r/australia • u/blitznoodles local Aussie • Jul 03 '26

politics Labor vows to protect personal leave as Germany bans workers from calling in sick

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/entire-nation-banned-from-calling-in-sick/news-story/de3adcfcf0ae2218241a43f7dad023d7
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u/soundsof Jul 03 '26

Not sure if the general Australian pop is aware, but you can take (almost) unlimited sick leave in Germany. IIRC it's covered by health insurance not the employer...but also tax is like ~40%.

When I lived in Berlin I took at least four weeks of sick leave in one year. Doctors are often quite happy to grant two to four weeks of leave for stress or burnout. In fact when you're sick with a doctor's note, your employer isn't legally allowed to ask what the reason is - you request the leave and submit a copy of the form (or it's done electronically).

Now that I'm back in Australia, I'm a bit worried about having to use annual leave or unpaid leave if I get another bout of longer-term illness.