Social Security Changes: New Sick Leaves, Benefits, and Requirements Under Royal Decree-Law 31/2026

Regulatory modifications in the realm of social protection directly impact the daily operations of workers, families, and vulnerable groups. Royal Decree-Law 31/2026 of October 20, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE no. 261, October 21, 2026), introduces substantial adjustments to the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law and other related regulations.

This standard entered into force on the day following its publication in the BOE, specifically on October 22, 2026. However, the different measures within the text unfold according to a specific timeline of effects that is essential to understand in detail.

1. New Sick Leaves (Temporary Disability): Menopause and Gender Violence

The text adapts the temporary disability regime for common contingencies to incorporate responses to specific health realities:

• Coded Secondary Menopausal Disorder: This is typified as a special medical leave situation for female workers suffering from a limiting pathology derived from this disorder, under appropriate assistance from the Public Health Service.

• Gender Violence Injuries: A specific leave is regulated for female workers suffering physical or psychological injuries caused by a man who is or has been their spouse, or who has been bound to them by a similar affective relationship, even without cohabitation.

Effective Date: These new special temporary disability situations will begin to produce effects starting December 1, 2026.

Operational Requirements:

• No Minimum Contribution Period: Unlike ordinary common illness (which requires 180 days contributed over the last five years), no prior contributions are required for these special situations.

• Calculation and Payment: The subsidy is economically equivalent to that of common contingencies. It is paid from the day following the leave at the expense of the managing entity or mutual insurance company, with the company covering the full salary solely for the first day.

• Rigorous Accreditation in Gender Violence: To access this benefit, it is essential that, prior to medical discharge due to healing or improvement, official health documents communicating the facts to the Prosecutor’s Office or judicial authority, a protection order, precautionary measures, a report from the Prosecutor’s Office indicating evidence, or a condemnatory sentence have been issued. Furthermore, these documents must explicitly state the causal relationship between the injury and the act of violence.

2. Flexibilization and Improvements in the Child Care Benefit (CUME)

The financial benefit for the care of minors affected by cancer or another serious illness undergoes modifications aimed at co-responsibility and healthcare realities:

• Effective Date: This measure is applicable starting October 23, 2026.

• Treatments Without Hospital Admission: Recognition of the right is permitted in cases where, even without requiring hospitalization, the minor requires home or outpatient medical treatments that accredit an comparable intensity.

• Simultaneous or Alternative Perception: It allows both parents or caregivers to receive the benefit simultaneously or by alternating, fostering co-responsibility.

• Exceptional Age Extension: Exceptionally, the aid can be extended beyond age 26 if the care-recipient accredits a disability equal to or greater than 65% or a Grade III dependency, provided that the requirements of cohabitation and the need for direct care set forth in the rule are rigorously met.

3. Updating of Benefits and Protection Thresholds

To reinforce assistance to families and ensure a homogenous response to extraordinary situations, the regulations introduce operational adjustments in economic support mechanisms and special coverages.

• Effective Date: The improvements in advance payment amounts and thresholds enter into force with effects as of November 1, 2026.

• New Maximum Amount: The maximum limit of the monthly advance per minor is raised to 300 euros.

• Ex Officio Review: The managing entity will proceed with the ex officio review of advance payment files already in force to adapt them to the new framework. This review does not automatically guarantee the collection of the maximum cap of 300 euros for all files, as the exact amount depends on income limits and applicable calculation rules.

• Income Threshold: The annual income limit to access advances is calculated by multiplying the annual amount of the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI) by a specific coefficient according to the number of children in the family unit (1.75 for one child, 2 for two, 2.25 for three, and so on). Likewise, the residency periods required for non-national minors are adapted, and the definitions of a family unit are expanded.

4. Other Notable Measures of the Reform

• Widowhood Pension for Unmarried Couples (Parejas de Hecho): Access requirements are adapted for unmarried couples with children in common. Specifically, the requirement of prior registration in a specific registry or formalization in a public document two years in advance is eliminated, it being sufficient to prove a stable and notorious cohabitation for at least the two years immediately preceding the death via a municipal census certificate (empadronamiento).

• Terrorism Victims: Specific indemnification-matching mechanisms are established for victims who did not have a final criminal sentence or a ruling on civil liability. The regulation sets specific request deadlines and conditions (for example, five years elapsing without a sentence or without the fixing of civil liability), as well as a transitional fractional payment regime in annual installments for certain previous indemnifications, without this being an automatic procedure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can the new leaves for menopause or gender violence be requested now?

The new special temporary disability situations will take effect starting December 1, 2026. In cases of gender violence, official documents explicitly accrediting the cause must be mandatorily provided before medical discharge.

How are income limits calculated to collect the Alimony Guarantee Fund?

The economic threshold is not set at a flat SMI figure; instead, it is calculated by multiplying the SMI by a coefficient based on the number of children (e.g., 1.75 for family units with one child, 2 for two, etc.). The ex officio review performed by the administration starting November 1, 2026, will adjust each file to these parameters and the new maximum amount of up to 300 euros.

Sources and Official References:

• Full text, validity tables, and transitional provisions available in the Real Decreto-ley 31/2026 in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-21872).