Overview
- The coalition has proposed ending telephone-issued sick notes and requiring a medical certificate from the first day of illness, a shift from the current rule that lets employees present a certificate from the fourth day.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz has tried to soften the message on television by saying patients would not have to visit a doctor on day one while still needing a certificate from that day, but he left how that would work without an in-person visit undefined.
- Medical bodies have strongly objected: the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung warned the change could create up to about 30 million extra visits to GP practices and AOK leadership called the reform largely symbolic with no evidence phone notes are widely abused.
- Politicians across and inside the coalition have raised concerns, with Bavaria’s Judith Gerlach and North Rhine-Westphalia’s Hendrik Wüst demanding clarification and SPD figures saying the measure must be checked for real-world effects.
- Because phone sick notes currently account for only about 0.9–1% of all certificates, critics argue the policy would add bureaucracy and patient burden without meaningfully lowering overall sick leave, leaving implementation details and next steps under review.