A Sick Note From Day One

Does the day-one sick note already apply?

No, not yet in law. On 2 July 2026 the coalition committee agreed to bring the duty of proof forward to the first day of illness. That was a political agreement, not a law: to date there is neither a ministerial draft nor a cabinet decision nor a first reading in the Bundestag.

Until a law comes into force, the current rule in section 5 (1) of the German Continued Remuneration Act stands: if the incapacity for work lasts longer than three calendar days, the medical certificate has to be presented at the latest on the following working day.

Entry into force is not to be expected before 2027. Anyone reading today that the sick note is „mandatory from day 1 with immediate effect" is reading a shortened headline.

Why does my employer ask for it from day one anyway?

Because they may, and have been able to for a long time. Section 5 (1) sentence 3 of the German Continued Remuneration Act expressly allows the employer to require earlier presentation. They can put it in the employment contract, settle it in a works agreement or simply order it in an individual case.

In 2012 the Federal Labour Court held that they need no particular reason and no suspicion for this (judgment of 14 November 2012, case no. 5 AZR 886/11). So the instruction is not a vote of no confidence, even if it feels like one.

For you that means the reform may change less about your situation than the headlines suggest. If your employment contract requires the certificate from the first day, that applies today.

The exact deadlines: three calendar days, presented on the next working day →

What exactly would change with the reform?

What is currently an option for the employer would become a statutory duty for everyone. Someone whose contract has no such clause today could report off with a cold from Monday to Wednesday without a certificate. Under the planned rule they would need one on the Monday.

The same paper also agreed to abolish the telephone sick note and to tighten section 278 of the German Criminal Code, which makes issuing incorrect health certificates a criminal offence.

The video consultation is not affected by the plan. In the agreement papers it is not restricted but named as a route to cover the additional demand.

Sick notes by phone: what still applies today and which route remains →

How do you get a certificate on the first day?

The regular route is the practice: call your family doctor, ask for an urgent appointment, go there. If that works, it is the right choice, because your family doctor knows your history and reports the certificate directly to your health insurer through the electronic sick note.

If it does not work, because no appointment is free, because it is the weekend or because you do not feel up to the journey, contact with a doctor by video remains. A doctor can examine you there too, ask questions and assess you, and if incapacity for work is medically justifiable they issue the certificate. They set the duration individually during the consultation.

What applies in both cases: report sick to your employer without delay, regardless of when the certificate is available. The duty to notify under section 5 (1) sentence 1 of the Continued Remuneration Act and the duty to provide proof are two different things, and notification is the more urgent of the two.

And the providers who promise a certificate without a doctor?

They are best avoided. The Landesarbeitsgericht Hamm upheld the summary dismissal of an employee who had submitted a certificate issued solely through an online questionnaire (judgment of 5 September 2025, case no. 14 SLa 145/25). In April 2026 the Landgericht Köln held that a questionnaire does not meet the professional standard for any condition.

If the planned tightening of section 278 of the Criminal Code comes, this area will narrow further. The difference is not the technology but whether a doctor has actually seen and spoken to you.

Sick notes without a doctor: what the courts have said →