Policy would foster ‘a culture of distrust of employees’
HR professionals should watch how Germany's move to eliminate phone-in sick days plays out, since the policy is among the most aggressive absence-management crackdowns of any major economy.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Thursday that workers can no longer call in sick by telephone and must get a medical certificate on day one of illness, part of a 34-point package of pension, tax and labour reforms, Reuters reported.
The new requirement
Under the change, employees will need to see a doctor and produce documentation from day one of illness, rather than the previous grace period. Reuters reported the measure is meant to curb lost workdays.
Merz said the government "can no longer accept the extraordinarily high levels of sick leave," according to news.com.au, framing the change as necessary for economic competitiveness.
Merz said he intends to move the package through parliament by year's end. The sick-leave rule is paired with other changes, including expanded scope for fixed-term contracts up to 48 months through 2030, and greater flexibility for dismissal-with-compensation arrangements for high earners, Reuters reported.
Union and medical community pushback
The proposal has met resistance from labour groups and physicians even as business groups welcomed it, news.com.au reported. Frank Werneke, head of the services-sector union Verdi, said the policy would foster "a culture of distrust of employees."
Doctors' organizations raised a separate objection, warning that requiring in-person visits for minor illnesses would strain clinic capacity. The German Association of Family Physicians called the measure "an absolute catastrophe," saying clinics would be overwhelmed by patients who could recover at home.
Germans currently take an average of three weeks, or 15 working days, of sick leave per year — higher than France and most Nordic countries, though lower than Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Italy, news.com.au reported.
Other elements of the reform package
Beyond sick leave, the package includes income tax relief worth more than €600 (US$685) for a family with two children, financed partly by raising the top tax rate to 47% from 45% for earners above €280,000, Reuters reported.
The plan also adopts pension commission recommendations, including a capital markets-based pension element and a gradual rise in retirement age, CTV News reported.
Additional measures target industrial competitiveness, including support for the automotive, chemicals and semiconductor sectors, an expanded Deutschlandfonds investment vehicle, and an 8% cut to federal staffing. Economists offered mixed reviews: Deutsche Bank's Marion Muehlberger called it one of Germany's "biggest reform packages in decades," per news.com.au, while DIW president Marcel Fratzscher described it as more symbolic than substantive.
International context
Germany's move stands apart from the direction other governments are taking on sick leave. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers responded to the German changes by pledging his government would keep defending existing entitlements, saying workers should not have to sacrifice pay to take a sick day, according to news.com.au.
Australia's Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth, said there was "no intention of changing the current personal leave entitlement settings," per news.com.au. Australia is separately reviewing whether to expand leave entitlements through a parliamentary inquiry into its National Employment Standards.
