Overview
- At a campaign event, Chancellor Friedrich Merz cited an average of about 14.5 sick days per employee and called for ending telephone sick notes introduced in 2021.
- CSU general secretary Martin Huber urged the government to enact this year the coalition’s plan to allow a weekly instead of a daily working-time cap.
- SPD labor chair Bernd Rützel said flexibility must come with safeguards, including no coercion to work longer, preserved breaks, electronic time recording and full payment for every minute.
- AOK and the Federal Statistical Office said the 2022 electronic sick-note system likely drove a fuller capture of short absences, while phone certifications were used only in a minority of cases.
- Saxony’s premier Michael Kretschmer backed more flexibility, as unions and left leaders warned of health risks, and no legislative changes have been enacted so far.