Hey I've been feeling unwell for a few days and yesterday evening I made an appointment at Teleclinic (online visit) and got a 3-day sick leave. Today my employer sent me a task to physically see a doctor and rejected my sick leave. Did they have the right to do that? What should I do?
by bike-ridder
30 comments
They can’t reject a sick note from a certified digital provider
There isn’t even a physical sick note anymore.
TeleClinic is a legit Method to get sick notes. Your employer is wrong
You don’t “request” sick leave and it doesn’t get “denied”.
You inform your employer you are ill, then you are responsible to provide the necessary documentation as prescribed by law or employment agreement.
Employer sounds predatory, get out of there if you can
Yes according to a short google search they can do that if there has been only digital contact with the doctor.
If I were you: Make them pay. Go to the doctor, get a sick-note for at least a week. Have them reconsider their stance on those digital sick-notes if it means their employees will be away from work longer.
Tell them to fuck off. Calling in sick is not a “request” – you are sick and unable to work. Also, even if you visited a doctor in person, the sick note you may receive is for your own files only. It contains information about the reason for your AU which is not visible on the one for your employer since they are not entitled to that information according to German law. They can get the copy intended for them from your Krankenkasse.
lol, I would now go to a doctor in person and ask for a two week sick note.
Just phone your Hausarzt and they can give you a sick note up to 5 days.
Okay, there’s a lot of uncertainty in here about the employer being able to reject the sick note. I don’t think they can, but I’m not sure, so I would suggest you go to a doctor in person.
What they absolutely *cannot* do is tell you to upload a photo. They *have* to use the digital one.
Oh, and obviously, the reason you used the online one is because you were too sick to go to a doctor, so going to the doctor will make you so much sicker that, sadly, you’ll be sick for a week or two. Oh no!
Do not provide a picture of your physical sick note. The doctors office will forward the sick note. Your copy contains sensitive information (a code for your diagnosis) that your employer is not supposed to know.
I am pretty sure he isn’t allowed to “reject” your sick leave because in Germany you don’t technically “ask for it”. You inform your employer and a digital sick note is totally legit and has been in practice since Covid-19 days. However, if they are really forcing you to go to a physical doctor, I suggest getting a sick note for 3-5 days or longer and not going to the office for the whole week
There was no “request”. You simply informed them, and they are in no position to refuse.
What your employer is doing here is illegal if the doc is legit
Why do you even inform your employer that you did a digital visit? That is none of his buisness. Just inform them of your sickness and either they can confirm with you insurance or fuck off
That’s illegal. He gets it digitally as of January 2024
How does your employer know who issued the sick note? I thought only the name and date would be sent.
Hej Szymon, Teleclinic should (if not provided already) filed an electronic sick leave notice (eAU) and the employer is entitled to download it. That’s all. Should Your employer still insist on a “physical” sick note, that would be an infringement of your employee rights – consult your Betriebsrat or trade union representative. Should you have more questions regarding the German laws, contact me directly, we can chat in the native language.
This is not in accordance with the law. They have to accept it, but can ask your insurer to check if its legit.
I do understand the misgivings that employers have with teleclinic and other offers, though, since doctors are influenced to just drop the note instead of checking for it being legit, and it kinds ruins the whole system. But, yeah. Your employer is in the wrong.
Is it possible that your sick note has a huge disclaimer pointing out that this isn’t a sick note?
Ok, so the legal situation has been explained thoroughly here, your employer is wrong. Your course of action now:
1) UPDATE YOUR RESUME and gtfo out of that job as soon as you can. If I read your name right, you’re an EU citizen so you don’t have to fear for your right to stay in Germany, right?
2) Find a lawyer (are you in a union?) to help you out. Whatever you reply here, it’s not unlikely your work will just apply more pressure. I have resolved situations similar to this with “Hey, I’m 100% sure I’m right. If you need my lawyer to explain this to you, unfortunately I will have to lay the costs for that on you!” (it’s BS, you can’t force people to pay your bills, but it helped me sound like I’m willing to fight this fight).
3) see 1).
Sounds illegal. You’re employer doesn’t have to “allow” sick leave.
You can get your sick note via telephone. That was done during Corona, and still is legit. Your employer can’t force you to go to a doctor. And that means, a digital appointment is legit, too. And, as said in other answers: A sick not is not a request.
If you feel like you can go out briefly, just go to a nearby Hausarztpraxis and request a Krankenmeldung. I also heard that employers don’t accept digital sick leaves.
I could only find contradicting information on this, but it seems like its very possible your employer is allowed to reject a sick note from a digital appointment. Did you do a video call with a doctor? If you actually talked to a doctor on the phone, then it would be harder to reject.
I would straight awnser “the incompetence not to be able to get a digital AUB isn’t in my responsibility. If you have questions how to receive it contact my GKV. The digital AUB is legal and binding document according to §295 SGB V and §109 Abs. 3a SGB IV. Good day.”
Did the same and apparently the website I used had unverified doctors and that sick note wasn’t even send to my health care provider. Which means I paid 30€ for a sick note, basically got scammed and also had trouble with my employer = unpaid sick days.
The only valid digital sick note is the one you can get from your actual physicians / specialists as far as I know.
Employers ask the health care provider if you were registered as sick for a specific date. Private sick notes via online services (which probably is the service u used) are not verified yet (at least not all of them)
Is this from HR or your manager?
If it’s from your manager, talk to HR. If it‘s from HR, talk to your manager. If both think it’s fine, talk to an employment lawyer, because this email is not okay, not normal and the person who has written it does not know what they are doing.
I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding, also with the comments?
People have literally been fired from using shady, teleclinic services because some of the doctors there aren’t even fully certified to fill out sick notes. Sometimes downright using adresses that don’t exist and made up doctor names. I myself, would never use a Teleclinic for this reason either. A lot of regular Hausärzte do call-ins too, just use that service.
Maybe OP used a non-reputable one, and the employee is even being good hearted here instead of giving him an Abmahnung directly.
Get out of that job Asap. They have absolutely no legal basis to reject an “Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung”. A doctor couldn’t even “write” you another, because you are already “arbeitsunfähig” in the system.
Employers no that, they are trying to bully you
No. Your employer is not allowed to do this. If you have a labour union, go and get them to rip your boss a new one.
If you don’t, ask your health insurance provider or the arbeitsagentur/Handelskammer, etc , if they can write up a statement.
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