Germany's sick leave at a record level: What does that mean for you?

Germany's sick leave at a record level: What does that mean for you?

Deutschland - sick leave in Germany remains a central topic in public discussion. An analysis of the DAK shows that sick leave remained at a high level at the end of January 2025. The main reason for the increased sick leave is identified as a statistics effect that results from the electronic recording of incapacity for work that has been in effect since 2021. Since then, the disease -related absenteeism -related absenteeism has hardly decreased, which has moved the DAK to a warning of distrust of sick employees. This distrust can become a health risk itself, as DAK board member Storm emphasizes. In addition to the informative analysis, a sick leave summit is also required to bring relevant actors such as the SPD minister Hubertus Heil and health expert Karl Lauterbach.

The Situation in Germany in European comparison is also remarkable. With 24.9 days most frequently registered and paid disease days in 2022, Germany was well in front of other countries such as Latvia (20.4 days) and the Czech Republic (19.2 days). However, this data should be enjoyed with caution, since the IGES research institute indicates problems with comparability. Different reporting procedures in Europe can influence the results, since many countries do not grasp unpaid absences, such as France, Italy and Spain. Germany, on the other hand, uses an electronic reporting procedure (EAU) that leads to a comprehensive recording of all days off, which influences statistics.

Development of sick leave by 2024

A comparison of the data of the IGES Institute shows that sick leave in Germany declined slightly in 2024. According to these statistics, sick leave was 5.4%in 2024, which is 0.1 percentage points lower than in the previous year. On average, 54 out of 1,000 employed people daily on sick leave. It is particularly striking that the absenteeism due to respiratory diseases decreased by 8%, while mental suffering showed an increase of 5.7%.

The OECD data also clarify that Germany lost 6.8% of the weekly working hours due to illnesses in 2023. In a European comparison, Germany is thus in the upper midfield. Norway has the highest value with 10.7%, while Malta (1.6%), Bulgaria (0.6%) and Greece (0.4%) record the lowest values. The influence of the type of continued wage on the working time failure remains stable, since Denmark, Malta and Austria also have low downtimes with 100%continued payments.

challenges

The discussion about the continued payment of wages does not seem to have a significant influence on the results of sick leave analysis. Nevertheless, there are country comparisons that indicate differences in the structure and handling of the continued payment of wages. Luxembourg, the continued payment of which is similarly high, has stronger work failures with a value of only 3.2%. The need for further examinations and the exchange about effective strategies for health promotion in companies is becoming increasingly clear.

Overall, the analysis shows that the challenges in the health sector are complex and that increased attention should be paid to the causes and statistics. By dealing with these topics, the DAK hopes that the discussion is objectified and that everyone involved can find a common solution.