In Germany's faltering economy, the sharp rise in sick leave among workers has become a major concern for business leaders. For Marcus Lentz, a private detective, this is a godsend. Rising sick leave rates may be bad news for German companies at a time the economy is already ailingHe is seeing a record number of requests from firms for his agency to check up on employees suspected of calling in sick when they are actually fit to work.
From auto titans to fertiliser producers, companies are ringing the alarm about the impact of high rates of sick leave on Europe's biggest economy. The association calculated that higher rates of absenteeism at work due to illness shaved 0.8% off Germany's output in 2023Workers in Germany on average took 15.1 days of sick leave last year, up from 11.1 days in 2021, according to federal statistics agency Destatis.
Critics say a system of allowing patients with mild symptoms to get sick notes from their doctor over the phone is providing employees who could work an easy way to take days offSome industry groups are calling for the system, first introduced during the Covid pandemic, to be abolished.Detective Lentz said in many cases where people are pretending to be sick for long periods, they are doing work on the side.