German employees have taken, on average, more than a day of sick leave per month in the past year.
According to Fortune, now the government is proposing reducing the wages of employees who go on sick leave and incentivizing those who come to work.
Employees in Germany take, on average, 14.8 days of sick leave per year, which represents one of the highest rates of absenteeism from work in Europe.
For German companies, the total costs of sick leave amount to approximately 82 billion euros per year, as per the German Institute for Economic Research. So now Chancellor Friedrich Merz is considering a drastic solution: employees will have to bear this cost.
Meanwhile, Merz has made his views clear on the sick leave culture in Germany.
Earlier this year, he emphasized that this excess gives employers no chance, "This means almost three weeks in which people in Germany do not work due to illness," he pointed out. "Is this really necessary?"
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) proposes reducing employees' salaries from the first day of sick leave declaration. In return, those who take 5 days or less would receive a bonus.
The goal is to encourage employees with minor ailments, such as a cold, to come to work instead of staying home.
