Spanish business reports show workplace absenteeism reaching 7.2% nationally and costing retail €240M

Workplace absence rates across Spain

Workplace absenteeism in Spain accounted for 7.2% of agreed working hours during the second quarter of 2026, marking an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2025. Data compiled from the National Statistics Institute quarterly labor cost survey indicates that an average of 1,637,174 workers missed their shifts each day. Medical leave due to temporary incapacity represented the primary driver of these absences, accounting for 5.6% of agreed hours or 1,274,528 workers daily. Randstad Research reported that temporary incapacity cases have nearly doubled over the past decade.

Absenteeism has established itself as a structural drag on productivity, causing the loss of 7.2% of agreed hours nationwide.

Impact on large retail distribution

For large retail distribution companies, absenteeism generated an extra direct cost of 240 million euros, according to a joint study by the employers association Anged and The Adecco Group Institute. This expenditure equals 21% of the 1,123 million euros in total annual investments made by member firms, including El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Ikea, and Leroy Merlin. The resulting loss of nearly 12.6 million working hours corresponds to 7,113 full-time jobs. The retail absenteeism rate reached approximately 8%, higher than the national average, with 81.8% of surveyed firms reporting increases over the previous three years. Across the broader retail sector in 2025, employees initiated 734,522 temporary incapacity processes for common illnesses, lasting an average of 45.33 days and representing an annual equivalent of 158,805 absent workers.

We do not want anyone who is ill to return to work. We want them to be cared for as best and as quickly as possible so they can recover their normal life. I do not believe absenteeism is fraud, but a structural problem where management needs to improve.

Sector disparities and regional variations

Absence levels vary across economic sectors, led by industry with a 7.7% overall absenteeism rate and 5.8% due to temporary incapacity. In the services sector, the general rate reached 7.2%, with 5.6% attributed to medical leaves, while the construction sector recorded lower levels at 5.9% overall and 4.8% for medical reasons. Regional rates show marked divergences, with industrial absences peaking at 9.6% in Galicia and 9.3% in the Basque Country, while service sector absences peaked at 9.2% in the Canary Islands and 9.1% in Asturias. Specific subsectors recorded even higher figures, with postal and courier services reaching 12.6% and building cleaning and gardening services standing at 12.0%.

Business reform proposals and healthcare integration

In response to the rising absence numbers, retail and business associations have called for structural adjustments to medical leave management. Anged proposed expanding public-private healthcare collaboration by allowing workplace mutual insurance societies (mutuas) to perform diagnostic tests and authorize medical discharges under defined circumstances. In Asturias, where regional absenteeism reached 9.3% in the first quarter of 2026, the Asturian Federation of Businessmen requested that absence management be integrated directly into sectoral collective bargaining agreements. Federation president María Calvo noted that current procedures exclude employers from leave authorizations despite companies bearing the direct organizational and replacement costs. The proposals reference the fifth Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining signed in 2023, which established joint committees to evaluate the duration and causes of medical absences.