It is a common practice to give the excuse of sick leave to take leave from work. Often employees make the excuse of illness to take leave. But for countries like Germany, this sick leave has become a headache.

Germany is currently facing economic challenges. To overcome this challenge, private companies are now going to appoint detectives to find out the truth of the sick leave of the employees. Detectives are keeping an eye on the employees who have taken long leave due to illness.

The decision of German companies is being criticized

However, the companies' decision is now being criticized worldwide. It is getting a lot of reactions on social media, especially in China. One agency taking advantage of this growing demand is the Lentz Group, a private detective firm based near Frankfurt's central railway station. The agency's founder, Markus Lentz, told AFP that his company handles about 1,200 cases annually, which is double the number seen a few years ago.

GDP declines due to employee absenteeism

According to data provided by Germany's national statistical agency 'Destatis', the number of employees seeking sick leave in Germany has increased. The rate of sick leave per employee was 11.1 (days) in 2021, now it has increased to 15.1 (days). The country's GDP declined by 0.8 percent in 2023 due to employee absenteeism.

Germany's leading health insurance company TK has also confirmed this news. According to the company, employees took an average of 14.13 days of sick leave in the first nine months of 2024. According to OECD data, German employees lost 6.8 percent of working hours due to illness in 2023. This ratio is higher than other European countries such as France, Italy and Spain.

Leave is being taken by showing medical certificate

Experts are of the opinion that there has been a significant increase in sick leave after the policy of submitting medical certificates was relaxed during the Corona epidemic. With the new policy, medical certificates are also available over the phone for employees to take sick leave even if they have simple symptoms. This system was established for the convenience of the people during the epidemic. But now its misuse has increased and the amount of leaves taken has also increased drastically.