Row erupts after Germany says workers must visit doctor to take sick day
Germans will have to report to a doctor in person to get a sick note on the first day of illness under fresh proposals to bolster the country's stagnant economy.
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The tough new measures were announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week.
Germany’s leader said “the number of sick days is too high,” as he announced the strict rules, saying: “We are creating a set of tools that will enable those involved, both employees and companies, to correct this.”
He added: “We know this is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford the competitive disadvantage caused by prolonged absences from work.”
The measures will replace the current system in which workers receive notes through a phone call with a doctor, which is only required on the third day of calling in sick.
The announcement has already sparked fury from several trade unions.
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Frank Werneke, the head of the services sector union Verdi, slammed the German Chancellor for creating what he branded “a culture of distrust of employees”.Doctors also opposed the change, warning it would swamp Germany’s GPs with unnecessary appointments.
The KBV, which represents statutory health insurance physicians, said the plans "bordered on madness", warning it will force thousands of people to visit doctors' surgeries just to fill in forms."Anyone who is coughing or has a gastrointestinal infection belongs in bed – not in an overcrowded surgery," it said.
The plans have been agreed by Mr Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), his coalition partners.
Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU's parliamentary group, has defended the measures, saying Germany's rate of sick leave is one of the highest in the EU."We have one of the highest numbers of sick days – around 18 per year per employee," he said.
Employers and economists have also welcomed the announcement.Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, said: The reform train has no brakes... this is a substantial package designed to strengthen Germany as a business location in the long run and put public finances on a sustainable footing.”
"One is tempted to shout, 'Finally!' It took a year, but the 'summer of reform' has arrived," he added. Rainer Dulger, President of the Employers' Association, hailed the measures as ushering in a "long-overdue change of course."
Germans, on average, take about three weeks, or 15 working days, of sick leave per year. This is lower than in France and most Nordic countries, but higher than Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Italy.