Pizzeria in A Coruña closes due to high sick leave

Six out of eighteen employees on sick leave: The pizzeria that closes two days a week

A restaurateur in A Coruña claims to have eighteen staff members, with six simultaneously on medical leave. According to his testimony, reported by La Voz de Galicia, he has begun closing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to balance the books. His account describes an establishment that never used to close —"we never close the restaurant," he says— but now reduces hours due to the impossibility of covering shifts. The story includes three specific cases: someone who allegedly simulated depression symptoms to obtain a one-month leave without seeing a specialist, a worker who was absent for eighteen months shortly after starting, and a person suspended from employment and pay for falsifying time records who, a week later, submitted an anxiety certificate.

This case is not an isolated anecdote. It is the tip of a debate that has been open for 683 days and pits two incompatible narratives against each other: that of the small business owner suffocated by absenteeism and that of the underpaid worker who uses sick leave as the only escape valve. In the middle lies a fact that almost no one disputes: Social Security does not cover everything, and the employer pays part of the bill.

What the company actually pays when a worker takes sick leave

The most widespread belief —"sick leave is paid by Social Security, so stop complaining"— is false in its initial phase. For common illness or non-work-related accidents, the first three days are borne by the worker; from day four to fifteen, the employer pays 60% of the regulatory base; from day sixteen onwards, the mutual insurance company or INSS (National Institute of Social Security) steps in, but the company continues paying the salary through delegated payment and, above all, continues contributing social security for an employee who produces nothing. This last point tips the scales: according to a calculation circulating in the debate, the social security contributions for five workers on sick leave do not fall below €1,500 per month, and if replacements need to be hired, another €1,500 in contributions adds to the payroll. That same calculation raises the real cost of prolonged sick leave to approximately €7,000 for a gross salary of €2,000.

Some qualify this figure. It depends on the collective agreement. In the hospitality sector agreement for A Coruña, if the worker earns €3,000, they still receive €3,000 while on leave: €2,250 from the mutual insurer plus €750 from voluntary improvement funded by the company. If they earn €1,000, they receive €1,000: €750 from the mutual insurer and €250 from the company supplement. Voluntary improvements, presented as a social benefit, are actually the minimum many companies offer to retain staff.

33% of staff on sick leave: Is it the worker or the model that fails?

With six out of eighteen employees on sick leave, the percentage approaches 33%. The immediate reaction is to suspect the worker. The opposite reaction is to suspect the employer. Both have ammunition.

Those pointing to labor abuse argue that leaves for anxiety and depression do not appear out of nowhere. One case described in the debate: an office worker in a company with SMI (minimum wage) salaries, bad attitudes, and vacations granted reluctantly, where only one of seven people remains in the office. "I developed severe anxiety," he recounts. "It changed jobs, earned €400 more, and the problem disappeared." The conclusion drawn is uncomfortable: if work depresses you and sick leave pays almost the same as the salary, taking leave is rational.

Those pointing to system abuse respond with another argument: some chain leaves for years, others get used to paid vacation periods, and some harm those who truly need them. Spending on temporary disability has skyrocketed in a country where a large mass earns the SMI or slightly more, while managerial profiles rarely take sick leave. This data, provided by hospital directors, points to a correlation between precariousness and absenteeism that neither side wants to face directly.

Closing Tuesdays and Wednesdays: When the business adjusts to absenteeism

The restaurateur in A Coruña has gone from never closing to closing two days a week for two weeks, and does not know what he will do next. His staff earns between €1,400 and €2,000 a month without reaching 40 weekly hours, above the collective agreement, according to his own testimony. He also grants loans to employees when needed. This is his argument against accusations of exploitation: "For those who say this happens because we exploit people in hospitality, we pay above the agreement."

The antiestéticar, he says, is hiring again and having the new hire fail too. "I am terrified, I am afraid of being unlucky again, registering someone and having them fail within a week." It is the trap of the small entrepreneur: cannot compete on salary with multinationals, compensates with flexibility and conditions above the law, and when absenteeism spikes, has no cushion to absorb it.

The shadow of public employment: 118,000 daily absences

The debate quickly jumps from the private to the public sector. According to cited data, 118,000 public employees miss their posts every day, 27% without medical leave. The comparison is inevitable: if absenteeism is a structural problem in the Spanish labor market, it is not exclusive to hospitality. And if it is tolerated in the public sector without anyone closing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the restaurateur's complaint loses strength as an exceptional case.

Counterarguments are also quick: public employees do not choose their boss nor can they change companies as easily, and leave without a medical report is a concept that simply does not exist in the private sector. The comparison actually measures two different things.

Migrant labor and family business: Two models in tension

Part of the debate shifts to the profile of the workforce. Some argue that hospitality is only profitable if run by the owning family —mother in the kitchen, father at the bar, children serving tables— because control over money and effort is total. Others respond that this model is precisely what prevents professionalizing the sector and paying dignified wages. Discussion about the origin of workers appears in several messages, but the figures provided do not allow any conclusions regarding nationalities: only regarding conditions.

What clearly emerges is a pattern: businesses dependent on tight margins and rotating staff are the most vulnerable to absenteeism, and also the least able to afford voluntary improvements or salaries that retain talent. It is a vicious cycle.

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The restaurant in A Coruña remains open. It closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Next week, he does not know if he will be able to stay open. At the bottom of the debate remains a fact that no one has refuted: in Spain, the cost of sick leave is not paid solely by Social Security. It is also paid by the employer, sometimes with two days of shutters down.