Sick leave in Germany: decline and European differences in view!

Sick leave in Germany: decline and European differences in view!

Berlin, Deutschland - The regulations related to sick leave within the EU show significant differences that are increasingly focusing on. As Oe24.at , the first day in sick leave is not paid in several European countries, including Estonia, France and Spain. This has led to demands, in particular on the part of the Allianz and the WKO, to change the existing system in Austria, where most employees receive wages from the first day. The coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS plans to address this topic as part of measures to control measures.

sick leave in Germany in international comparison

In Germany, sick leave is in the upper midfield compared to other EU countries. According to the IGES Institute, which analyzed data from over 2.4 million DAK patients, Germany experienced a slight decline in sick leave to 5.4 percent in 2024, which corresponds to 54 out of 1,000 employment. Interestingly, the high number of paid sick days in Germany - 24.9 days in 2022 - can be explained by a strict registration system that is unique in international comparison. In the OECD statistics, however, restrictions on the comparability of the data are also shown, such as different survey practices in the different countries, which can distort the numbers.

Influence of continued payment on the work downtime

is fascinating that the type of continued payment apparently has no direct influence on the real downtime due to illness. Despite a 100 percent continuation in Luxembourg, there was only a minimal working time of 3.2 percent. Denmark and Austria, which have similar regulations, also show low default values. In contrast, Slovenia has a higher sick leave of 9.2 percent with limited payments. This shows that factors such as the health system and the type of work culture are likely to play a greater role than continued wages itself, as can be seen from the data of the OECD.