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WORKING IN GERMANY

Working in Germany: The 10 rules you need to know if you fall ill

It’s the time of year when many of us are coming down with the flu - not to mention the dreaded Covid. If you fall ill, you’ll be happy to know that the German attitude to sickness isn’t to “man up” and fight through it. If you know these laws you’ll be okay.

A sick person lies on a sofa.
Know what to do when you're too sick to work in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

Inform your employer before you go to the doctor

Many people make the mistake of going to their doctor and only later informing their employer. Don’t make this mistake as it has led to the odd legal dispute between a company and a sacked employee.

Legally, you need to have informed your employer that you’re sick before the start of the work day – otherwise you are contravening the terms of your contract. If you don’t do it, your boss has the right to give you an Abmahnung (an official warning). If you do it a second time, your employer then has the right to terminate your contract.

Remember, if you don’t feel like being interrogated by your boss over the phone, you don’t have to. An email or a fax are both legally recognized as methods of communicating your sickness.

“There have recently been legal cases where an employee informed their employer via Whatsapp and the court found that to be okay since the company used Whatsapp for communicating,” Benjamin Pfaffenberger, a labour law specialist at Winheller Attorneys tells The Local.

If your company communicates using Slack or other online messaging services, this should also be okay.

Know the difference between a Krankmeldung and Krankschreibung

While you need to tell your employer that you are sick before the start of the day, you only actually need to provide proof in the form of a doctor’s note on the fourth day.

To use the German jargon, you need to give your boss a Krankmeldung (notification of sickness) before the start of work on the first day. But you only need to hand in a Krankschreibung (doctor’s note) on the fourth day (unless it’s written in your contract to submit it earlier). 

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Be aware that you have to hand in your Krankschreibung, also known as a “gelbe Schein”, on the fourth calendar day after first calling in sick. So if you stay away from work on a Friday, you will have to provide your boss with a doctor’s note on the Monday, if you still don’t feel up to heading into the office.

Photo: DPA

Your boss has the right to know

It is also important to note that, all of the above only applies if your boss is of a trusting nature. Ever since 2012 your employer has been given the right to request a sick note even on the first day that you don’t come into work. The Federal Labour Court decided in that year that a suspicious boss can demand this immediate proof of illness.

Pfaffenberger advises that one should always go to the doctor on the first day, just in case your boss follows up.

“Even for a cold the doctor will typically write you off work for a four day period or so, so you don’t need to keep going back every day,” he says, adding that the doctor will write a fixed date on the note by which you have to come back in for a reassessment.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about making a doctor’s appointment in Germany

The Entgeltfortzahlung

This mouthful of a German word is the legal term for your right to payment when you are ill. You are entitled to Entgeltfortzahlung (continued payment) for a minimum of six weeks.

“Some employers will grant you more time than this. Three months is typical,” says Pfaffenberger. “If your entitlement is only the legal minimum there will be no mention of it in your work contract, but if you have a longer period this will be stated in the contract.”

You have a right to this payment even if you are just a part-time worker or a doing a mini job. The only condition is that you have already been in the job for at least four weeks.

Receiving Krankengeld

If you are sick for longer than six weeks your health insurance company will start paying you Krankengeld (sick money). This money will be 70 percent of your salary and you have a right to it for 78 weeks. To get it though, your doctor has to declare you unfit to work.

Depression and burnout are common reasons for people to need this extended time off the job, Pfaffenberger explains.

READ ALSO: Five things to know about Germany’s new workplace Covid rules

Knowing your limits

Being off work sick doesn’t mean that you are bound to your bed. It just means that you can’t do things that risk aggravating the illness. So if you are suffering from burnout or depression your doctor might advise you to get out. On the other hand if you have a flu, it is probably advisable to stay indoors.

Labour law specialists recommend getting a letter of permission from your doctor for any planned activity. At the same time, if your boss spots you in a cafe when you have the flu, it will be bad for relationships of trust in the office, labour law specialist Dr. Nicolai Besgen told business-on.

Saving your holiday

If you already have a holiday booked and then fall ill, don’t worry. You will get the holiday back as long as you report to your employer that you are sick. Again the same principle applies, by the third day you need to hand in a doctor’s note.

Photo: DPA

Getting the sack

If an employee keeps calling in sick, their boss does have the right to sack them – but the legal requirements for doing so are very high.

“It is very difficult for an employer to sack someone who is longer-term sick,” says Pfaffenberger. “They need to wait 24 months and then assess whether the person is able to come back to work.”

According to Der Westen, your company can cancel your contract if it believes that there is no realistic chance of you taking up your job again once you have recovered. So a construction company for instance could cancel the contract of an employee who has been crippled by an accident.

Acting quickly

It does occasionally happen that a company will sack an employee for calling off work once too often. If this happens to you and you feel you have been treated wrongly, you have to act quickly.

