Overview
- The Koalitionsausschuss of the Union and SPD announced on Thursday, July 2, 2026, that employees will have to present a physician‑issued Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (AU) from the first day of illness and that telephone‑based sick notes will be abolished.
- The government framed the move as a response to high sickness absence and said it will tighten enforcement by increasing penalties for incorrect AUs under Paragraph 278 of the Criminal Code.
- General practitioners warn the change will massively increase patient visits and paperwork, risk longer waits and push some sick people to work while employer groups such as the BDA and Gesamtmetall welcomed the decision as a needed check on misuse.
- Key legal and administrative safeguards remain relevant: since 2021 doctors transmit AUs electronically (eAU), courts have ruled that patients must not lose Krankengeld when delays are caused by providers or insurers, and benefit rules like the Nahtlosigkeitsregelung affect what happens after Krankengeld ends.
- The announcement is at the policy stage; ministers must now draft laws and secure parliamentary passage, and the government says companies and collective agreements may still allow deviations at the employer or tariff level.