Overview
- At a Jan. 16 campaign event in Bad Rappenau, Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited an average of 14.5 sick days and said the telephone sick note should be reconsidered with the SPD.
- CSU leaders and employer groups endorse tighter rules, including ending phone certifications and exploring waiting days or changes to sick‑pay.
- AOK and physicians’ associations say phone AUs account for only a small share of cases and warn that abolishing them would overload practices without curbing real illness.
- The statistical office reports 14.8 sick days in 2024, with much of the post‑2021 increase linked to the electronic sick note (eAU); DAK and ZEW estimate around 60% of the rise reflects measurement effects.
- Karl Lauterbach and Franziska Brantner urge prevention and better working conditions rather than stricter sick‑note rules, and no legislative changes have been enacted to date.