A sick leave exempts you from work. But how do you get them when there are actually no health problems to complain about. A family doctor reveals it.
Berlin - You can hardly trust some questions - not even your partner, not even a doctor or lawyer. The topic is uncomfortable, the insight into personal life circumstances could become embarrassing and deep, and maybe even legal consequences.
Sick leave: The patient must be able to assess for himself whether he can work
The question today: my friend was not really sick, but he took a sick leave - what did he have to tell the doctor to do that?
Answer: At best the truth. Basically, there are many clinical pictures that doctors find it difficult to assess with regard to inability to work . "You can't measure dizziness, neither can abdominal pain," says Hans Michael Mühlenfeld, general practitioner from Bremen and chairman of the Bremen General Practitioners' Association.
He also relies on the reason and assessment of his patients. "From my point of view, everyone knows best whether they need sick leave." Often doctors could not judge this objectively because the patient's profession is also very important . Concentrated office work, for example, is very difficult with a strong headache or is almost impossible. "I take it seriously when someone honestly tells me: 'I'm feeling bad, please write me ill.'"
Video: sick leave via WhatsApp - is that actually allowed?
Can you understand : For this reason, more and more colleagues are on sick leave .
These reasons for sick leave are not lawful
However, Mühlenfeld does not like to be fooled - even if that happens every now and then without him noticing. This is when someone fakes an illness and he therefore writes the patient sick. Mühlenfeld is sober: "If someone lies to themselves, I can't help it."
But there were also patients who could not progress with honesty. For example, if they did not need to be on sick leave for health reasons. Mühlenfeld has heard some creative reasons. One of the classics: Patients who have planned their vacation wrong and want to secure themselves a few more vacation days through sick leave . With that, however, they flash off at Mühlenfeld. Such sick leave is not legal under the Disability Guidelines . "I of course comply with the law," he emphasizes.
Sick from flu: medical society strongly recommends vaccination - older people in particular should take the warning seriously.
Survey on the subject
Read also : How to report really sick.
Also interesting : sports, partying or shopping - you can do all of this despite your sick leave.
dpa
Surprising: these five professions make you sick
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