Tightening up labor laws and addressing the “competitive disadvantage” caused by workers making the most of the leave policies afforded to them, Germany is changing how it approaches sick leaves. Germany’s Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his coalition government have moved to introduce a new set of reforms to improve the labor regulations that govern the region. Among the many changes offered, some are designed to update pension systems and provide lower-income families with greater assistance, while others offer additional support for businesses in hiring and managing employees. One of the more controversial changes, however, is Germany’s new sick leave policy, which could require employees who need time off for their health to submit a doctor’s note acquired in person.
Submitting medical certification for illness-related leave is a fairly common practice worldwide, but policies typically require such submissions for multiple days of leave. Under the modified labor laws, workers in Germany would no longer be able to take even a day off without making it to a doctor’s appointment first. This approach could have managers and HR teams juggling more documentation, hospitals fielding more patients, and employees more frustrated than ever over having to expend effort towards acquiring a note while they are already under the weather.
Germany is exploring labor reforms on sick leave that will require employees to see a doctor before taking a day off from work for their health. (Image: Pexels)
Germany Is Looking to Change Its Approach to Sick Leaves, Leaving the Workforce Stumped
This week, Germany’s ruling CDU/CSU-SPD coalition agreed to a package of 34 new reforms intended to improve the flexibility of local businesses and improve competitiveness within Europe to catch up with the progress being made by other countries in key industries. “We are working to cut red tape. We are working to protect our welfare state, and we are working to ease the burden on employees and companies by lowering taxes,” Merz revealed in a press conference in Berlin on Thursday. The initiative has been welcomed by economists, businesses, and the workforce collectively, but not all of the proposed changes have drawn equal support.
Under the proposed rules, Germany is changing the process of employees calling in sick to work. What’s changing? Before, employees could take up to three days of sick leave merely by calling in to work and informing their supervisors that they would be out of work for a few days or by acquiring a doctor’s note by telephone. Now, as soon as an employee hopes to call in sick, they will have to seek a doctor’s certificate in-person to do so. This means that employees who wake up unwell will have to find a way to a doctor and secure a certificate before they can reach out to their employers and ask for a day off.
Chancellor Merz has previously been critical of the rate of sick leave usage in Germany, implying that it harms productivity when workers take time off to care for their health. Earlier in January, The Guardian reported on Merz’s frustration with the region’s generous sick leave policies, indicating that staff took nearly 14.5 days per year off from work, which he found to be too high. “That’s nearly three weeks in which people in Germany don’t work due to illness,” he was reported saying. “Is that really correct? Is that really necessary?”
The Potential Impact of Germany’s Sick Leave Rules
By adding layers to the process of calling in sick, workers in Germany may have to think twice about taking a day off from work. With the change, the process of acquiring a doctor’s note may be burdensome enough that workers may just choose to go into work. Merz also hopes that workers who are merely using sick leave as an excuse to get out of work can no longer do so.
This may suggest a rise in productivity, but unwell workers don’t make for productive ones. This risk of getting colleagues sick was taken seriously during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since reshaped the conversation around sick leave, but many appear to be retreating from such thinking.
Such a time crunch for a note could not only overwhelm hospitals and doctors’ offices, but also dissuade workers from seeking appropriate rest and recovery to fully address an illness. Repeated instances of working while sick could ultimately affect their health and ability to perform their jobs, resulting in a decline in their performance on the job.
There is also the risk of rising frustrations and resentment directed towards employers. While there is likely a decent number of cases where workers misuse their sick leave allowance, treating workers as deceitful slackers can hurt rather than help the employer-employee relationship, resulting in more strain than this change to Germany’s labor law is worth.
Germany’s Changes to Its Labor Laws Risk the Work-Life Balance Offered by Employers Thus Far
With one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, Germany has long built a reputation for being a desirable place to work, offering comparatively generous leave laws and standards of employment that allow for a good quality of life and work-life balance for residents. Employees working a 6-day workweek are entitled to 24 days off, while employees on a 5-day workweek are entitled to 20 days of paid leave. Reports suggest that even those on a 5-day work schedule receive about 25-30 days off.
With nine national public holidays, with a few more in some states, workers in Germany also get those additional days off from work. A successful pilot program run in Germany in 2024 saw many employers growing more open to the idea of a 4-day workweek, which workers hoped would catch on.
Will The Reactions to the Sick Leave Reform Push Lawmakers to Rethink It? That Appears Unlikely
Apart from the sick leave change, some of the other changes to Germany’s labor laws have been applauded. This includes shifts in the tax system with a moderate increase in the tax on the rich, pension reforms, changes to fixed-term employment contracts, and tax benefits against severance payments to urge workers to seek employment more quickly. For the most part, these changes could be beneficial to the workforce, however, the criticisms deserve closer investigation as well.
These reforms have not been implemented into law just yet. As we wait to see if these policy changes will receive parliamentary approval, we expect that many differing opinions will emerge from employees and industry experts. Considering how this proposed change has been under discussion for a while now, a reversal of policy appears unlikely.
Employers must watch closely to see how these laws unfold and how best they can put updates into practice with the least amount of resistance from employees. Improving reporting systems, documentation systems, and training supervisors on how to manage leave reports will be necessary if Germany’s sick leave policy goes into effect.
What do you think about the suggested changes to the sick leave policy under discussion in Germany? Share your thoughts with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest so you can keep up with the leading experts on employment and labor-centric changes, and get your insights into how workplace operations are evolving today.
