In Germany, if you are too sick or injured to work, you take a sick day. This guide explains how sick leave works.
It’s okay to take sick days
On average, German employees take 20 sick days per year.1 You can take as many sick days as you need. You can also take sick days when your children are sick.
During your probation period, your employer can fire you without a reason. You can take sick days, but if you take too many, you could get fired.
After your probation period, your employer can’t punish you because you take sick days. If you take more than 30 sick days per year, you could get fired.2 To fire you, your employer must prove that you will not get better, that it’s bad for the company, and that there are no other options (like a transfer or reduced hours).3
If you take sick days when you are not sick, you can get fired.4 For example, if you say that are too sick to work, but you go clubbing, you can get fired.5
What to do when you are sick
1. Tell your team
Tell your employer and your team that you are sick as soon as you can.6 Each team has different rules for this. Usually, you just need to call, email or message your manager.
2. Get a sick note from a doctor
Most employers ask for a sick note if you are sick for more than 3 days. Some ask for a sick note on the first day that you are sick.7 In the first month of your probation period, get a sick note on the first day.8
You get a sick note from a Hausarzt. You can get it in person, with a phone call, or with a video call. You can use an app like TeleClinic or Doktor.de instead of visiting a doctor. It’s faster and easier.
English-speaking doctors in Berlin
You can also get a sick note for stress, depression, burnout, lack of sleep, and other mental health reasons.9
If you have public health insurance, the doctor visit is free. If you have private or expat health insurance, the cost depends on what your insurance covers, and on your deductible. A short doctor visit without insurance costs around €60.31
3. Send the sick note to your employer
Since 2023, you don’t need to give a sick note to your employer. Your employer can get a digital sick note from your health insurer.26
4. Get better
If you have a sick note, you can go on sick leave.10 Your employer can’t force you to work.
When you are on sick leave, you do not have to do any work. You don’t have to join meetings, answer emails, or be online. Your employer must leave you alone, except if they have urgent questions.11 Your job is to recover.
You don’t have to stay at home. You can do things that don’t prevent your recovery.17 For example, if you broke your arm, you can’t work but you can still go to the cinema. If you have depression or burnout, you can travel or work on personal projects.
You still get paid when you are sick
The first 6 weeks
For the first 42 days of your sick leave, your employer pays your full salary.12 You get paid for the days that you are supposed to work.12
If you do something really dangerous and you get hurt, you get unpaid sick leave.13 For example, you don’t get paid sick leave for kickboxing, motorcycle racing or drunk driving injuries.
You don’t get paid sick leave for tattoos or plastic surgery.
The next 78 weeks
After 6 weeks, your employer stops paying you. Instead, you get Krankengeld from your public health insurance. It’s 70% of your gross salary, up to €135.62 per day.14
Krankengeld calculator (in German) – Techniker Krankenkasse
Krankengeld calculator – Arbeitnow
You do not get Krankengeld if…
- You have private health insurance (you need Krankentagegeldinsurance)
- You have expat health insurance
- You have a minijob
- You have free health insurance (Familienversicherung)
- You have student health insurance27
- You are self-employed (you must pay a bit more to get Krankengeld)28
After that
You can get Krankengeld for 78 weeks every 3 years. After 6 weeks of sick pay and 78 weeks of Krankengeld, you must go to the Agentur für Arbeit, and apply for disability benefits.
Two things can happen:
- Temporary sickness: unemployment benefits
You get unemployment benefits for the disabled (Arbeitslosengeld bei Arbeitsunfähigkeit) until you get better. You will get very little money – about €835 per month.15 - Permanent disability: public pension
If you can’t work again, you get a pension for the disabled (Erwerbsminderungsrente). If you paid public pension contributions for less than 60 months, you can’t get a pension.16
If you have a mortgage, or if your family depends on you, get disability insurance. It gives you an income if you are too sick or disabled to work.
