“The record level of sickness in 2024 is an additional financial burden for employers in economically difficult times and is now also weakening competitiveness,” says Steven Haarke, HDE Managing Director for Labor and Social Affairs.
Since December 2023, those with statutory health insurance in Germany have been able to take sick leave over the phone for a maximum of five working days for minor illnesses, provided the patients are known to the doctor’s office. “Telephone sick leave must be abolished. Since the introduction of unlimited telephone sick leave, sick leave has risen sharply,” says Haarke. It must be tested whether the abolition of telephone sick leave would lead to a reduction in the currently high number of sick notices. In addition, a visit to the doctor also serves to protect sick employees, because other illnesses can also be diagnosed at an early stage during a visit to the doctor.
According to the HDE, the electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU) continues to cause unnecessary practical problems for employers. The eAU reporting procedure has been mandatory for employers since the beginning of 2023. Employers must therefore independently query the eAU of their employees from the respective health insurance company, using the so-called pull procedure. “This is far too complicated and not at all practical. It makes more sense to introduce a simple push procedure in which the health insurance companies automatically inform the employer digitally about an employee’s electronic certificate of incapacity for work,” says Haarke. Employees are still obliged to immediately report their inability to work and the expected duration to their employer.
Germany also has one of the most generous employer-financed legal regulations for continued payment of wages in the event of illness for employees in the world. “In the event of continued poor economic development, it would of course be necessary to discuss whether this is still appropriate.” However, it should also be borne in mind that this debate has already been highly controversial in the past and that there are now similar collective bargaining regulations in many large industries The current legal situation provides for 100 percent continued payment of wages without a waiting period. A corresponding change in the law would therefore usually remain without any cost relief for employers in the area of collective bargaining.
