German Employers Gain New Powers to Demand Sick Notes from Day One as Absences Surge
Published on 07/28/2026 at 20:05 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A growing wave of workplace absenteeism across Germany is prompting companies to tighten their grip on sick leave verification, with legal experts outlining exactly when employers can demand a doctor’s note from the very first day of illness. The push comes as national sick-day averages climb sharply and political debates over proof-of-illness rules intensify.
Legal Levers for Suspicious Employers
When a company suspects an employee is faking illness, the law provides several tools. An employer can request a medical certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, or AU) starting on day one of the absence. In more serious cases, salary payments may be suspended, and proven violations can lead to formal warnings or even dismissal.
What counts as “reasonable suspicion”? Employment law specialists point to patterns such as a sick note arriving immediately after a vacation request was denied, or recurring absences just before public holidays. In these scenarios, the employer can refer the case to the Medical Service (Medizinischer Dienst) for an independent review of the employee’s fitness for work.
Hiring a private detective, however, remains tightly restricted. Surveillance is only permitted when concrete facts justify it. The DĂĽsseldorf Regional Labour Court (LAG DĂĽsseldorf) made this clear in a 2023 ruling, awarding compensation to an employee who had been unlawfully monitored.
Managing employee absences and verifying fitness for work is a challenge that extends beyond sick notes. A comprehensive Health & Safety Toolkit helps UK employers meet their legal duty of care with ready-to-use risk assessments and compliance checklists. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit
Political Battle Over Mandatory Day-One Certification
The debate over proof-of-illness rules is escalating alongside government proposals. The federal cabinet is considering making an AU mandatory from the first sick day and ending the option of telephone-based sick notes, which was introduced during the pandemic.
Dr. Alexander Jakob of the Wetterau Association of General Practitioners opposes the plan. He argues that telephone certification has eased pressure on practices and helped prevent infections. The DGB Hesse-Thuringia trade union also sees no evidence that remote sick notes have driven up absenteeism, warning instead that stricter rules could fuel “presenteeism”—employees coming to work while ill.
The numbers driving the discussion are stark. Between January and November 2025, the average German worker was off sick for 18.6 days, up from 13 days in 2021. A survey by Pronova BKK found that 60% of employees admitted to calling in sick at least once when they actually felt well enough to work. Meanwhile, DAK-Gesundheit reported that for the first half of 2026, mental health conditions became the leading cause of sick leave, with an average absence of 40 days per case.
Courts Set Clear Boundaries on Dismissals
Recent rulings have refined what it takes to fire someone for faking illness. In late July 2025, the Cologne Regional Labour Court (LAG Köln) ruled that a close timing between a denied request to leave early and a subsequent sick note does not alone prove simulation. In that case, a warehouse worker was reinstated after a doctor testified that he was genuinely unfit for work.
But a different case early in 2025 saw the same court uphold the dismissal of a ticket inspector who had been caught using work time for personal errands—visiting cafés and a hairdresser. The employee not only lost his job but was ordered to pay €21,000 in private investigator costs.
A case from Austria highlights the limits of digital monitoring. The Feldkirch Regional Court ruled that missing entries in an ERP system cannot automatically be treated as unauthorized absence. A sales representative received €17,769.66 gross in compensation after being unfairly dismissed.
Social Welfare Tightens Rules, Drawing Backlash
The crackdown extends into the public sector and social law. In North Rhine-Westphalia, a teacher who had been on continuous sick leave since 2009 while simultaneously working as a naturopath faces criminal proceedings for suspected commercial fraud. She was transferred into retirement at the end of May 2026 and filed a lawsuit on June 29, 2026.
Under Germany’s Social Code II (SGB II), a new regulation took effect in March 2026 requiring job centres to assume doubts about an applicant’s fitness for work whenever repeated sick notes cause missed appointments. Social welfare groups and opposition parties have sharply criticized the change. Harald Thomé of the Tacheles association called it a “legislated blanket suspicion” that would disproportionately burden chronically ill people and those with disabilities.
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