cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/euro@feddit.online/p/1817064/germany-tightens-sick-leave-rules-medical-doctor-note-required-from-day-one-telephone-s
Germany’s Chancellor Merz:
We can no longer accept the extraordinarily high levels of sick leave in our companies.
We are abolishing sick leave by telephone and introducing the requirement to submit a medical certificate from the very first day of illness.
We know this is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford this competitive disadvantage caused by prolonged absences from work.
I think any policy made on assumptions is poor policy. There are employers that offer unlimited sick days. How could that be if people always take the maximum amount of time off? We know people feel compelled to come to work while ill. Absenteeism is hard to measure and quantify, and if it is being driven by factors like environmental hazards or actual medical illness then simply restricting paid leave is unlikely to fix the productivity problem and may actually make it worse.
So, good policy should show a) how many days off people get b) how many they actually take c) how many can be shown to be due to medical issues (seriously ill people will seek medical attention, even in America, and that can be quantified). If these basic data are lacking, then the policy has about as much a chance of succeeding as throwing darts in the dark.
I think theres a misunderstanding here. In countries where the working class is treated a bit less like slaves, employers dont “offer sick leave”. If you are sick, you are entitled to missing work and your employer cant do shit about it, rightfully so.
Yep, I’m in Germany, my sick leave is unlimited with certain conditions (subject to change 🙄):
Certificate only required if I’m out 4 consecutive days or longer
Up to 6 weeks paid in full by the employer
Indefinitely paid thereafter at 70% by insurance
Fuck Merz. How am I supposed to get a medical certificate from day 1 when my main doctor has a 1 week waiting list, my closest one is almost always booked out 3+ days in advance, and now no Telehealth? So now when I have a head cold, instead of resting and focusing on getting better so I can return to work before I need a certificate, I have to spend my morning searching for a doctor that will take on a new patient at short notice, then go and spread disease in the doctors office and on public transport? Great job.
Well now seeing as I have to find a doctor anyway I might as well make the most of it. What is usually 1-2 days is going to turn into 1-2 weeks. This is just going to put more strain on already full waiting rooms and I predict this will increase the average use Avid Amoeba posted above, thereby reducing the productivity Merz is so focused on. Fuuuuuuck this guy and everyone whose vote enabled him. My German citizenship can’t come soon enough.