Please explain if and how disability coverage works in Panama?

[Susan and Pat]

If you have a worker, who finds themselves in a situation where they cannot work for a period of time, due to damage from a previous injury, such as repetitive work / bursitis, and they need one or two months for healing, and they are signed up for Seguro Social, with a doctor's note, can they collect a short term disability compensation?

AND, if this injury should turn into a situation where they can no longer work, is there long term disability compensation?

Thanks in advance.

[Dave Veilleux]

..and my understanding is they can carry 1 years worth forward, so if they have been working for two years, its 36 days.....

[olga suarez]

When you are signed up for Seguro Social, you accumulate 1.5 days per every 26 days you work with a maximum of 18 days per year worked (12 month period) from the date they started. The first 18 days are to be paid by the employer, now you have to make sure they have the necessary time accumulated. Otherwise, with a lot of paperwork Seguro Social will pay their dissability according to the amount they have paid into seguro social, same goes for injuries that require over 18 days.

In short, if your employee works for you for 3 months, he has only 4.5 days of incapacity you have to pay for, provided he has not taken any sick time before during those 3 months. If his Drs note is for any time over that, he has to file with Seguro Social 

[A. Rodriguez]

Hi,

I think that if the worker has a "incapacidad" the employer has to pay for the first 18 days and them the social security payments kick in.  (and that is a total18 days per year),

I have many workers and I find that very few abuse it but they do they can only abuse it to the tune of 18 days per year.

AR