In light of rising absenteeism in Germany, employers’ association president Rainer Dulger argues that workers should not receive wages on the first day of illness.
Dulger told T‑Online that the current levels of sickness absence are a serious problem and that anything which could make abuse of sick leave harder would be helpful. He proposed a “waiting day” system: the employer would only pay wages from the second day of sickness, with the first day counted as a lost day that could be added later.
He said the main benefit of such a scheme would be that employees who are genuinely ill and absent for extended periods would still receive the same benefits as today. The model would reduce very short‑term absences and focus compensation on truly necessary downtime.
Addressing the mounting social security premiums and the gaps in statutory health insurances, Dulger also called on the federal government to cover the full health‑care costs of the roughly five million basic‑income recipients, saying that this would provide a clean financial footing. At present, the government reimburses insurers only about €140 per recipient – a sum that falls short of actual health‑care expenses. He pointed out that the missing €10 billion are shouldered by contributors today, and that a complete federal share could lead to noticeable cuts in contribution rates.