Overview
- Recent coverage on Friday confirmed the governing coalition stands by its plan to abolish telephone-issued sick notes and make a written Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung valid from the first day of illness.
- Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Niedersachsen and DAK‑Gesundheit warn the change will drive many more in‑person doctor visits, raise waiting times and reduce time for patient care in already stretched GP practices.
- Billing-data analyses by the Zi and Barmer covering 2020–2023 show telephone sick notes made up only about 0.8–1.2 percent of all certificates, a finding used to question how much the reform would cut overall absenteeism.
- Health Minister Nina Warken has defended the policy while proposing digital consultations and the introduction of partial sick‑leave (Teilkrankschreibung) as safeguards, and Chancellor Merz said employers may set differing rules.
- Doctors’ groups urge alternative measures such as targeted absence analysis, better workplace ergonomics and mental‑health support, saying those steps would address the causes of high sick leave without overloading practices.