Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sharply criticized the high level of sick leave in Germany. At a campaign event in Bad Rappenau, he mentioned an average of 14.5 sick days per employee and questioned its necessity. Health insurer AOK, however, contradicts the assumption that telephone sick notes are responsible.
At a CDU campaign event in Bad Rappenau near Heilbronn, Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized what he sees as excessively high sick leave in Germany. Employees average 14.5 sick days per year, amounting to nearly three weeks off due to illness, the CDU politician stated. “That’s almost three weeks in which people in Germany do not work due to illness. Is that really right? Is that really necessary?” Merz asked.
He called for a discussion on creating incentives for people to go to work. As a specific example, he cited telephone sick notes, which have been possible since 2021 and which the Union wants to abolish. “Justified during the Corona period, still today?” the chancellor asked. He emphasized that he would discuss this with coalition partner SPD. “In the end, it must be that we all together in this Federal Republic of Germany achieve a higher economic performance than we currently do,” Merz said.
The AOK health insurer counters that telephone sick notes do not lead to more sick leaves. Doctors in private practice have billed them only in a fraction of cases. Instead, the introduction of electronic sick notes could influence the figures, as it leads to a more complete recording of absences, according to the insurer’s analyses.
