discrimination on the grounds of illness, but the Supreme Court held that this is not the case because employment legislation adopts a legitimate approach that is not discriminatory. In this regard, the Court refers to the Equality and Non-Discrimination Act, which states that a difference in treatment is not discriminatory where it is objectively justified by a legitimate aim.

What can be done to tackle workplace absenteeism?

Numerous measures can be implemented, including the following:

• Creating employee psychological support programmes to help prevent and address stress, anxiety and depression.
• Providing the workforce with private health insurance to promote overall wellbeing.
• Recognising and rewarding attendance, commitment and the achievement of objectives.
• Recording absences to identify patterns, understand the underlying causes and determine how to address the problem.
• Establishing communication channels and conducting anonymous surveys to assess the true state of the workplace environment and identify potential issues.
• Introducing flexible working arrangements (such as flexible start and finish times), enabling remote working and working from home, and promoting reduced working hours so that parents can care for their children or elderly relatives.
• Providing training so that managers can identify signs of mental health issues or a poor workplace environment at an early stage, allowing timely intervention before the problem escalates and results in long-term absences.

In conclusion, workplace absenteeism is an issue that can be addressed from several angles in order to support employees' wellbeing and help them achieve a genuine work-life balance.

If you believe your employer is not complying with employment law or you wish to make a claim regarding your employment situation, contact our team of specialist labour lawyers so that we can assess your case and protect your rights.

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