Krankmeldung: Wie sich Arbeitgeber gegen Blaumacher wehren können

In Germany, the number of sick leave days taken by employees has decreased slightly recently, according to data from the Techniker Krankenkasse. Workers in Germany typically miss around 18.6 days of work per year between January and November 2025, compared to only about 13 days in the entire year of 2021. However, it is unclear how many of these sick days are genuinely due to illness and how many are instances of "blue lying," where employees only pretend to be sick.

According to a survey by the opinion research institute Yougov last year, more than one in four people have taken time off work under false pretenses at least once. A recent study by the Pronova BKK health insurance company found that 60% of employees have claimed to be sick when they were actually fit enough to work. Seven percent do this "frequently," and for about half of the respondents, this happens "sometimes" or "rarely."

If an employee continues to claim sick leave while they are actually capable of working, the employer must not accept this. Two labor lawyers specializing in employment law explain the legal options available to companies to deal with such "sick liars."