Mallorca sick leave push sparks pay cut warning

Palma, Mallorca: the Balearic government wants sick workers to recover and return to work sooner, while an opposition MP warns they could lose pay if firms stop covering sick-leave costs. Labour minister Catalina Cabrer defended that approach on 13 October 2026 after a question from Socialist MP Llorenç Pou. She pointed to agreements with mutual insurance bodies, known in Spain as mutuas, on medical procedures intended to speed recovery and clear workers to return.

Cabrer said a lack of resources and bureaucracy sometimes keep people on sick leave longer than necessary. The Balearic hospitality sector’s collective agreement also provides for a body to examine absence from work, she said.

Pou had asked about a proposal from People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo for tighter checks on sick leave and for mutuas to approve some returns to work. Pou said workers would face a cut in pay if companies stopped covering sick-leave costs. He urged the government to look at why workers fall ill and at health in the workplace.

Cabrer replied that workers have the right to fall ill. She pointed to help with contributions for self-employed people and said collective bargaining had raised wages in the Balearics by 5%.

Topics: Jobs & labour · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com