German employers spent around €85.6 billion on continued wage payments for sick employees in 2025, according to an analysis by the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW). The figure comprises €72.5 billion in gross wages and €13.1 billion in employer social security contributions.
Fifteen years of rising costs
Since 2020, the cost of continued sick pay has risen by more than €21 billion; over fifteen years, nominal spending has more than doubled. The IW points to several causes: rising wages across the economy, a growing number of employees entitled to continued pay, and the introduction of electronic sick-note recording in 2022, which researchers say produced a statistically visible increase.
The sick leave rate fell slightly in 2025, from 5.90% to 5.83%, according to industry body BKK Dachverband. Research institute WIdO, part of health insurer AOK, recorded an average of 23.3 sick days per employee, slightly below 2024 and more than a day below the 2022 peak.
Debate over mandatory doctor’s notes
Germany’s coalition government agreed in July 2026 to require a medical certificate from the first day of illness and to abolish electronic notifications of incapacity to work. IW economist Jochen Pimpertz questions whether this will meaningfully reduce absenteeism, since employers can already legally request a certificate. Labour minister Bärbel Bas has warned the measure could instead increase GP visits for minor ailments, potentially extending rather than shortening absences.
Relevance for EHS professionals
Sick-pay costs of this scale are a recurring concern worldwide for anyone responsible for occupational health policy: they reflect not only health issues, but also the effectiveness of an organisation’s prevention and absence-management policies.
Source: Fehlzeiten: Unternehmen zahlten 2025 fast 86 Milliarden Euro für erkrankte Mitarbeitende, 17 September 2026
