Labour market overhaul: Germany tightens sick leave rules, ends 3-day grace period
The new measures also permanently abolish the pandemic-era practice of telephone-based sick leave, which allowed patients with mild symptoms to secure a week-long medical certificate via a phone consultation.
- Jul 2, 2026,
- Updated Jul 2, 2026 6:49 PM IST
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a sweeping economic reform package on July 2 that eliminates the nation's traditional three-day grace period for employee illness, mandating a medical certificate from day one of sick leave.
The policy shift, part of a broader 34-point economic strategy aimed at boosting productivity and reducing workplace absenteeism, will apply to all public and private sector employees across Germany. Under the previous framework, workers could generally call in sick for up to three consecutive days before being legally required to present an official doctor's note, known as an Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung.
The new measures also permanently abolish the pandemic-era practice of telephone-based sick leave, which allowed patients with mild symptoms to secure a week-long medical certificate via a phone consultation.
"The fact that this is being sold as a 'breakthrough' shows only one thing: this government's complete inability to reform," countered opposition leaders, criticising the strain the mandate could place on the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
Chancellor Merz defended the stringent corporate regulations as a necessary step to reverse Germany's current economic and competitive disadvantages.
"We know that you, ladies and gentlemen — the citizens of our country — want decisions, and you don't want conflict," Merz said during a press conference at the chancellery's garden in Berlin. "And that is exactly what we have delivered. Join us; support us in carrying out the reforms that are now necessary."
The government aims to push the structural labor modifications through parliament by the end of the year, alongside broader initiatives tracking income tax relief, pension overhauls, and bureaucracy reductions.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a sweeping economic reform package on July 2 that eliminates the nation's traditional three-day grace period for employee illness, mandating a medical certificate from day one of sick leave.
The policy shift, part of a broader 34-point economic strategy aimed at boosting productivity and reducing workplace absenteeism, will apply to all public and private sector employees across Germany. Under the previous framework, workers could generally call in sick for up to three consecutive days before being legally required to present an official doctor's note, known as an Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung.
The new measures also permanently abolish the pandemic-era practice of telephone-based sick leave, which allowed patients with mild symptoms to secure a week-long medical certificate via a phone consultation.
"The fact that this is being sold as a 'breakthrough' shows only one thing: this government's complete inability to reform," countered opposition leaders, criticising the strain the mandate could place on the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
Chancellor Merz defended the stringent corporate regulations as a necessary step to reverse Germany's current economic and competitive disadvantages.
"We know that you, ladies and gentlemen — the citizens of our country — want decisions, and you don't want conflict," Merz said during a press conference at the chancellery's garden in Berlin. "And that is exactly what we have delivered. Join us; support us in carrying out the reforms that are now necessary."
The government aims to push the structural labor modifications through parliament by the end of the year, alongside broader initiatives tracking income tax relief, pension overhauls, and bureaucracy reductions.