Employees in Germany’s most important federal agencies are sick more often than the national average. According to data from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, published by Politico, staff in the top tier of federal institutions missed an average of 15.2 days in 2024 due to illness, whereas workers in lower‑level agencies were absent 21.1 days on average. The overall national average for the same period was 14.8 days.

The highest rates of sick leave came from the Bundesrat, with 25.2 days, followed by the Bundestag at 22.3 days. In contrast, the Federal Ministry of Energy and Climate Protection reported only 7.4 days of illness‑related absences.

Amid the high sick‑leave rates, the CDU decided at its party congress to reinstate the abolition of telephone sickness certificates. However, SPD parliamentary leader Dirk Wiese rejected the proposal.