Overview
- At a campaign event in Bad Rappenau, Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned the necessity of an average 14.5 sick days per worker and called the level too high.
- Merz singled out telephone sick notes, in place since 2021, and said the CDU/CSU will seek talks with the SPD about abolishing the option.
- CSU figures including Markus Söder urged tougher rules such as reintroducing waiting days and requiring earlier in‑person certification, citing a sharp rise in absences since phone notes began.
- The AOK counters that telephone attestations are used only in a small fraction of cases and argues the 2022 electronic certificate (eAU) has mainly driven higher recorded absences by capturing short illnesses.
- Official data show workers averaged 14.8 sick days in 2024, up 3.6 since 2021, with retail posting a 7.14% sick‑leave rate and a marked rise in mental‑health‑related days.