Germany’s government has agreed to tighten its sick leave rules, requiring workers to obtain a doctor’s certificate from the first day of illness under proposed reforms aimed at reducing absenteeism and improving economic competitiveness.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the change on 2 July as part of a 34-point reform package agreed by his CDU/CSU-SPD coalition after seven hours of talks, with the measures designed to help revive Europe’s largest economy.
Under Germany’s current system, employees generally need to provide a medical certificate from the fourth calendar day of illness, although employers already have the right to request one earlier, including from the first day. The proposed change would make first-day certification the standard requirement.
The reforms would also end telephone sick notes, a system introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic that allowed patients already known to a medical practice with mild symptoms to be signed off without an in-person appointment.
Some flexibility would remain, with employers, works agreements or collective bargaining agreements still able to provide more generous conditions than the legal minimum. Merz has also indicated some exceptions could be considered at company level.
Merz has repeatedly argued that Germany’s sickness rates are placing pressure on the economy. He described current absenteeism levels as “exorbitantly increased” and said the country could no longer afford the competitive disadvantage caused by long absences from work.
Germany has seen sickness absence rise in recent years, with health insurers reporting historically high levels of sick leave. Mental health-related absences, alongside respiratory illnesses and musculoskeletal conditions, have been among the contributors to rising absence rates.
The proposal has drawn criticism from doctors’ groups, who warn it could place additional pressure on general practices by bringing more people into clinics simply to obtain documentation for short-term illnesses.
The Association of General Practitioners has argued the change would add unnecessary bureaucracy without reducing genuine sickness levels, instead changing how absences are recorded. Critics have also warned it could further stretch an already pressured healthcare system.
The sick leave overhaul sits alongside other reforms in the coalition package, including tax relief measures, changes to employment rules, longer Sunday trading hours, and plans to gradually increase the retirement age in line with rising life expectancy. Tougher penalties are also planned for people found to have issued fraudulent sick notes.
The coalition’s proposals will still require parliamentary approval before taking effect. Employers are expected to review workplace policies if the changes proceed.
Would New Zealand ever do the same? Germany’s proposed reforms highlight a different approach to managing workplace absence and could reignite discussion about where the balance should sit between employee flexibility, employer costs and trust in the workplace.
New Zealand’s system remains more flexible. Employees generally do not need to provide proof of sickness for the first three consecutive days of absence unless an employer has reasonable grounds and covers the cost of obtaining the evidence.