Krankmeldung: Wie sich Arbeitgeber gegen Blaumacher wehren können
Aus dem Handelsblatt-Archiv: Ein Mitarbeiter meldet sich immer an Brückentagen und montags krank? Diese rechtlichen Möglichkeiten haben Firmen bei Verdacht auf Blaumachen.
Berlin – While Germany's sick leave situation has slightly improved in recent times, data from the Techniker Krankenkasse reveals that the overall number of employee absences remains high. On average, German workers missed about 18.6 days of work between January and November 2025, a figure significantly higher than the 13 days missed per employee in 2021.
However, it is unclear how many of these instances are genuine illnesses and how many are cases of "blue crunching," where employees fake sick leave by merely claiming to be ill. A Yougov opinion research institute survey from last year found that over one in four people had falsified their sick leave at least once, and a Pronova BKK study indicates that 60% of employees have claimed to be sick when they were actually fit enough to work.
Seven percent of these employees do so "frequently," and for roughly half of the respondents, this occurs "sometimes" or "rarely." When an employee repeatedly claims to be sick while they are actually capable of working, it is the employer's responsibility to take notice. Two labor law specialists explain the legal options available for businesses to address such "sick feigners."
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
