There are sectors where absenteeism is high, many times as a result of injuries that occur in the work environment but other times due to a common illness. One of these is metal, some professionals who have denounced their working conditions on several occasions and even a study of the CCOO May 1st Foundation highlighted that in the case of auxiliary metal they were charging up to 65,000 euros less than in large companies.
Now, the focus is on the supplements for Temporary Disability (IT) that arise from common illnesses to try to reduce work absenteeism in a sector where around 140,000 workers are absent daily. more than 2.7 employees or self-employed discharged. In a report published by Confemetal and presented at the meeting ‘We all count: absenteeism due to IT, a country problem’ (available in this link) it has been confirmed that collective bargaining is incorporating restrictions on supplements, especially when they affect short and repeated absences, but also the payment of incentives for effective assistance.
This idea was already in the report on absenteeism from work for 2021-2024, which was released in June 2025 and where it is recommended to lower or eliminate supplements for common contingencies, and when this is not possible, that the payment be limited to serious illnesses, hospitalizations or certain periods.
Reduce sick leave and have a maximum time to be able to collect
The data that Europa Press has accessed highlights that there are limits of between 100 and 200 days to be able to maintain certain supplements, and that restrictions are proposed that are linked to the number of sick leave and therefore, the conditions are not the same for all workers in the sector.
As an example, you can consult the BOE (Official State Gazette) in its resolution of August 19, 2025 of the General Directorate of Labor in which the collective agreement of the metal industry and the manufacture of metal containers is included (it can be read in full in this link). This text is in force until 2027 and points out in article 28 that sick leave due to a common illness or non-work accident without hospitalization is complemented until reaching 100% of the real salary in the first four processes of the year. The improvement begins on the 12th and has a limit of 6 months per year.
When 2027 begins, coverage drops to the first three lows of the year, maintaining both the start of the complement and the anal maximum. The agreement provides for a different treatment for hospitalizations and work-related accidents or occupational diseases. The limitations affect the money that the company contributes to the Temporary Disability benefit and therefore, when this supplement is lost it does not mean that the sick leave money will also stop being collected although, yes, the income may be lower.
The so-called ‘incentives for attendance’ are also contemplated and the Confemetal report states that the configuration has to respect the legal limits, highlighting that absences due to illness cannot be penalized with these incentives when they are discriminatory.
There are 350,000 workers missing for the metal industry
These measures of changes in supplements come hand in hand with a salary increase in the metal sector of which Confemetal warns, highlighting that the agreements signed in 2026 (15) point to an average increase of 4.34% from which some 220,000 workers will benefit.
40 agreements with economic effects in 2026 serve to cover 1.3 million employees, of which 25 have salary guarantee clauses linked to prices that protect almost 870,000 employees in the industry and the metal sector.
Absenteeism from work skyrockets with record numbers in Spain and those over 55 years of age are the ones who miss work the least
Sick leave changes from December 1: the month that determines how much you earn changes
At the same time, the employers’ association has issued the notice that companies in the sector need to incorporate labor, specifically about 350,000 workers who should arrive in the coming years to attend to certain activities in sectors such as defense, energy transition or air conditioning and efficiency. 240,000 departures are also contemplated due to the aging of the workforce and a high percentage of workers who are already close to retirement age.