As of: January 19, 2024, 12:00 p.m
By: Anne Hund
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Because employees were not healthy, offices and spaces remained empty last year.
There are now figures available to show this extent.
According to an evaluation by the DAK-Gesund health insurance company, sickness absences from work have been at a significantly higher level for the second year in a row.
Employees were absent from work for an average of 20 days in 2023, as the German Press Agency (dpa) fund determined based on its own insured data.
The sickness rate once again reached the record high of 5.5 percent as in 2022. On average, 55 out of 1,000 employees were on sick leave every day.
DAK statistics: Absences from work due to illness will be at their highest in 2023
The DAK explained that the main reasons for the many failures last year were respiratory diseases such as colds, bronchitis and flu, according to dpa.
There has also been an increase in mental illnesses.
The sickness rate of 5.5 percent is the highest value since the analyzes began 25 years ago.
In previous years it had been in the region of 4 percent.
Most days of absence in 2023 were due to colds, according to the dpa report
(as of January 19th).
They caused 415 days of absence per 100 insured people.
Musculoskeletal diseases such as back pain led to 373 days of absence per 100 insured people and mental illnesses such as depression led to 323 days of absence.
For the analysis, the Berlin Iges Institute evaluated data from 2.4 million employed DAK insured people in Germany.
When does sickness notification have to be made to the employer?
What applies to the job from a legal perspective?
Employees are obliged to immediately report any incapacity to work and its expected duration to their employer.
Each company regulates the specific method - for example by email or telephone - in a slightly different way.
It may have been agreed in the company that if you report sick, you will report directly to your superior, for example.
It's best to clarify such questions in advance so that you, as an employee, are on the safe side.
Most companies only require a certificate of incapacity for work (AU) from the fourth day of illness, others earlier.
For example, the employment contract may well stipulate that the employer can request a doctor's certificate from the first or second day.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
What must a sick note contain?
“In your sick note, you must state that you do not feel able to appear at work and carry out your tasks for health reasons,” explains Stiftung Warentest
on
Test.de.
“What you are sick with is fundamentally none of your boss’s business.” There are also no diagnoses in the data for the employer’s medical confirmation of incapacity for work.
“Specify the approximate duration of your absence so that your boss can better compensate for your absence.” Because in the event of illness, he may have to organize a replacement - that's why when reporting sick, you should also point out which tasks need to be completed during your absence.
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How long can you stay at home without a certificate?
For example, the employment contract can stipulate that the employer can request a doctor's certificate from the first or second day.
The employment or collective agreement regulates when a doctor's certificate must be available.
“If nothing is specified in this, the Continued Payment of Remuneration Act applies,” explains Stiftung Warentest.
“You can then stay at home for three calendar days without a medical certificate.
If you are ill for a longer period of time, you need a certificate of incapacity for work (AU) from your doctor.”
How can you extend your sick leave if you are still sick?
The follow-up certificate must be issued no later than the working day following the last day of the previous AU certificate, according to Stiftung Warentest's note on
Test.de.
In order to receive sick pay in the event of a long-term illness, you must be able to “completely document” your inability to work, it says.
Stiftung Warentest advises: “It is best to go to the doctor again on the last day of your sick leave.
So you are on the safe side.
Even if you receive sick pay, it is important that your certificate of incapacity for work is seamlessly confirmed by a doctor.
Otherwise you will not receive any sick pay until confirmation is sent.”