Sick leave notification: How employers can defend against absenteeism
From the Handelsblatt archive: An employee always calls in sick on bridge days and Mondays? These are the legal options companies have if they suspect someone is pulling a fast one.
Berlin – While Germany's sick leave rates have slightly decreased recently, the total number of workdays missed by employees remains high, according to data from the Techniker Krankenkasse. Between January and November 2025, German workers took an average of 18.6 sick days. In all of 2021, employees missed only about 13 days due to illness.
However, the question remains: how many of these absences are genuine and how many are "bleaching" – claiming to be sick when they are not? Nobody knows for sure, but there are hints: According to a Yougov opinion research institute survey last year, over a quarter of respondents had falsified sick leave at least once. A recent study by the Pronova BKK health insurance company found that 60% of employees have lied about being sick when they were actually fit to work.
Seven percent do this "frequently." Around half of the respondents admit to doing so "sometimes" or "rarely." When an employee repeatedly calls in sick despite being able to work, the employer cannot simply accept it. Two labor law specialists explain the legal options companies have to deal with such "sick fakers."
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
