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.
As of November 2025, the workforce absenteeism in Germany has shown a slight decline, according to data from the Techniker Krankenkasse. Workers collectively took an average of 18.6 sick days during this period, a figure much higher than the 13 days in 2021. However, it remains unclear how many of these instances were genuine illnesses versus employees "playing sick," or "Blaumacher."
A Yougov opinion poll from the previous year found that over a quarter of respondents had falsified their sick leave at least once. Research from the Pronova BKK health insurance company revealed that 60% of employees had claimed to be sick when they were actually fit for work, with 7% of these cases occurring frequently. Half of the respondents admitted to occasional or rare instances of making themselves appear sick.
When an employee repeatedly claims to be sick despite being fit to work, employers cannot remain passive. Two labor law specialists explain the legal options available to businesses to counteract such "sick feigning."
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
