German Employers Bet on Health Perks to Lock in Talent as Sick-Note Overhaul Looms
Published on 07/03/2026 at 23:23 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Replacing a worker in Germany costs companies 1.5 to 2 times that person’s annual salary. That stark calculation is pushing employers to build comprehensive health benefits into their retention strategies, even as the government considers reintroducing a hard line on sick-day paperwork.
On 2 July, the coalition committee of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) announced plans to reform the Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, the official sick note. Under discussion: a requirement to submit a doctor’s certificate from the first day of illness and the abolition of the phone-based sick note that has been permitted during the pandemic era. The backdrop is a national sickness rate of 5.4 percent in 2025 – an average of 19.5 lost days per employee. Respiratory infections and musculoskeletal complaints are the top causes; mental illness diagnoses rose 6.9 percent year-on-year.
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Yet experts at the IGES Institute and DAK Gesundheit caution that no direct causal link exists between the administrative procedure for certifying sickness and the actual level of absenteeism. They instead recommend stronger workplace prevention programmes.
While lawmakers debate, insurers and employers are moving ahead with targeted health offerings. On the same day, ARAG Krankenversicherung launched a partnership with Evela Health, giving fully insured female policyholders aged 40 and over access to a digital menopause platform that includes counselling and therapy plans. Meanwhile, EGYM Wellpass expanded its fitness network by teaming up with komoot, the outdoor-navigation app. Starting July, users get free premium access for hiking, cycling and running routes – a blend of gym-based exercise and digital wellness.
SAP, the software giant, provides a benchmark for how such investments can pay off. Its employee retention rate reached 96.7 percent in 2024, with turnover at just 7.8 percent. Alongside health perks, occupational pension schemes are a cornerstone: since 2019 employers have been required to contribute a subsidy when workers convert part of their salary into retirement savings. The combination of preventive health benefits and long-term financial planning is becoming a decisive tool in employer branding.
Regionally, the trend is gathering pace. On 2 July, 35 HR professionals gathered in Mörlenbach for the 15th networking meeting organised by the Wirtschaftsförderung Bergstraße (Bergstraße Economic Development Agency). Sessions focused on building resilience through leadership and measuring employees’ capacity to work. Presentations stressed that mental health directly affects performance.
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In a separate development, five major associations representing health-trade crafts – such as opticians, hearing-aid acousticians and dental technicians – signed a new cooperation agreement covering 2027 to 2031. The alliance speaks for around 30,000 businesses employing over 190,000 people and aims to secure service quality amid demographic pressure.
Finally, the Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg (FVA) published a handbook on 2 July for Kur- und Heilwälder – spa and healing forests. It provides a framework for using woodland areas deliberately in therapy and prevention programmes, adding another piece to Germany’s expanding ecosystem of workplace health.
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