Because of mega sickness in the countryGoodbye to illness? Total metal boss wants to overturn sick leave by telephone

In view of the high levels of sickness in companies, the president of the employers' association Gesamtmetall, Udo Dinglreiter, has suggested waiting days and other measures. “The country cannot afford sick leave rates of 20 percent,” Dinglreiter told the Rheinische Post. “We should abolish sick leave over the phone because it also helps employees if they see a doctor,” he emphasized.

He further suggested that the continued payment of wages in the event of illness be tightened: “Parentation days can be a solution. Other countries are showing the way: Here the employer only pays after one to three days. If it helps to reduce sick leave, we should look at it,” argued Dinglreiter.

According to the Gesamtmetall boss, the additional payments made by statutory health insurance patients in hospitals should also be increased for an efficient healthcare system. “The co-payment has not been increased since it was introduced in 2004. An adjustment to inflation to 15 euros per day would make sense. The co-payment can help make the healthcare system more efficient,” said Dinglreiter. In doing so, he supports the demand of the employers' associations (BDA) to increase the additional payment in hospitals from 10 to 15 euros per day.

The background to the debate is an increase in absenteeism since 2022. In 2024, according to calculations by the German Economic Institute (IW), employers paid around 82 billion euros for continued payment of wages in the event of illness. According to a study by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, absenteeism caused production losses totaling 134 billion euros in 2024. According to this, in 2024 each employee was on sick leave for an average of 20.8 days.

Sources used: bho/AFP