Germany Tightens Sick-Note Rules as One in Four Workers Admit to Faking Illness
Published on 07/14/2026 at 14:44 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
More than a quarter of employees in Germany have called in sick when they were perfectly healthy, according to a Yougov survey that has fuelled a sweeping reform of the country's sick-note rules. Starting immediately, workers must present a doctor's certificate from the very first day they are off – a sharp reversal of the previous three-day grace period.
The new statutory obligation, adopted by the governing coalition on 2 July 2026, scraps the option of telephone sick notes entirely. It follows a record surge in absenteeism: between January and November 2025, the average employee was absent for 18.6 days, compared with just 13 days in 2021.
While employers could already demand an earlier certificate under existing case law – the Federal Labour Court confirmed that possibility back in 2012 – the reform makes the day-one requirement the legal baseline for everyone covered by the German Continued Wage Payment Act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz).
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Even without the new law, companies had legal tools
The Cologne Regional Labour Court (case reference 7 SLa 54/25) recently showed how employers can challenge suspicious sick notes. In a dispute involving a bus driver, the court ruled that the evidentiary value of a medical certificate can be undermined if external circumstances contradict a genuine illness – in that case, a coinciding conflict over new rosters and the return of company equipment. Once the certificate’s validity is shaken, the employee must provide concrete details of symptoms or treatment, or risk losing wage continuation payments.
The Pronova BKK health fund found that roughly 60% of respondents had at some point been signed off sick while feeling fit, and 7% admitted doing so repeatedly. These figures have intensified the debate over the integrity of sick reporting.
Industry welcomes the change; doctors warn of overload
Reaction from the business side has been largely positive. Airbus and the service firm Everllence both welcomed the package, and the skilled trades sector also voiced approval. At Audi, however, a collective bargaining agreement already stipulates a certificate only from the fourth day, keeping the old rule in place for now.
Medical associations see it differently. The German Association of General Practitioners and the AOK health insurance fund dismissed the plan as symbolic politics, warning that practices will be overwhelmed. The Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance in Germany (Zi) offered a telling statistic: telephone sick notes made up just 0.9% of all sick reports in 2023 – hardly a major driver of the problem.
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Separate rules for civil servants
The new day-one requirement does not apply to civil servants, who are governed by the Federal Civil Service Act. Under that law, proof of incapacity is only required upon request. In Bavaria, a certificate is normally due only from the fourth day, unless a superior orders earlier submission. The Federal Interior Ministry stresses that superiors can already demand a note from day one – but there is no blanket duty.
Criminal risks for employees and doctors
Feigning illness remains a serious offence. Using a false medical certificate can carry up to one year in prison under the German Criminal Code; fraud linked to wage continuation can bring up to five years. For civil servants, disciplinary consequences can escalate to dismissal and loss of pension rights.
Doctors are not exempt: under Section 278 of the Criminal Code, intentionally issuing false certificates carries a prison sentence of up to two years.
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