{"id":50327,"date":"2026-07-07T23:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/50327\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T23:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:13:10","slug":"germany-bans-sick-leave-without-a-doctors-note-as-employers-call-for-aussie-workplace-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/50327\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany bans sick leave without a doctor’s note as employers call for Aussie workplace crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

German workers will now need to get a doctor’s certificate in person<\/a> on the first day of their illness in a major change to the country’s sick leave laws. The move has sparked criticism from medical bodies and unions, and comes as Aussie employers call for a crackdown on sick leave rules<\/a> at home. <\/p>\n

Under the change, Germany will abolish sick leave by telephone<\/a> and will require workers to submit a medical certificate from the very first day of illness. Currently, workers are allowed to call in sick for three days without a doctor’s note, but employers can request a certificate earlier. <\/p>\n

HR expert Jonathon Woolfrey told Yahoo Finance it was unlikely Australia would go “full throttle” like Germany and implement a similar policy here. The federal government has also ruled out changes to personal leave entitlements. <\/p>\n

RELATED <\/p>\n

Woolfrey said Australia’s laws did not impose strict rules about the number of days of sick leave before a medical certificate was required, with this instead up to employers to determine. <\/p>\n

“Our laws say that employers are allowed to ask for reasonable evidence, so some of them technically could ask for a medical certificate<\/a> on day one, but then that would be up to the Fair Work Commission should it go further as to whether or not that’s reasonable,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Australia’s laws provide a little bit more flexibility for employers to look at what’s reasonable for an employee and go from there.” <\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

In Germany, workers are entitled to their full salary for up to six weeks for paid sick leave. After this, Germany’s statutory health insurance kicks in and provides sickness benefits. <\/p>\n

In Australia, full-time employees are entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave and the balance at the end of each year of employment carries over to the next year.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

However, most Aussies do not take the full 10 days of sick leave<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“We did see at the beginning of COVID, since hybrid and flexible work, there has been a decline in sick leave that people are taking because they don’t have to absent themselves from the physical workplaces and normally they’re able to manage with more minor sicknesses,” Woolfrey said. <\/p>\n

Why is Germany cracking down on sick leave? <\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the sick leave change<\/a> last week as part of sweeping tax, labour and pension reforms aiming to “get Germany back on track”. <\/p>\n

Story continues <\/p>\n

Merz said the number of sick days in Germany was “too high”, <\/p>\n

“This is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford this competitive disadvantage caused by long periods of absence from work,” he said. <\/p>\n

\"German<\/a> German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced sick leave changes as part of sweeping tax, labour and pension reforms. \u00b7 Source: Getty <\/p>\n

The report by research institute IGES commissioned by health provider DAK Gesundheit found that the average German employee took 19.5 sick days in 2025. <\/p>\n

During the pandemic, the previous government introduced sick notes via telephone and this was made a permanent option by the German health minister in 2023. This will now be abolished by the government. <\/p>\n

Medical groups have criticised the plans. The KBV, a national association representing health insurance physicians, said it “bordered on madness” to force thousands to visit doctors’ surgeries simply to fill in forms. <\/p>\n

“Anyone who is coughing or has a gastrointestinal infection belongs in bed \u2013 not in an overcrowded surgery,” it said. <\/p>\n

Head of trade union Verdi, Frank Werneke, said the move would create “a culture of distrust of employees”. <\/p>\n

Employers call for Australia to scrap online medical certificates <\/p>\n

Under the National Employment Standards in Australia, employers are allowed to ask for evidence from employees taking sick leave. This could be a medical certificate or a statutory declaration<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This year, the government launched an inquiry into the National Employment Standards, and as part of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s submission, it called for a crackdown on workers using online medical certificates<\/a> to claim sick leave. <\/p>\n

Online sick notes<\/a> provide an alternative to waiting for an in-person GP visit, with certificates often able to be obtained in a matter of minutes through telehealth platforms. <\/p>\n

“ACCI notes the increasing prevalence of online medical certificates issued in circumstances where the certificate holder has not consulted with a medical practitioner prior to the issuance of the certificate,” it told the inquiry. <\/p>\n

Instead, it said the medical certificates were generated solely on the basis of text entered by the individual without any evidence the matters were verified by the medical practitioner. <\/p>\n

“In ACCI’s view, such certificates do not constitute evidence capable of satisfying a reasonable person that an employee was genuinely entitled to access personal leave,” the ACCI said. <\/p>\n

Woolfrey said online medical certificates were legally valid under Australian workplace law, but there was a view from employers that they were an “easy way of circumventing what sick leave [is] for” and don’t offer good medical advice. <\/p>\n

“They’re a little bit hamstrung because that is a medical certificate for all intents and purposes,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Stat decs are another option that workers can generally put into employers and employers generally would be required to accept those.” <\/p>\n

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