Spain’s Social Security system can suspend temporary-incapacity benefits when a beneficiary rejects or abandons prescribed treatment without reasonable cause. Article 175.2 of the General Social Security Law, consolidated by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, sets out that condition. It applies to people receiving temporary-incapacity benefits and concerns their conduct during that period.
A missed appointment, treatment interruption or disagreement with a medical recommendation does not automatically justify stopping payments. The decision turns on whether the treatment was indicated and whether the beneficiary rejected or abandoned it, alongside any reasonable justification. Authorities must assess each case against its circumstances and the applicable statutory conditions.
Article 175.2 states that entitlement to the subsidy may be denied, annulled or suspended when the beneficiary has rejected or abandoned indicated treatment “without reasonable cause.” That wording makes the medical and evidentiary circumstances basic to the decision. It does not establish a general power to cancel all medical-leave payments immediately.
Temporary incapacity is part of Spain’s social-security structure for people unable to work for health reasons. The Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS) administers Social Security benefits, while the legal provision appears in legislation published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado. Courts may also consider disputes over how the standard of reasonable cause applies. The Consejo General del Poder Judicial provides access to judicial decisions and jurisprudence.
For workers, the distinction is between rejecting or abandoning prescribed treatment without reasonable justification and having a legitimate reason to do so. The statute ties any suspension to the facts of the case; non-compliance alone does not prove abuse.
