Sick leave: Does the weekend count towards the three-day period?

Created: 05/19/2022, 08:24

By: Andrea Stettner

Employees must present their sick leave to the employer in good time.

But does the weekend count when calculating the deadline?

© Patrick Pleul/dpa

Anyone who falls ill usually has to submit a medical certificate to their employer after three days.

But does the weekend actually count when calculating the deadline?

The "yellow certificate" ensures that employees continue to receive wages in the event of illness.

Employees should therefore make sure that they report sick to their employer immediately (you can find out how to do this correctly here*) and submit a sick note from the doctor in good time.

The latter must be done by law after the third day of illness.

But be careful: The

can be set individually by the employer.

For example, some employers require a certificate from the first or second day of illness - a look at the employment or collective agreement provides clarity here.

Submission deadline for sick leave: weekends and public holidays count

Unfortunately, however, many employees are under the misconception that only working days count when it comes to the deadline for submitting sick leave.

In fact

.

So if you fall ill before a weekend, you have to include Saturday and Sunday in the submission deadline.

This also includes public holidays. 

Also interesting:

What to do if the submission date falls on a weekend?

But what to do if the day of submission of the sick note falls on the weekend?

Anyone who is ill on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday would theoretically have to present their medical certificate to their employer on Saturday.

In this case, however, it is sufficient to submit your sick note on the following Monday, as

.

Also read:

 Sick leave: In this case, your boss may reject the certificate.

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