Employment · Social Security
Permanent disability
Most of the files that reach the firm come from a refusal by the INSS or from a degree that falls short. There are thirty days to file the mandatory prior claim against that decision, and without that step no court claim can be brought.
If what you have is a decision that does recognise the disability and you are still under contract, the deadline running against you is shorter still: ten calendar days to ask your employer to keep you in your job.
Change of May 2025
Disability no longer terminates your contract automatically
Until the reform, being declared to have total, absolute or severe disability terminated the contract without more. Since 1 May 2025 the employer must first assess whether it can adapt your post or move you to a compatible one, and may only terminate if that adaptation is an excessive burden or there is no suitable vacancy.
In return, the law imposes a short deadline on you: ten calendar days from notification of the decision to tell your employer in writing that you wish to continue. If you do not, the protection falls away. It is best to communicate it in a way that leaves a record, and not orally.
If the employer terminates the contract without establishing that impossibility, the decision is challenged as a dismissal, with the twenty working days that go with it.
Art. 49.1.n) of the Workers’ Statute, as amended by Act 2/2025, of 29 April. The same Act replaced the term «gran invalidez» with «gran incapacidad».
The four degrees, and what is paid for each
The argument is almost never about whether there is a condition, but about which degree it falls into. And the difference between one and the next runs to tens of thousands of euros over a lifetime.
| Degree | What it means | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Partial | Reduces your performance in your occupation by at least 33 %, but you can still carry it out. | Lump sum of 24 monthly payments |
| Total | Prevents you from your usual occupation, although you may take up a different one. | 55 % of the benefit calculation base · 75 % from age 55 |
| Absolute | Prevents you entirely from any occupation or trade. | 100 % of the base, exempt from income tax |
| Severe disability | Absolute disability plus the need for another person’s help with the essential acts of daily life. | 100 % plus supplement, exempt from income tax |
The benefit calculation base is worked out from your contribution bases, under different rules depending on whether the condition arises from ordinary illness or from an accident at work. The fact that absolute and severe disability are exempt from income tax, and total disability is not, makes the real difference between degrees wider than the percentages suggest.
Legal basis: arts. 193 to 197 of the General Social Security Act (consolidated text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015) and its twenty-sixth transitional provision, which keeps the classic definition of the degrees in force until the regulation contemplated in art. 194 is approved; art. 7.f) of Act 35/2006 on personal income tax for the exemption.
Guidance
Which deadline is running against you?
Six questions to place your case and know what has to be done first. No registration required.
Question 1 of 6
Where are you in the process?
This is what determines which deadline is running against you right now.
Why files that should succeed are refused
The medical board decides on what is in front of it, and in little time. Almost everything that goes wrong is documentary, and that is why it can be fixed.
Reports that describe the diagnosis, not the limitation
What is assessed is not the illness, but how it limits you. A report that says what you have, but not what you can no longer do, does not establish the degree.
Nobody has explained what your job involves
Total disability is measured against your usual occupation. If the file does not record what tasks your post actually requires, it is assessed against a generic idea of the trade.
The private healthcare evidence is missing
Private reports are valid and are often the most detailed, but they are only taken into account if they are put on the file.
Conditions that only add up when seen together
Several conditions that individually do not reach the degree may reach it when assessed together. That has to be argued expressly.
How the procedure works
Review of the file and the reports
Before appealing we need to know what the INSS assessed and what it never saw. That determines whether to claim the degree or make a fresh application.
Mandatory prior claim to the INSS
Thirty days from notification. It is a requirement before bringing a court claim, and the moment to add whatever medical evidence is missing.
Claim before the Employment Tribunal
If the INSS maintains its position, a claim is filed. A medical expert commonly takes part at this stage.
Review of the degree, later on
A recognised disability is not final: it can be reviewed for worsening or for improvement. If your condition deteriorates, a higher degree can be sought.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to appeal if the INSS refuses my claim?+
Thirty days from notification of the decision to file the mandatory prior claim with the INSS itself. That step is a requirement before bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal: without it, the claim is not admitted. If the deadline has passed, a fresh application is still possible, particularly where there are later medical reports or the situation has worsened, because what is then assessed is a different condition from the one decided.
My disability has been recognised. Can my employer dismiss me?+
No longer automatically. Since 1 May 2025, a declaration of total, absolute or severe permanent disability does not by itself terminate the contract. You have ten calendar days from notification of the decision to tell your employer in writing that you wish to stay; from then on, the employer has three months to make reasonable adjustments or move you to a compatible post, and may only terminate the contract if it can show that the adaptation would be an excessive burden or that no suitable post is available. Those ten days are calendar days and they are short: it is the first thing to attend to.
How much is paid for each degree?+
Partial disability is paid in one go, as a lump sum equivalent to twenty-four monthly payments of the benefit calculation base. Total disability is a lifetime pension of 55 % of the base, rising to 75 % from the age of 55 where circumstances make it harder to find other work. Absolute disability, 100 %. Severe disability, 100 % plus a supplement to pay whoever cares for you.
Can I work while drawing the pension?+
It depends on the degree. Total disability is compatible with work other than your usual occupation. Partial disability is compatible with any work. Absolute and severe disability allow activities compatible with the person’s condition, with qualifications that are worth assessing case by case before starting anything, because incompatible work is a ground for review of the degree.
Is the pension subject to income tax?+
Pensions for absolute permanent disability and for severe disability are exempt from Spanish personal income tax (IRPF). The pension for total permanent disability is not: it is taxed as employment income. That difference means the real gap in your pocket between a qualified total and an absolute disability is wider than the percentages suggest.
How many years of contributions are needed?+
If it arises from an accident at work or an occupational illness, none. If it arises from ordinary illness, it depends on your age: under thirty-one, a third of the time elapsed since you turned sixteen; at thirty-one or over, a quarter of the time elapsed since you turned twenty, with a minimum of five years, of which at least a fifth must fall within the previous ten years.
What does it cost for you to handle the matter?+
The first review of the decision and of the medical reports is free of charge. If the matter proceeds, the fee is fixed in writing before any action is taken, with a signed engagement letter.
If you have a decision in your hand, look at the date
That date governs the thirty days for the mandatory prior claim and, if you are still under contract, the ten days to keep your job. The first review is free of charge.