Hungary runs two separate sick-pay regimes with two different names, two different payers, and two different rates — and then, in a twist that surprises most foreign employers, sends part of the state benefit back to the employer as a cost. Betegszabadság is the employer’s fifteen days. Táppénz is the health insurance benefit that follows. The employer pays a third of the táppénz too.

Understanding where one ends and the other begins is the whole game for Hungarian payroll.

Key takeaways

  • Betegszabadság is 15 working days per calendar year, paid by the employer at 70% of absence pay (távolléti díj).
  • Once betegszabadság is exhausted, táppénz takes over: 60% of the daily average contribution base with at least 730 days of continuous insurance in the preceding two years, or 50% with a shorter insurance history or during hospitalisation.
  • Táppénz is capped at 1/30 of twice the minimum wage per calendar day — HUF 21,520 per day in 2026.
  • The employer pays a sickness contribution equal to one-third of the táppénz established and paid to its employee.
  • Betegszabadság is pro-rated for employees who start mid-year, and unused days do not carry over or pay out.

Betegszabadság: the employer’s fifteen days

Section 126 of the Labour Code (Act I of 2012) gives every employee 15 working days of sick leave per calendar year for their own incapacity, paid by the employer at 70% of absence pay.

Three details do the work here:

It is counted in working days, not calendar days. A two-week absence over a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule consumes 10 days of the allowance, not 14.

It is pro-rated on hire. An employee starting in July gets the proportion of 15 days corresponding to the remainder of the year, rounded up. It is not pro-rated on leaving — an employee who used the full 15 days in January and resigns in February keeps them.

It resets annually and does not accumulate. Unused betegszabadság expires on 31 December. It is not paid out on termination, and it does not roll into the following year.

Absence pay (távolléti díj) is a defined statutory construct, not simply “base salary”. It includes the base wage plus specified wage supplements calculated on the statutory reference period. Using bare base pay as the 70% base underpays anyone on shift, night or standby supplements.

Táppénz: the health insurance benefit

When the 15 days run out — or where the incapacity is one the health insurance scheme covers directly — the employee moves onto táppénz under Act LXXXIII of 1997 on compulsory health insurance, administered by the National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK).

Situation Rate
At least 730 days continuous insurance in the last 2 years, at home 60%
Fewer than 730 days of continuous insurance 50%
Hospitalised (inpatient treatment) 50%

The percentage applies to the daily average of the contribution base, and the result is then capped. The daily ceiling is one-thirtieth of 200% of the current minimum wage, which works out at HUF 21,520 per calendar day in 2026. For anyone earning meaningfully above the minimum wage, the cap — not the percentage — is what determines the payment.

Unlike betegszabadság, táppénz is paid for calendar days, weekends included. Maximum duration is generally one year from the start of incapacity, subject to the insurance relationship continuing.

The one-third employer contribution

This is the provision foreign employers most often miss when modelling Hungarian employment cost. The employer must pay a sickness contribution (táppénz-hozzájárulás) equal to one-third of the táppénz established and paid in respect of its employee. NEAK funds the other two-thirds.

The effect is that Hungarian sick leave never stops costing the employer. The cost profile is:

  1. Days 1–15 (working days): employer pays 70% of absence pay in full.
  2. After that: employer pays one-third of the táppénz, on top of continuing to carry the vacancy.

The contribution is due whether or not the employer is in any way responsible for the incapacity — the responsibility test only affects the split in specific cases, not the existence of the one-third liability in ordinary illness.

Certification and notification

Incapacity is certified by the treating physician on the prescribed form. The employee must notify the employer of the absence without delay; the certificate follows. Employers may not require the diagnosis — the certificate records fitness for work, not the underlying condition.

Employers with their own social insurance paying office handle táppénz through payroll directly. Smaller employers submit the claim to the government office, which pays the employee, and the employer is separately assessed for its one-third contribution.

