Calling in sick

When you're ill in Germany, you have rights and obligations – and how they interact has changed since 2023.

Your obligations:

• Immediate notification: inform your employer BEFORE work starts (phone, email, text message)
• Doctor's visit: from the day your employer specifies (often from day 1, at the latest from day 4)
• eAU since 2023: the doctor sends the sick note electronically to the health insurer and the employer retrieves it there – you no longer need a "yellow slip"

Continued pay (§3 EFZG):

• 6 weeks (42 days): 100% of your gross salary from your employer
• Requirement: 4 weeks of uninterrupted employment
• Per illness: another 6 weeks for a NEW illness

Sickness benefit (from week 7):

• 70% of gross pay, max. 90% of net pay
• Maximum 78 weeks within 3 years for the same illness
• Paid by the health insurer, not the employer

Watch out with follow-up sick notes:

• Make sure there's no gap! See the doctor on the last day of the old sick note or the day after
• Gaps can jeopardise your entitlement to sickness benefit