German Employers Sharpen Tools Against Suspected Sick Leave Abuse as Absences Hit Record High
Published on 07/31/2026 at 18:32 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The average German worker called in sick for 18.6 days between January and November 2025 — a jump of more than five days compared with 2021, when the figure stood at 13. New legal guidance published in late July 2026 lays out what companies can and cannot do when they suspect an employee is faking illness.
More than a quarter of workers admit they have skipped work under false pretenses at least once, according to a Yougov survey. Data from health insurer Pronova BKK paints an even starker picture: 60 percent of respondents said they had reported themselves sick despite being fit to work, with 7 percent acknowledging they do so regularly.
What Employers Can Do — and Where the Line Is Drawn
The toolkit available to employers starts with demanding a doctor's note from the very first day of absence. Beyond that, companies can withhold continued wage payments or escalate to formal sanctions, including written warnings and dismissal.
Suspicious patterns often trigger scrutiny. Employers tend to raise an eyebrow at sick notes filed around bridge days — the gap between a public holiday and a weekend — or when an employee has announced their illness in advance. Behavior that clearly contradicts the need for recovery also invites doubt.
When verification is needed, the Medical Service can be brought in to assess whether someone is genuinely unfit to work. Hiring private investigators, however, comes with tight restrictions. Surveillance is only permitted when concrete facts justify suspicion, and data protection rules must be followed to the letter. Get it wrong and the costs can be steep: in 2023, the Regional Labour Court in Düsseldorf awarded damages to an individual who had been unlawfully monitored.
Court Rulings Raise the Bar for Dismissal
Two recent rulings underscore how difficult it remains to part ways with frequently absent employees. In March 2026, the Federal Labour Court struck down standard release clauses in employment contracts unless the employer's interest in releasing the worker fundamentally outweighs the employee's interest in continuing to work.
The Regional Labour Court in Hannover went further in a case involving an employee who had been absent for 95, 93 and 61 days in successive years. Despite those high numbers, the court ruled the dismissal invalid, noting that specific absences during a pandemic had to be factored into the assessment (Case No. 17 SLa 330/25).
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The Fight Over Phone-Based Sick Notes
Employers' associations, including the BDA, are pushing to scrap the option of getting a sick note over the phone. Research institutions disagree. Data from the Medical Service's WIdO analysis for 2024 shows that only 0.5 percent of respiratory illness reports were filed by phone. Figures from Barmer and the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance covering 2020 to 2023 put the overall share of phone-based sick notes at roughly one percent. Statistical reviews found no evidence that this route was being exploited around bridge days.
Part of the rise in recorded sick days can be traced to the introduction of the electronic sick note (eAU) in 2022, which closed gaps in documentation. Day-of-week patterns also look unremarkable: 36.8 percent of sick notes begin on a Monday and 48.1 percent end on a Friday — a rhythm experts consider normal reporting behavior.
New Rules and a Future Model
Since 1 July 2026, updated regulations on basic income support have sharpened the criteria for questioning a person's inability to work — for instance, when sick notes are repeatedly used to excuse missed appointments. Social law experts and organisations such as Diakonie have warned that the changes risk casting blanket suspicion on benefit recipients.
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Looking ahead, a more flexible system is on the horizon. From 1 January 2028, partial sick leave is slated for introduction. Workers could return to their jobs at 25, 50 or 75 percent capacity while still recovering, with employers paying wages for hours worked and health insurance covering the remainder. The model, inspired by Scandinavian practice, would require employer consent. Critics caution that it could open the door to pressure on employees to return before they are ready.
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