Sick leave for parents
You can leave work to care for a sick child under 12 years old. Your employer can’t refuse to let you take time off.37 Usually, you don’t get paid during that time; it depends on your work contract.39
With public health insurance
If you have public health insurance, you get Kinderkrankengeldwhile you are not working. It pays 90% your salary, up to €135.62 per day.38
You only get Kinderkrankengeld if…
- Your child is under 12 years old35
- and you get unpaid leave from your employer
- and you apply for it
Each parent can get 15 days of Kinderkrankengeld per child per year. They can get up to 35 days in total. Single parents get twice as many days of Kinderkrankengeld.34
| Number of children | Paid leave | Paid leave for single parents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 child | 15 days per parent | 30 days |
| 2 children | 30 days per parent | 60 days |
| 3 or more children | 35 days per parent | 70 days |
To get Kinderkrankengeld, you must…
- Get a Kinderkrankenschein
It’s a type of sick note. Get it from your Hausarzt. You can get it in person or by phone.36 - Fill the form
The Kinderkrankenschein has a form on it. Use these instructions to fill it. - Send it to your health insurer
You can usually do it online or in their app.40
With private health insurance
Each policy is different. Some private health insurances give you an income while you care for your sick child. Others pay nothing. You can decide when you choose your health insurance.
Sick leave for freelancers
If you are self-employed, you do not get paid sick leave.25 If you are too sick to work, you have no income. You must prepare for this.
How to protect yourself
- If you have public health insurance
You can pay more for Krankengeld. It costs 0.6% of your income. You get Krankengeld after 6 weeks of sick leave, but you can pay more to get it faster (Krankengeld Wahltarif).18 - If you have private health insurance
You can pay for Krankentagegeld. It pays you while you are too sick to work.
You can also get job disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung). It pays you if you are permanently unable to do your job. If you have a family or a mortgage, this is important. Around 26% of Germans have disability insurance.29 It costs around €40 per month.30
Feather and Getsafe sell disability insurance, and they speak English. Tarifcheck helps you compare options, but it’s only in German.
In your contracts, define what happens if you are too sick to finish a project in time.
Sick leave for students
If you have public health insurance, and you pay the cheaper student tariff, you do not get Krankengeld. If you are too sick to work, you have no income.
Sick leave when unemployed
If you get ALG I, your job is to look for work. If you are sick, and you can’t look for work, you must get a sick note for the Agentur für Arbeit. When you are healthy again, you must tell the Agentur für Arbeit.
While you are sick, you keep getting unemployment benefits for the first 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, you get Krankengeld from your public health insurance.32
How unemployment benefits work
Other scenarios
If you are sick while on vacation
If you are on vacation, you can still get sick leave. The days you are on sick leave do not count as vacations.19 For example, if you take a 10-day vacation, and you are sick for 4 days during the vacation, you only use 6 vacation days.
Your vacation ends and your sick leave starts when you get a sick note from the doctor. If you are sick during your vacation, get a sick note as soon as you can.
If you have a hangover
If you have a hangover, you can take an unpaid sick day.20 You don’t get paid because the hangover is your fault.21 Since you don’t need to explain why you are sick, you usually get a paid sick day.22
Missing work because of a hangover looks really bad. If it happens often, you can get fired.23 If you go to work while you are not sober, you can get fired.24
During your notice period
If you quit or lose your job, and you are in your notice period, you can still take sick days. You still get paid while on sick leave.33
Sources and footnotes
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DAK (July 2026), dw.com (July 2026), destatis.de ⤴
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§ 167 SGB IX (May 2026) ⤴
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Personal experience (September 2025) ⤴
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Arbeitsagentur (December 2025) ⤴
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hammer-rechtsanwaelte.de (June 2024) ⤴
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TK (July 2026), § 45 Abs. 2a SGB V ⤴
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kvberlin.de (2023), Techniker Krankenkasse (July 2026) ⤴
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Techniker Krankenkasse (July 2026) ⤴
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bundesgesundheitsministerium.de (July 2026), AOK (July 2026), § 45 Abs. 2 SGB V ⤴
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kindergesundheit-info.de (July 2026) ⤴
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Techniker Krankenkasse (July 2026) ⤴