Sick leave in Germany: 10 questions workers ask

Tell your employer as early as possible, before your shift starts. Say that you are sick and how long you expect to be away. A call is best. Check your contract — some employers want a call, not a WhatsApp message.

If you are sick for more than three calendar days, you need a doctor's note (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) at the latest on the next day. Calendar days count, not work days — the weekend counts too. Your employer may ask for a note from the first day if your contract or a collective agreement says so.

Usually not. Since 2023 the doctor sends the sick note electronically (eAU) to your statutory Krankenkasse, and your employer collects it there. But you must still tell your employer that you are sick. You get a paper copy for your own records. Exceptions with paper: private insurance, a sick child, a note from abroad, and Minijobs in private households.

Yes, as of October 2026. A doctor can give a first sick note by phone for up to 5 days, but only if you are a known patient with a mild illness. By video, the Health Ministry allows up to 7 days for known patients and up to 3 days for new patients. The government parties agreed in July 2026 to end phone sick notes, but there is no date and no law yet.

No. Your employer has no right to know your diagnosis against your will. The employer's copy of the sick note does not show it. You only have to say that you cannot work and how long you expect to be away.

Your employer pays your normal pay for up to six weeks for the same illness. After that, if you have statutory health insurance, the Krankenkasse pays Krankengeld: 70 % of your gross pay, but not more than 90 % of your net pay. In 2026 the maximum is 135,63 € per day. Krankengeld runs for up to 78 weeks for the same illness within three years.

Not from your employer in the first four weeks of the job. That is the legal waiting time. During these four weeks the Krankenkasse pays Krankengeld instead. From the fifth week, your employer pays. So report sick and get a doctor's note as normal, even in week one.

Yes. Minijobbers have the same right: up to six weeks of pay from the employer, after four weeks in the job. Many employers do not tell Minijobbers this. If your boss refuses, ask for it in writing.

No, if you get a doctor's note. Sick days with a note are not counted as holiday, so you get them back. But you cannot just add them to the end of your holiday — you must go back to work on the day your approved holiday ends, unless you agree something else.

Yes, a Kündigung during sick leave is not forbidden. But firing someone because of illness is hard for employers, and normal dismissal protection rules still apply. If you are fired because of the illness, your right to six weeks of pay stays. If you get a Kündigung, act fast — there are short deadlines. Free advice for workers from non-EU countries: Faire Integration (faire-integration.de).