cross-posted from: https://feddit.online/c/euro@feddit.online/p/1817064/germany-tightens-sick-leave-rules-medical-doctor-note-required-from-day-one-telephone-s

Germany’s Chancellor Merz:

We can no longer accept the extraordinarily high levels of sick leave in our companies.

We are abolishing sick leave by telephone and introducing the requirement to submit a medical certificate from the very first day of illness.

We know this is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford this competitive disadvantage caused by prolonged absences from work.

  • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.caEnglish
    64·
    21 days ago

    We know this is a tough decision. But we can no longer afford this competitive disadvantage caused by prolonged absences from work.

    The disadvantage:

    Country Average Weeks/Days per Year
    Finland ~4.8 weeks (~24 days)
    France ~4.1 weeks (~20.5 days)
    Portugal ~4.0 weeks (~20 days)
    Germany ~3.9 weeks (~19-20 days)
    Belgium ~3.9 weeks (~19.5 days)
    • matlag@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      32·
      21 days ago

      Neo-liberalism: as long as you’re not aligned with the lowest pay, the longest working hours, the least time off, the least benefits, you’re suffering from “competitive diadvantage”, and you need to “fix it”.

      • CosmoNova@lemmy.worldEnglish
        20·
        20 days ago

        Plus Germans have a total of 1.6 billion hours of overtime a year, half of which goes illegally unpaid.

        But sure, sick days are the real problem in our society…

    • silberwoelfin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      20 days ago

      But… but… you are looking at the wrong countries!!1!11 You are looking at (more or less) reasonable european countries, when you should be comparing with the countries Merz would like to compete with: USA, China, Japan, etc…

      [/ironie]

      • jenesaisquoi@feddit.orgEnglish
        11·
        20 days ago

        It is days taken, always. There is no illness days limit per year as is common in the USA. In Europe, if you’re ill, you’re ill, for as many days as you are ill.

        • Vincent@feddit.nlEnglish
          3·
          20 days ago

          Though at some point you’ll get put on some plan of the government and stop being a “burden” to the employer. At least, that’s in my country - I don’t think that this is necessarily aligned across the EU, let alone Europe.

      • wieson@feddit.orgEnglish
        10·
        20 days ago

        It’s about sick leave, so there’s no limit on “available” days. If you’re sick, you’re out.
        In short: days taken.

        • No_Eponym@lemmy.caEnglish
          3·
          21 days ago

          I think any policy made on assumptions is poor policy. There are employers that offer unlimited sick days. How could that be if people always take the maximum amount of time off? We know people feel compelled to come to work while ill. Absenteeism is hard to measure and quantify, and if it is being driven by factors like environmental hazards or actual medical illness then simply restricting paid leave is unlikely to fix the productivity problem and may actually make it worse.

          So, good policy should show a) how many days off people get b) how many they actually take c) how many can be shown to be due to medical issues (seriously ill people will seek medical attention, even in America, and that can be quantified). If these basic data are lacking, then the policy has about as much a chance of succeeding as throwing darts in the dark.

        • rumschlumpel@feddit.orgEnglish
          1·
          16 days ago

          That’s definitely a thing, though, even in Germany. Way too many employers are complete idiots in this topic, like why would you want someone with a contagious disease to come to work? It’s technically not legal to fire or not promote an employee or not extend their contract because of that, but good luck proving it.

          Plus unpaid overtime is demonstrably a thing, too.