#sick-leave

#sick-leave

Germans enjoy some of the most generous employee illness policies in Europe, a fact which the conservative chancellor, Friedrich Merz, says is undermining efforts to kickstart the EU's biggest economy whose growth has largely stalled since 2022. At a regional campaign event last weekend, Merz said staff took an average 14.5 sick days per year too high, he said. That's nearly three weeks in which people in Germany don't work due to illness, he said.

Picture waking up with a low fever and a sore throat, sending one message that you will not be in today, then turning off your phone and going back to sleep. No doctor's note. No laptop. No guilt. In the United States, the same move can set off alarms. Many employers run points-based attendance systems or require immediate proof even for a one-day absence. A single same-day callout can cost you points, and repeat short absences can trigger discipline or termination.

When I know someone is at a doctor's appointment for a few hours, is it appropriate to ask them to use sick time? They didn't originally document it as such, and I'm sure they made up their work in other ways, but I'm struggling to find the balance between flexibility in the current situation and enforcing workplace rules. Are they getting all their work done? Are they working flex hours, so it doesn't matter if they're away from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. because they work a few extra hours later in the day or at night? Is your sense that they're on top of their work and overall working the total number of hours you'd expect in a given week? Do they put in extra time when the work requires it?

Starting July 1, 2025, Alaska employers with 15 or more employees must allow workers to accrue and use at least 56 hours of sick leave each year.