Hungarian law separates several things that English-language handbooks tend to lump together as “sick leave”:

  • Betegszabadság — the employee’s own illness, employer-paid, 15 working days.
  • Táppénz — the employee’s own illness beyond betegszabadság, insurance-funded with an employer share.
  • Gyermekápolási táppénz — sick leave to care for a sick child, which does not consume betegszabadság and runs on its own age-banded entitlement.
  • Accident sick pay (üzemi baleset) — work accidents and occupational disease, paid at 100% and outside the betegszabadság allowance entirely.

Debiting a child’s illness against the employee’s 15 days is a straightforward statutory error and a frequent one.

Common employer pitfalls

1. Counting betegszabadság in calendar days

Fifteen working days. Counting calendar days shortens the employer-paid period by roughly a third and pushes employees onto táppénz early.

2. Using base salary instead of absence pay

The 70% base is távolléti díj, which includes qualifying wage supplements. Base-pay-only calculations systematically underpay shift and standby workers.

3. Forgetting the one-third contribution

Budgets built on “the state pays after 15 days” understate cost. The employer keeps paying a third of the táppénz for as long as it runs.

4. Ignoring the daily cap when topping up

Employers that promise “full pay while sick” often forget that táppénz is capped at HUF 21,520 per day in 2026. Above-cap earners create a much larger top-up liability than the 60% headline suggests.

5. Charging a sick child’s care against betegszabadság

Child-care sick pay is a separate entitlement with its own rules. It does not reduce the employee’s 15 days.

6. Failing to pro-rate for mid-year starters

A January hire and a September hire do not get the same 15 days in their first year. Pro-rating on entry is mandatory.

For the region-wide picture, see our European sick leave comparison, and for Hungary’s paid-holiday rules — including the age-based supplementary days — see annual leave in Hungary.

Frequently asked questions

How many sick days do employees get in Hungary?

Fifteen working days of betegszabadság per calendar year, paid by the employer at 70% of absence pay. After that, táppénz from the health insurance scheme takes over for up to one year.

What is the difference between betegszabadság and táppénz?

Betegszabadság is the employer-paid first 15 working days at 70% of absence pay. Táppénz is the health-insurance benefit that follows, paid at 60% (or 50%) of the daily contribution base for calendar days, with the employer contributing one third of it.

How much is táppénz in Hungary in 2026?

60% of the daily average contribution base with at least 730 days of continuous insurance in the previous two years, or 50% with less insurance history or during hospitalisation — capped at HUF 21,520 per calendar day in 2026.

Does the employer pay anything once táppénz starts?

Yes. The employer pays a sickness contribution equal to one-third of the táppénz established and paid for its employee. NEAK covers the remaining two-thirds.

Does unused betegszabadság carry over or get paid out?

No. It expires at the end of the calendar year and is not paid out on termination.

Is sick leave to care for a sick child taken from the 15 days?

No. Child-care sick pay (gyermekápolási táppénz) is a separate entitlement with its own age-banded limits and does not reduce betegszabadság.

Putting it into practice

  1. Configure betegszabadság in working days, pro-rated on hire and expiring at year end.
  2. Base the 70% on távolléti díj, including qualifying supplements — not base pay.
  3. Budget the one-third táppénz contribution as an ongoing cost, not a one-off.
  4. Cap táppénz modelling at HUF 21,520 per day and size any full-pay top-up promise against that.
  5. Keep child-care sick pay and work-accident sick pay in separate buckets from the employee’s 15 days.
You can take advantage of the free 14 days trial and explore Leave Balance.

Hungarian sick leave is a two-ledger problem: a working-day allowance that expires annually, and a calendar-day benefit that keeps billing the employer a third of its value. Tracking both in one system — with the pro-rating and the year-end expiry handled automatically — is what stops January reconciliations turning into archaeology.

Sources

Last updated: 16 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Minimum-wage-linked figures change each January — confirm the current táppénz ceiling before applying it in payroll.