“You need to file a claim with the regional labour court within three weeks of receiving the notification of termination of contract,” Pfaffenberger says. “After three weeks the contract termination becomes legally effective and it cannot be changed.

But lodging the complaint is certainly worthwhile.

You will have to undergo a medical examination which will be provided as evidence in the court, but “the burden of proof is on the employer. I know of very few cases in which the employer has won in court,” explains Pfaffenberger.

If the dismissal isn’t overturned altogether, you are likely to walk away with compensation.

Pulling a sickie

It is highly inadvisable to fake an illness in Germany. If your employer finds out, they have the right to sack you with immediate effect.

But you even risk losing your job if you are too tardy in handing in a sick note. A teacher in Rostock lost her job after getting a doctor to retroactively write her off work five days after she should have handed in her Krankschreibung. The state court in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania agreed with the firing, ruling that a sick note can be written only up to two days too late, and then only if there are mitigating circumstances.

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GERMAN TRADITIONS

What’s open and closed in Germany over the Easter weekend?

People in Germany get a four day weekend over Easter. How are shops, transport and medical services affected by the public holidays?

What's open and closed in Germany over the Easter weekend?

Easter itself falls very early this year: Easter Sunday also coincides with the clocks going forward an hour for summertime, while Easter Monday in 2024 is on April Fool’s Day.

The Easter weekend starts on Friday March 29th, however, many Germans take some days before and after the weekend to extend their holiday. 

Whether you live in Germany or are visiting, here’s what to expect:

READ ALSO: What exactly is Germany’s Green Thursday?

Gründonnerstag or Green Thursday 

Gründonnerstag or Green Thursday falls on March 28th this year. 

This isn’t an official public holiday although some companies do give this day off to staff as a gesture. 

Many people in Germany book this day off themselves as part of their annual leave to extend their Easter holiday. 

One thing you should be aware of – shops will be busy with lots of queues on this day since the following day is a holiday. 

Karfreitag or Good Friday

In Germany, Good Friday, which is on March 29th, is a public holiday or Feiertag. 

Traditionally no church bells are supposed to ring and no music should be played as this is the day Jesus was crucified. The word Kar comes from old German Kara, meaning sorrow or grief.
 
For many parts of Germany, this quiet time also means it is still illegal to dance on Good Friday. But whether anyone actually enforces this is another question.

In general, you can except the majority of workplaces to be shut as well as schools.

Supermarkets, retail stores and pharmacies also won’t be open (except for a few in areas such as train stations) so make sure you have enough groceries at home. 

Restaurants and cafes are usually open on public holidays and eager to accept customers. 

Saturday

Opening hours across the country will function as they normally do on Saturday March 30th. 

But do expect supermarkets to be super busy because they are closed on the following two days.

Ostern or Easter Sunday

Like any other Sunday in Germany, shops and supermarkets will be closed. 

People in Germany often like to spend this day with families so you should expect lots of people of all ages doing activities like a walk in the forest or park, Easter egg hunts or going to church. 

Chocolate Easter eggs are not a big tradition in Germany compared to other places like the UK, for example. But there are still plenty of chocolate bunnies around. 

READ ALSO: 10 ways to celebrate Easter in Germany like a local

An Easter hare statue outside ah ouse in Coburg, Bavaria.

An Easter hare statue outside ah ouse in Coburg, Bavaria. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Vogl

Ostermontag or Easter Monday

This falls on April 1st and is another public holiday in Germany. 

Once again, that means workplaces are closed as well as shops, post offices and supermarkets. 

What about public transport?

Public transport runs all throughout the holiday period, but on public holidays there is normally a Sunday schedule. 

Nationwide train services also run across the period (but keep in mind that there could be a strike since we’ve seen a lot of them lately). 

What about schools?

Schools in Germany will be closed on Easter Monday and Good Friday.

Pupils also get a holiday that usually lasts two weeks around Easter, known as the Osterferien. 

Schools in Bremen, Hamburg and Lower Saxony started their break on March 18th. 

Other states follow around March 23rd-25th. Schleswig-Holstein schools are the latest to start their break, which runs from April 2nd to April 19th.

READ ALSO: What days will workers in Germany get off in 2024?

Doctors, pharmacies and hospitals 

Doctors’ offices and pharmacies are usually closed on public holidays, such as Good Friday and Easter Monday.

But you could still try calling your GP firstly in case they have a message letting you know the details of the on-call doctor. 

You can also contact the non-emergency medical on-call service by calling 116 117 who can advise you if you have urgent questions about your health.

You can also head to the 116117 website to find a local surgery that offers emergency services.

In an emergency, call 112 for the fire brigade or ambulance or 110 for the police. 

Make sure you are stocked up on any medications you need before the public holidays. 

Tourist attractions

Many tourist attractions will be open as normal throughout the Easter period, including Good Friday and Easter Monday but some may operate altered opening hours. Check the attraction’s opening hours before visiting. 

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