Overview
- Over the weekend SPD chair and Labour Minister Bärbel Bas publicly said the agreed rule requiring a medical certificate from the first day of sick leave should be reconsidered, citing practical concerns about its effects.
- Bas said the SPD had agreed 'reluctantly' to the measure to block harsher Union demands such as waiting days or cuts to continued pay, framing the attestation as part of a wider bargaining package.
- Because the Federal Labour Ministry headed by Bas is formally responsible for drafting the law, she can delay, reshape or attach conditions to the proposal during the legislative drafting stage.
- The Union insists the coalition committee agreement must be implemented while Greens and the FDP call for abandoning or replacing the rule; doctors and critics warn it could overload GP practices and encourage longer absences.
- Key details remain unresolved, including exemptions, the promised specialist appointment guarantees linked to the change, and the future of telephone sick notes, so further negotiations will determine whether the measure proceeds as planned.