Backlash Erupts as German Coalition Ends Phone Sick Notes, Hikes Taxes on High Earners in 34-Point Deal
02.07.2026 - 15:16:23 | boerse-global.de
Doctors, unions, and opposition politicians have sharply condemned the reform package agreed by Germany’s incoming coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD, calling the mandatory sick?note rule from day one a “new culture of distrust” and warning that scrapping telephone certificates will overload waiting rooms.
The 34?point deal, struck in the coalition committee, overhauls labour law, tax policy, and social security. The most contentious change requires employees to present a medical certificate of incapacity for work from the first day of illness. Until now, a certificate was generally needed only after the fourth day, though companies could deviate from that rule.
At the same time, the coalition is abolishing the telephone sick?note procedure introduced during the pandemic and later made permanent. Patients will now have to visit a practice in person for a certificate. Harsher penalties for feigned incapacity are also planned.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz justified the move by pointing to a sickness?absence rate that he said is becoming an increasing competitive disadvantage for the German economy.
Tax relief for families, higher rates for top earners
From 2027, the package provides annual income?tax relief totalling ten billion euros. A model household of two adults, two children, and €60,000 in earnings would save up to €600 per year.
The so?called rich?person’s tax is rising in parallel: 45% applies from €250,000 in income, and 47% from €280,000. The basic tax?free allowance will increase gradually to €12,900 by 2028, and child benefit to €272.
Easier fixed?term contracts and pension changes
In labour law, the coalition is relaxing rules: fixed?term contracts without a substantive reason will be possible for up to 48 months. High earners above 1.75 times the contribution assessment ceiling lose protection against dismissal.
On pensions, the coalition is implementing the recommendations of the pension commission by the end of 2026. A new capital pillar, funded by a 2% contribution share, will start in 2028. The retirement age will rise to 67.5 from 2041.
In housing, the coalition plans to establish a state?owned construction company, but it rejects further nationalisation in the housing sector.
“Symbolic politics” vs. employer praise
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) said the plans are counterproductive. KBV chief Andreas Gassen criticised pushing patients into practices for purely administrative tasks. The German Association of General Practitioners warned of a complete overload of practices. AOK, the largest health?insurance fund, called the measures pure symbolism.
Saxony?Anhalt’s health minister, Petra Grimm?Benne, accused the coalition of putting employees under general suspicion. The Greens and the Left Party noted that ending telephone sick notes raises the infection risk in waiting rooms. The Verdi trade union spoke of a new culture of mistrust towards workers.
Support came from the Federation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), which expressly welcomed the measures to lower sickness absence. Even critical voices, such as the Taxpayers’ Association, described the pension reform and tax relief as partly insufficient or as “label fraud.”
