On 1 September 2026, Order ISM/541/2026, of May 27, came into force, extending the obligation to receive notifications and communications from Social Security by electronic means to those who apply for or receive benefits for temporary or permanent disability or permanent non-disabling injuries. The measure is part of a broader process of digitalization of disability management that ultimately responds to the structural problems posed by absenteeism from work in Spain.
Order ISM/2/2023, of January 11, eliminated the obligation for employees to submit to the company the copy of the medical reports of sick leave, confirmation and discharge. Instead, it established direct telematic communication of these documents by the administration to the company. Thus, bureaucratic burdens that fell on the person and that sometimes made it difficult to manage temporary disability were removed.
Order ISM/541/2026 now closes the other end of this chain. If medical reports are already shared electronically between health services, the Social Security Administration and companies, notifications and communications to the person (medical discharge resolutions, denials of permanent disability and summons to appear, among others) continued to depend in many cases on ordinary postal mail. The new order modifies article 4.1.c) of Order ISM/903/2020, of 24 September, to incorporate as subjects obliged to receive electronic notifications through the electronic headquarters of the Secretary of State for Social Security and Pensions (SEDESS) “natural persons […] who are applicants or recipients of benefits for the birth and care of a minor, risk during pregnancy, risk during breastfeeding or temporary disability, as well as when the notification or communication refers to benefits for permanent disability or permanent non-disabling injuries”.
The justification for the regulation is based on the fact that people in a situation of temporary disability, because they belong to the world of work or profession, have access to and availability of electronic means. However, this novelty is accompanied by certain safeguards: (i) people will be notified on the electronic device that they have previously provided; (ii) the possibility of obtaining the digital certificate or permanent key at any INSS office, without an appointment, is maintained; (iii) face-to-face assistance is provided for at the Social Security Service and Information Centers (CAISS), where an official may validly access the SEDESS on behalf of the interested party; and (iv) when the managing entity does not have electronic contact details, the notification may be made by non-electronic means.
However, beyond the modernization drive, the explanatory memorandum of the order in question links the measure to speed, legal certainty and cost reduction. As the regulation itself recognizes, in certain cases, the collection of the temporary incapacity benefit must be maintained until the date of notification of the decision of medical discharge or denial of permanent incapacity. The delays inherent in postal mail sometimes give rise to the receipt of the benefit for a period of days in which there are no longer clinical reasons that justify it. In this way, electronic notification, by making the content of the resolution immediately available to the interested party, can help to shorten this gap.
This change is part of a broader package of measures that the Government has been proposing within the framework of social dialogue. Among them, the proposal for progressive return to work, designed for serious pathologies such as cancer, stands out, which would allow the employee, once medically discharged, to return to their job gradually (with reduced working hours or adapted functions) instead of doing so immediately on a full-time basis. This possibility is in an embryonic phase for the general Social Security system, although progressive reincorporation mechanisms have already been introduced for some groups in the field of public administration, as Royal Decree 67/2026, of February 4, did with Civil Guard personnel.
This type of initiative must be related to the financial impact that temporary disability processes have on the Social Security system. The figures for public expenditure in this area reflect the dimension of the problem. Expenditure on temporary disability benefits was 16,487 million in 2024 (an increase of 17% compared to 2023) and 18,413 million in 2025 (11.8% more than in 2024). The first half of 2026 maintains this upward trend, with 9,503 million accumulated to June, which represents an increase of 10.3% compared to the same period in 2025.
In short, Order ISM/541/2026 is part of a broader movement to modernize the management of temporary disability, aimed at the digitalization of administrative procedures and, ultimately, at reducing the duration of the processes and their cost to the Social Security system. Companies must be attentive to these changes and to those that may come in the matter, since all of them will have a direct impact on the internal management of temporary disability processes.
