Sick leave is an employment right that is applied more or less uniformly across Europe, but as with any complex system, there are ambiguities, and there will also be people who take advantage of it. Until now in Germany, if you woke up one day with a fever and couldn't get out of bed, all you had to do was give notice by telephone to be granted sick leave. But that will no longer be the case.
German Chancellor Merz himself has had to appear on television to confirm that, as of today, sick leave requested by telephone is being suspended in Germany. To obtain sick leave, you will need an official medical certificate on the very day you fall ill.
The measure is harsh, and presumably does not allow for certain serious contingencies that may arise, but there is a reason for it: Merz states the following: "We know this is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford this competitive disadvantage caused by prolonged absences from work."
In Berlin alone, there are 50,000 public sector employees, who took an average of 37 days' sick leave in 2025, compared with an average of 22 days for the German population as a whole. These figures are well above those of other countries in the European economic area.
The change has sparked strong criticism at national level. Markus Blumenthal-Beier, president of the German Association of General Practitioners, described the change as "absolutely catastrophic" due to its potential to overwhelm the healthcare system, as reported by Clash Report.
Alongside these measures, other cost-cutting proposals have been put forward, such as an 8 per cent reduction in federal staff to facilitate digitalisation, and growth forecasts are also set to be revised downwards from 0.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent.