The 3-day videocall eAU: Everything you need to know

I just spoke with my lawyer. Here’s the situation:

– eAU stands for electronic inability to work certificate.
– Since January, employers have to fetch eAUs from the Krankenkasse electronically.
– These eAUs contain limited information. Crucially, they do not contain any information about the doctor or the reason for your inability to work.
– You don’t have to provide your employer with a physical copy. Just tell them that they can fetch the eAU from your Krankenkasse.
– Services like TeleClinic offer you a remote videocall with a random doctor. They are frequently used to get a 3-day eAU.
– These doctors don’t really get to know you and usually have no way to check if you’re really sick.

This means:

Your employer has no idea where your eAU is from and if the doctor saw you physically or via videocall.

The videocall doctor can’t prove much.

Here’s the legal situation:

[Source](https://www.haufe.de/personal/arbeitsrecht/zweifel-an-der-arbeitsunfaehigkeit_76_362920.html)

– The doctor who videocalls you has to ensure that they can treat you properly. That’s on them to judge, no danger for you.
– In order to put doubt on your eAU, the employer has to somehow shed doubt on its validity. This is fairly difficult: The employer has to have some solid proof.
– Even if you’re frequently on sick leave, that’s not solid proof.

Some examples:

– You upload a video of yourself on the beach while you’re on sick leave.
– You’re seen playing football by an HR colleague.

Once your employer has **solid proof that your eAU is invalid**, the fun begins.

Now, if your eAU is from a doctor who you know well and who can verify that you’re actually sick, you’re good.

**If your eAU is from a videocall doctor and your employer can provably shed doubt on your eAU, you’re pretty screwed.** How will a doctor who you’ve seen for 60 seconds prove that they actually diagnosed you well?

In order to additionally verify your eAU, your employer can request that you go to the _Medizinischer Dienst_. If they verify your eAU, you’re good.

If you can’t prove that you’re sick and your employer successfully casts doubt on your eAU, your employer can withhold your salary for the duration of your sick leave.

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In essence:

As long as the alternative is sitting in a doctor’s office with 10 sick people for hours, I’d still recommend TeleClinic and other videcall doctor services in a heartbeat.

Don’t overuse it. Don’t simulate.

Your employer can ask you questions, but you don’t need to answer unless your employer has proof that your eAU is invalid. They don’t have the right to know that it’s a videocall eAU.

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I’m not a lawyer, but the info in this post is based on a conversation with my lawyer.

by RubbelDieKatz94