Overview
- Health Minister Nina Warken has launched a review of telephone sick-note regulations, with no concrete changes proposed yet and any shift likely requiring legal steps and agreement with the SPD.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz renewed criticism of high absence rates, citing roughly 14.5 sick days per worker, while doctors’ and union representatives reject a presumption of abuse.
- DAK data show employees averaged 19.5 calendar days sick in 2025, essentially unchanged from 19.7 in 2024, while official statistics reported 14.8 workdays for 2024.
- Analyses attribute much of the post‑2021 jump to the 2022 rollout of electronic sick notes that more completely capture absences, complicating international comparisons.
- Telephone attestations account for about 0.8–1.2% of cases with little evidence of systemic misuse, as house doctors and major insurers warn against abolition, while employer groups and the KBV press for tighter rules, a Kanzleramt summit, and ideas such as graded sick notes.