German workers take more than a day off work sick, every single month—so now the government is stepping in and proposing to cut their pay for it

Most people have called in sick at least once. But in Germany, workers have been taking more than one day off sick every month for the past year—and the government has had enough. Now, it’s proposing to dock workers’ wages.

German workers take an average of 14.8 sick days per year, giving the country one of the highest rates of absenteeism in Europe. For context, that is four times the UK’s sick leave rate. 

And it’s costing the country’s businesses around around €82 billion ($110 billion) a year, according to the German Institute for the Economy.

So, now Chancellor Friedrich Merz is reportedly considering a drastic solution: turning to workers to front that cost. 

German workers who take 5 or fewer days off sick will get a bonus 

Currently, the country has a very generous sick leave policy: up to 6 weeks (30 working days) fully paid for the same illness, with a doctor’s note. They can take 5 days off sick without seeing a doctor in person, before needing to get a formal extension. And if the employee gets sick again due to a different illness, the 6-week period restarts. 

The Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) proposed plans would see........

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