Krankmeldung: Wie sich Arbeitgeber gegen Blaumacher wehren können

Berlin - Recent data shows that Germany's sick leave situation has slightly improved, but the overall number of workdays missed by employees remains high. Between January and November 2025, German employees took an average of about 18.6 sick days. In all of 2021, employees took just around 13 sick days per year. However, the question remains: how many of these instances are genuinely due to illness, and how many are instances of "blue lying" – when employees merely claim to be sick without actually being unwell?

A survey conducted by the opinion research institute Yougov last year found that more than one in four individuals had falsified their sick leave at some point. A recent study by the Pronova BKK health insurance company revealed that 60% of employees have claimed to be sick when they were actually fit enough to work. Seven percent do this "frequently," while around half of the respondents admit to doing so "sometimes" or "rarely."

When an employee repeatedly claims to be sick when they are actually capable of working, their employer has no choice but to take notice. Two labor law experts explain the legal options available to businesses to address such instances of "sick feigning."