Germans could have to get a sick note from a health care provider for the very first day they call off sick from work under strict proposals from Friedrich Merz.
The tough recent rules have been proposed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz to spice up the economy. Employees currently only need a note from their third day of sick leave.
Mr Merz said: ‘The variety of sick days is simply too high. We’re making a set of tools that can enable those involved, each employees and firms, to correct this.
‘We all know it is a tough decision. But we are able to now not afford the competitive drawback attributable to prolonged absences from work.’
Germans, on average, take about three weeks, or 15 working days, of sick leave per 12 months.
Frank Werneke, the pinnacle of the services sector union Verdi, accused Mr Merz of making ‘a culture of distrust of employees’.
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Doctors also warned it might swamp Germany’s GPs with unnecessary appointments.
The German Association of Family Physicians said: ‘Our practices can be flooded with patients who don’t need in-person care and can be higher off in bed.’
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