In Germany, negotiations require employees to request a sick leave on the first day of illness

Controversy has erupted in Germany after the coalition government announced reforms to sick leave laws; It requires Germans to give their employers a doctor’s note on the first day of illness.

The changes mean employees will no longer be able to access the memo by phone, reversing the move due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The number of sick days in Germany is very high,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

According to the current regulations, the certificate is issued only if a person is unfit for work for more than three days – in other words, on the fourth day, although employers have the right to request the sick note earlier.

The plans were agreed by Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD).

“This is a difficult decision,” the Chancellor said. “But we can’t afford this competitive disadvantage caused by long-term layoffs.”

Merz said the government would not accept “excessive” levels of sick leave during the pandemic.

He told ARD TV on Thursday evening that Germany is “returning to the arrangement it had before the coronavirus pandemic.”

“At the same time, it is up to individual businesses to agree on other arrangements.”

Medical groups have strongly criticized the plans.

KBV, which represents statutory health insurers, said forcing thousands of people to visit doctors’ surgeries “bordered on madness”.

“A person with a cough or a gastrointestinal infection belongs in a bed – not in a busy operating room,” he said in a statement.

The Association of General Practitioners has warned that cases of infection – requiring only a day or two in bed – are filling doctors’ waiting rooms.

SPD leader Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil tried to calm the situation, telling RTL TV that he was looking for “possible solutions”.

“Now we have to make reasonable arrangements for what is presented in the coalition committee,” he said.

Labor Minister Barbel Bass said he would look into the requirement to provide a doctor’s certificate on the first day of illness in addition to the SPD.

“That wasn’t my idea,” Bass told RTL.

“We will investigate whether this actually has any impact or is more likely to cause more problems.”

But Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU’s parliamentary group, defended the plans.

Germany’s sick leave rate is among the highest in the EU, he said.

“We have one of the highest sick days – 18 per year in the working environment,” he said.

“And people who are really sick should really be able to stay at home.”

The changes are part of tax, labor and pension reforms agreed to revive the German economy.