Germany Tightens Sick Pay Rules: Drop to 65% in 2027 and New Powers for Employers to Challenge Doctor's Notes

German workers face a dual squeeze on sick leave protections: statutory sick pay will fall from 70% to 65% of gross wages in 2027, while a series of recent court rulings give employers more room to reject sick notes and withhold wage continuation.

A draft bill for the Betriebsstabilitätsgesetz (BStabG), dated 16 April 2025, contains two notable changes. From 1 January 2027, health insurers may contact sick-pay recipients by phone without prior consent — a right to object only kicks in after the first contact. More significantly, the benefit rate drops from 70% to 65% of gross pay. The government points to rising absenteeism; in Switzerland, the Swiss Trade Union Federation recorded 80 million sick hours, well above pre-pandemic levels.

Courts Expand Employer Rights to Doubt Sick Notes

A medical certificate of incapacity for work (AU) no longer carries automatic weight. In 2025, the Higher Labour Court of Cologne ruled that if unusually suspicious circumstances exist, employers can refuse to continue paying wages during illness. The Heilbronn Labour Court hammered that point home on 27 March 2025, rejecting a worker’s claim. Judges cited a combination of three factors: a previously denied holiday request, a sick note that coincided precisely with the rejected leave period, and a pattern of repeat behaviour. The Federal Labour Court (BAG) had already signalled in 2024 that a temporal clustering of holiday and subsequent sick leave can justify doubts.

Cosmetic Surgery and Standby Duty: Two Contrasting Rules

Not every illness triggers pay continuation. On 26 November 2024, the Koblenz Labour Court decided that an employee who undergoes a medically unnecessary cosmetic operation has no claim to wage replacement — there is no “unavoidable illness.”

But for scheduled on-call duties, the BAG (case 6 AZR 210/22) strengthened workers’ rights: employers must continue pay for fixed standby shifts that fall through because of illness. This applies even to church-affiliated institutions such as Caritas.

Separately, under § 4a of the German Continued Remuneration Act (EFZG), employers may reduce special bonuses for each sick day by up to 25% of average daily pay. For a pharmaceutical technical assistant earning roughly €125 per day, ten sick days mean a cut of over €313.

More Rulings Reshape Dismissal Protection

Pregnancy: The BAG ruled on 3 April 2024 that a dismissal protection claim can be accepted after the usual three-week deadline if the employee only learned of her pregnancy later — provided she has medical confirmation.

Employee surveys: The Lower Saxony Labour Court on 15 January 2024 declared company-wide surveys to investigate policy violations permissible. Data protection rules do not block their use in a dismissal based on suspicion.

Data deletion: The Hamm Labour Court dismissed an employer’s damages claim on 19 February 2025 after a worker deleted email inboxes. The employer failed to prove the economic loss sufficiently.

Reference letter enforcement: On 7 May 2025, the BAG clarified that when a settlement stipulates the employer must issue a reference based on the employee’s draft, it can be enforced through fines of up to €25,000. Deviations are allowed only for compelling reasons.

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