Will Germany tighten its rules on paid sick leave?

The lawmakers at the top of the German government are thinking of coming for your sick days.

Bild recently reported that top officials in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's black-red coalition have been continuing discussions about labour market measures designed to push people to take fewer sick days from work.

The topic has been near the top of the agenda in Germany for some time, with employers having long complained about excessive absenteeism due to sickness, and conservative leaders like Merz or Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder having suggested scrapping telephone sick notes or reducing paid sick leave entitlements.

But given the government's moves to bring forward broad 'cost saving' reforms to the public healthcare system, the threat of serious cuts to Germany's paid sick leave entitlement looks more real that ever before.

The debate is being driven in part by figures showing that workers in Germany take more sick leave than almost anywhere else in Europe.

What exactly is being proposed?

A tightening of Germany's sick leave policy would likely take the form of a “carrot and stick” approach: The stick being less money for people who call in sick, and the carrot being possible rewards for those who don’t.

The stick: Karenztag

One suggestion on the table is said to be the return of a 'wating day' (Karenztag). In essence workers who call in sick would not be paid for the first day of their absence.

The term Karenztag comes from “Karenz”, meaning a grace or suspension period – in this case, a day when the employee is formally ill, but the employer is exempt from paying wages.

This rule actually used to exist in Germany, until it was abolished in 1995 as part of reforms to strengthen employee protections.

Currently, workers in Germany may be entitled to sick pay from day one of their absence for up to six weeks under the Continued Remuneration Act.

German law says that employees need to obtain a doctor's note by the fourth day of their absence from work, although a shorter period can be stipulated in employment contracts or internal rules.

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Critics have already begun lining up in opposition to the idea of re-introducing a Karenztag.

The business magazine Business Punk warned the move could encourage presenteeism – or people turning up ill and then infecting colleagues and risking longer-term health problems. The magazine even urged workers’ representatives and unions to start applying pressure on the government to drop the idea immediately.

The carrot: additional holiday for healthy workers

Alongside potential penalties, government figures are also reportedly discussing incentives. One idea being to award an extra day of paid holiday to employees who take five or fewer sick days in a year.

The goal, according to Bild's report, is to sweeten politically sensitive cuts and nudge people with minor ailments into work when they might otherwise have called in sick.

In practice, a bonus like this would primarily benefit young, healthy workers. Those with chronic conditions or mental health issues – or who work in physically demanding jobs – are unlikely to gain much, if anything at all.  

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How likely will this happen?

Dating back to the 2025 election campaign Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) has repeatedly criticised the number of sick days people take, arguing that Germany needs to work harder.

But Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has explicitly said that waiting days and shorter sick pay fall outside her ministry’s remit.

Instead, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, headed by Bärbel Bas of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

In March, Bas told Apotheken Umschau that people should not drag themselves to work when they’re sick.

Instead, she supports the idea of companies doing more to support their employees through improved working conditions, as well as potentially offering “health courses or creative work-time models”.

In other words, the CDU/CSU push to reduce sick pay is unlikely to go down well with their coalition partners in the SPD. That said, workers in Germany will probably hear more about the topic as debates around sweeping healthcare reforms continue.

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