Sick notes: Are Germans really sick too often?

Fact check

Germans sick too often? That’s what a new European comparison says

The political reform debate revolves around absenteeism at work. A study shows: The picture that statistics paint can be misleading.

The German economy should grow again and employees should make their contribution. From the point of view of Federal Government This also includes reducing the number of sick days. Because it is “too high,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) when presenting the reform package, which, among other things, Mandatory certificate of incapacity for work from the first day of illness as well as the abolition of telephone sick leave.

But do people in Germany actually take sick leave that often? How do German citizens compare to other Europeans? The Institute for Health and Social Research (IGES) asked this question in 2025 on behalf of the health insurance company DAK examined. However, a comparison is more difficult than expected.

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According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Germany is at the top with 24.9 registered days of absence in 2022, followed by Czech Republic (19.2 days), Norway (18.8 days) and Luxembourg (18.6 days of absence). Stand at the bottom of the table Portugal (8.5 days), Great Britain (5.7 days) and Turkey (3.2 days). However, according to the IGES study, the numbers are not suitable for a system comparison.

This is because the OECD obtains its data from different national sources. One problem: The registered absences are influenced by national rules on how incapacity for work is precisely measured. In addition to Estonia, Latvia and Poland Germany is one of the few European countries which records absences very precisely using a legally mandatory electronic reporting procedure (eAU).. According to the Continued Payment of Wages Act, an employee in this country must submit a medical certificate no later than the fourth day of illness. The other days are not recorded.

The European Labor Force Survey is more informative. She also surveys households about times away from work. In 2024, Germany was in the upper midfield with 3.6 weeks of absence per year. At the top were Norway (5.9 weeks), Finland (5 weeks) and Spain (4.9). Ranked at the bottom Bulgaria (0.4), Greece (0,2) and Romania (0.1).

These numbers are consistent for the period in which they were collected, but there is another problem: There are different regulations on continued payment of wages in different states and therefore different perceptions of a sick day. According to IGES in Estonia, FrancePortugal, Spain and Latvia Parental leave regulations of one to three days: During this time there is no entitlement to wages or salaries.