Sick pay for the self-employed in Portugal (2026)

The catch that surprises you: day 11

Self-employed workers do get sick pay. But the rules differ from those for employees. The biggest surprise is the waiting period (the days of leave that go unpaid).

The rule is in Art. 21 of DL 28/2004:

In practice: a week of flu, on green receipts, pays nothing. Only longer leave reaches the paid part.

Are you entitled? Check these 3 things

Before counting on the money, see if you meet the three conditions (DL 28/2004):

1. Qualifying period: 6 months of contributions. You need 6 calendar months, consecutive or not, with registered earnings (Art. 9). They do not have to be the last 6 in a row.
2. Contributions up to date. Your payments must be regularised up to the end of the 3rd month before the month of the leave (Art. 40). If you owe Social Security, payment is suspended until you clear it.
3. CIT issued by a doctor. Without a Temporary Incapacity Certificate (CIT), there is no benefit.

Good news for the self-employed: you do not have to meet the professional index (the days of actual work in recent months). Art. 12 of DL 28/2004 exempts self-employed workers from that condition.

How much you get: the calculation with your numbers

The calculation is the same as for employees. Only the starting point (day 11) and the cap (365 days) change.

Step 1, the daily reference earnings (RR).

The formula is in Art. 18 of DL 28/2004:

• RR = R / 180
• R is the total of your registered earnings over the 6 calendar months before the 2nd month prior to the leave.
• Holiday and Christmas allowances are not included (the self-employed do not have those allowances).

Step 2, the tier percentage (Art. 16):

The detail that changes everything: your contribution base

Sick pay is not calculated on what you invoice. It is calculated on your contribution base (the amount you pay contributions on).

For service providers, that base is usually well below your invoicing. That is why the benefit looks small: someone invoicing 2,500 euros a month may be paying contributions on 1,000 euros, and the benefit comes out of the 1,000.

[Interpretação corrente:] it is worth checking your base on Segurança Social Direta before doing the maths. That number goes into the formula, not your gross income.

Run the numbers with your own values in the sick pay calculator. Note: the calculator assumes the 3-day employee waiting period. As a self-employed worker, count payment from day 11 and the 365-day cap.

The cap is 365 days (not 1,095)

Here is another big difference. The maximum payment period depends on the type of worker (Art. 23 of DL 28/2004):

After the limit, the leave stops being paid as sick pay and the case moves to a disability assessment. Tuberculosis is the exception: it has no time limit.

Cases with no waiting period

In three situations you are paid from day 1, with no 10-day wait (Art. 21 of DL 28/2004):

• Hospital admission.
• Tuberculosis.
• Oncological disease (cancer).

In these cases the CIT states the reason and the benefit starts at once. If your leave is for one of these, confirm with Social Security that the waiting period was removed.

How to claim, step by step

1. Go to a National Health Service doctor (health centre, family unit or hospital, not the emergency room).
2. The doctor issues the CIT electronically. Keep the number.
3. The CIT goes to Social Security automatically. You do not have to hand in paper.
4. Check your contribution status on Segurança Social Direta. If you owe contributions, clear them so payment is not suspended.
5. Social Security pays to your IBAN, usually 30 to 60 days later.

5 common mistakes on green receipts

1. Expecting payment from day 4. It is a 10-day wait, paid from day 11.
2. Thinking the benefit comes from your invoicing. It comes from your contribution base, which is lower.
3. Leaving contributions unpaid. Without your status regularised, payment is suspended (Art. 40).
4. Working during the leave. You are on a CIT. Doing any work means paying the benefit back.
5. Not knowing the 365-day cap. On long leave, the self-employed use up the benefit in half the time of an employee.

How it all connects

Quick maths: your contribution base / 180, apply the percentage, start counting on day 11.

• To run the numbers: sick pay calculator.
• For the full payment table: sick leave payment table 2026.
• If you suspect false self-employment: false self-employment, 8 signs.
• If you were fired while on leave: fired during sick leave.
• To learn who pays and when: sick leave guide, who pays (PT).