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Sick leave due to depression: how long can it go and which regulations apply?

2021-01-22T16:46:34.553Z


Depression is a serious illness that is treated by a doctor and results in a sick leave. But how long can she go?


Depression is a serious illness that is treated by a doctor and results in a sick leave.

But how long can she go?

In the last 20 years the number of lost work due to mental illness has risen sharply.

Much of this is due to

depression

.

However, a high number of unreported cases must also be expected, as many people

do not take sick

leave or, even worse, do not even go to the doctor

for fear of negative consequences due to depression

.

This is a big mistake, however, because depression is a

serious mental illness

that

needs to be treated

by a

specialist doctor

.

The typical signs of depression are mainly dejection, listlessness, and lack of interest.

Often there are also

physical complaints

that are difficult to identify, such as

pain in the limbs and stomach

.

In this article, we answer the most important questions about sick leave * for

depression

.

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Depression sick leave: the most important information

Basically, and this cannot be repeated enough,

signs of depression should not be ignored

.

Recovery can come primarily through

professional help

.

Further information can be found below:

  • Which doctor can issue the sick note?

    There are three options: The sick leave, a

    family doctor

    , a

    specialist

    , but also a

    tele-medical

    issue, writes

    praktischarzt.de

    .

    The latter choice is recommended if a visit to the doctor is

    refused

    for

    various reasons

    .

    Tele-doctors can also make diagnoses and initiate therapy.

  • What criteria does the doctor use to make the diagnosis?

    In general, one speaks of a depression in the department if the person affected

    has been very down almost consistently for at least two weeks

    .

    Furthermore, depression indicates when the patient loses interest in his hobbies, does not maintain social contacts, looks pessimistic about the future and / or

    feels

    very

    guilty

    .

  • How long is sick leave with depression?

    There is no general answer to this, as the attending physician makes an individual diagnosis and releases the patient from work for a correspondingly long time.

    A single sick leave

    normally

    lasts

    up to two weeks

    , in exceptional cases up to a month.

    A sick leave can then be issued again.

    There is no maximum upper limit.

    In most cases of mild depression, the person affected can

    return to work

    after a few weeks

    - whereas severe depression can result in

    lifelong incapacity

    for

    work

    .

  • What should you watch out for when you are on sick leave due to depression?

    First of all, it is important that the employee immediately informs his employer of the sick leave.

    This also includes providing the person in charge with a certificate of incapacity for work (AU for short).

    Important: Employees do

    not have to tell

    their company

    why they are on sick leave

    .

    A neutral sick note can either be issued by the family doctor based on the findings from the psychiatrist or psychologist, or the treating clinic can write a

    neutral AU

    directly

    .

+

There is no maximum limit on sick leave for depression.

The diagnosis of the attending physician is decisive.

© imago images / Manngold

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What about the salary and the threat of job loss?

Employees can be

sick for up to six weeks a

year

without having to fear for their jobs.

For this period, the company continues to pay the employee's salary - it pays the so-called continued

payment

,

white

arbeitsvertrag.org

.

But even afterwards you don't have to expect a termination directly.

Only then will the health insurance company continue to pay the wages.

One then speaks of

sick pay

, which is 70 percent of the gross salary.

Whether the employer will continue to employ the employee depends to a large extent on the

individual prognosis of

how long the downtime due to the depression will last.

In many cases the company

doctor

can also help, who incidentally is also subject to

medical confidentiality

.

(fh) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen central editorial network.

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Do you need professional help?

This link will take you to the

Deutsche Depressionshilfe

website

, where you will find further contact options and corresponding telephone numbers.

In urgent cases, dial 112

.

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Article sources: Arbeitsvertrag.org & Praktarzt.de

Source: merkur

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