Coalition and Doctors Clash Over Plan for Mandatory Sick Note from Day One
07.07.2026 - 01:43:20 | boerse-global.de
Germany's healthcare system could be swamped by an extra 30 million patient visits each year if the government pushes through a requirement for workers to produce a doctor's certificate from the very first day they call in sick, according to an estimate by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV). The projection has intensified the backlash against Chancellor Friedrich Merz's proposal, which is meant to curb what officials describe as a troublingly high rate of absenteeism.
Opposition is mounting from within the chancellor’s own camp. The Christian Democratic Union's employee wing, the CDA, has called for the plan to be scrapped entirely. "We need to end this project," CDA deputy leader Bäumler said recently, arguing that a mandatory doctor's note from day one sends the wrong message to workers and doubts its effectiveness. The CDA insists the measure would undermine trust between employers and staff without solving the underlying causes of sick leave.
The coalition partner SPD is also pushing back against a rigid nationwide rule. Instead, Social Democrats favour a voluntary approach that leaves companies free to decide when to request a certificate. They want to rely on firm-level solutions tailored to individual workplace realities. A blanket federal obligation, the SPD warns, risks souring the employment relationship and adding unnecessary bureaucracy.
Chancellor Merz, however, has so far held his ground. He continues to argue that an early doctor’s certificate is a proven tool to reduce long-term sick leave and wants to see the law introduced without delay. The dispute has turned into a wider debate about the future direction of Germany's labour market policy.
Doctors' representatives note that the predicted 30 million extra visits — brief consultations for a simple note — could overwhelm already strained practices. Critics fear that patients with serious conditions would face longer waits as surgeries prioritise paperwork-heavy short contacts. With the political consensus crumbling and practical concerns mounting, the coalition faces a hard compromise: how to lower sickness absence without creating a new bureaucratic burden that hurts both workers and the healthcare system.
