The proportion of workers absent for long periods of time due to illness is increasing. This follows from an assessment of data on insured persons carried out by the umbrella association of health insurance companies (BKK). Accordingly, they remained Sick leave and the average disease duration remained stable over the past year. However, it has been noted that health insurance companies are increasingly having to pay sickness benefits.
In Germany, sickness benefit is paid from the 43rd day of illness and therefore primarily concerns people with long-term illnesses. It is now one of the largest expenditure items for compulsory health insurance, amounting to 21.6 billion euros, reports BKK. In 2025, more than a quarter of all days absent were due to sick leave. Over the past ten years, the number of sick days has increased by 24.4 percent.
Two diseases as driving forces
The most common reasons for receiving sick leave are mental illness and musculoskeletal problems. Although mental illness accounted for only 5.4 percent of all sick leave, it lasted on average more than five weeks, and the trend is growing.
“It is not short-term colds that place a financial burden on the healthcare system,” said association board member Ann-Katrin Klemm. What is needed is a serious debate about strategies for preventing mental illness – and not just in the world of work.
Coalition wants to tighten sick leave rules
The Black-Red Coalition announced a few days ago that it wants to postpone the obligation to present a certificate of incapacity for work to the first day of illness and abolish the ability to take sick leave by phone. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) justified the plans by saying sick leave should be reduced.
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