Panama's labor law entitles every employee to 18 paid sick-leave days per calendar year (Art. 199 Codigo de Trabajo). CifraHQ tracks each medical certificate, computes the employer/CSS split per cause, and maintains an annual balance per employee.
| Law | Article | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Codigo de Trabajo | Art. 199 | Employer must pay up to 18 working days per year of sick leave; employer pays 50% of daily salary during the waiting period |
| Ley 51 de 2005 | Art. 144 | CSS pays a "subsidio de enfermedad" once the employer waiting period ends; CSS pays at 60% of the cotizable wage |
| Decreto Ejecutivo 1 de 1954 | Art. 8 | Medical certificate required within 48 hours for absences beyond 2 days |
The 18-day annual allotment is a minimum. An employer may configure a higher allotment in the Incapacity Policy. The allotment cannot be reduced below 18.
The number of days the employer is responsible for depends on the cause stated on the medical certificate:
| Cause | Employer waiting days | CSS kicks in |
|---|---|---|
| Common illness (enfermedad comun) | 3 days | Day 4 onward |
| Maternity | 14 days | Day 15 onward |
| Occupational risk (riesgo profesional) | 0 days | From day 1 |
| Occupational illness (enfermedad profesional) | 0 days | From day 1 |
For occupational risk and illness, the employer does not have a waiting period - CSS (or the employer's occupational risk insurance) covers from the first day. The employer still records the certificate but owes no daily salary during the incapacity.
During the employer waiting period:
Daily Base Rate = Monthly Base Salary / 30
Employer Daily Payment = Daily Base Rate x 50%
The 50% rate is the legal minimum (Art. 199 CT). CifraHQ applies the policy's EmployerPayPercent setting (default 50%).
Each employee has one IncapacityBalance record per calendar year:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| DaysAllotted | Annual employer-paid allotment (from policy, default 18) |
| DaysUsedEmployerPaid | Working days consumed in the employer waiting period this year |
| DaysUsedCssPaid | Working days on CSS subsidy this year |
| DaysPending | DaysAllotted minus DaysUsedEmployerPaid |
When DaysPending reaches zero, any new employer-waiting-period days on a new certificate must be paid directly by the employer without drawing from the annual allotment (they have exhausted the 18-day limit). CSS continues to cover its portion regardless.
Submitted -> Approved -> Paid
-> Rejected
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Submitted | Certificate data entered; split not yet computed |
| Approved | HR has verified and approved the certificate; split computed |
| Paid | Amounts included in a Payroll run |
| Rejected | Certificate rejected (e.g., insufficient documentation) |
Related: Policy Setup - Certificate Intake - Payday Split - Annual Reset - Reports
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