Sick pay: how long and how much your employer pays during illness

What is sick pay?

In the law, sick pay (Lohnfortzahlung) is called continued payment of remuneration in the event of illness (Entgeltfortzahlung im Krankheitsfall) and is governed by the Continued Remuneration Act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz, EntgFG): the employer continues to pay your remuneration even though you cannot work because you are ill. Blue-collar workers, white-collar employees and trainees are entitled (Sec. 1 (2) EntgFG), whether full-time, part-time or in a mini-job. Self-employed people and freelancers have no entitlement under the EntgFG.

Requirements: when are you entitled to sick pay?

Four requirements must be met together (Sec. 3 EntgFG):

1. Incapacity for work due to illness: The illness must be the reason why you are not working. If you would not have worked anyway, for example during unpaid leave, there is no sick pay.
2. No fault: This only means a gross breach of your own interests, for example an accident after drink-driving. A normal sports accident is usually not covered.
3. 4-week waiting period: The employment has existed for at least 4 weeks without interruption (Sec. 3 (3) EntgFG).
4. Sick notification: You report sick without delay and have your incapacity for work certified by a doctor (Sec. 5 EntgFG). If the evidence is missing, the employer may temporarily withhold payment (Sec. 7 EntgFG).

Checklist: am I entitled?

• Am I an employee or trainee? Yes / No
• Has my employment existed for more than 4 weeks? Yes / No
• Am I unable to work because of the illness, without having grossly caused it myself? Yes / No
• Have I reported sick and do I have a sick note? Yes / No

Yes four times: you are entitled; for the same illness, the rules below apply.

How long does the employer pay during illness?

For up to 6 weeks per case of illness (Sec. 3 (1) sentence 1 EntgFG), i.e. 42 calendar days including weekends and public holidays.

When the first day counts

• Ill before starting work: If you do not go to work at all, that day is the first of the 42 days.
• Ill during your shift: You are paid for the started day as a working day, and the 6 weeks begin on the next day.

Three examples:

• You wake up with a fever on Monday, 11 January 2027, and stay at home. Sick pay runs at most until Sunday, 21 February 2027.
• You work until midday on Tuesday, 2 March 2027, and are then sent home ill. The 6 weeks run from Wednesday, 3 March, until at most Tuesday, 13 April 2027.
• You start a new job on Monday, 1 February 2027, and fall ill on 15 February. The waiting period ends at the end of 28 February. From Monday, 1 March 2027, the employer pays, until at most Sunday, 11 April 2027.

Ill in the first 4 weeks of the job

In the first 4 weeks, there is no sick pay (Sec. 3 (3) EntgFG). People with statutory health insurance then usually receive sickness benefit; from the 5th week, the employer pays. Whether you may be dismissed during probation because of illness is explained in our guide on the notice period during probation.

New illness: new entitlement

If you recover and then fall ill with something else, a new 6 weeks begin, even if you were ill shortly before.

New illness during existing sick leave

If a second illness is added during sick leave, the 6 weeks are not extended. You only get a new 6 weeks if the first incapacity for work had ended before the second began.

The same illness: the 6-month and 12-month rule

With several absences because of the same illness, for example a slipped disc, the periods are added together. You only get a new full 6 weeks in two cases (Sec. 3 (1) sentence 2 EntgFG):

1. Before the new sick leave, you were not unfit for work because of this illness for at least 6 months, or
2. 12 months have passed since the start of the first incapacity for work because of this illness.

Case	Interval	New entitlement?	Example
Back condition, first sick leave 4 to 31 January 2027 (28 days), again from 3 May 2027	3-month break, not 12 months since the start	no, only the remaining 14 days	sick pay 3 to 16 May 2027, then sickness benefit
First sick leave 4 to 31 January 2027, again from 6 September 2027, healthy in between	more than 6 months without incapacity because of this illness	yes, full 6 weeks	sick pay from 6 September 2027
42 days used up by May 2027, ill again from 10 January 2028	12 months since the start on 4 January 2027 have expired	yes, full 6 weeks	sick pay from 10 January 2028
Different illness, for example a broken leg	none needed	yes, full 6 weeks	regardless of the back-related periods

When does the employer not have to pay sick pay?

There is no sick pay during the waiting period, for illness grossly caused by yourself and when the 6 weeks for the same illness have been used up. The employer may temporarily refuse payment as long as the evidence is missing (Sec. 7 EntgFG). It can also undermine the evidential value of a sick note, according to the case law of the Federal Labour Court for example if, after a dismissal, it covers exactly the remaining notice period. You then have to prove the incapacity for work in another way (BAG, judgment of 8 September 2021, 5 AZR 149/21; BAG, judgment of 13 December 2023, 5 AZR 137/23).

Table: Does the employer pay?

Situation	Sick pay?	What instead?	Legal basis
New illness	yes, up to 6 weeks	then sickness benefit	Sec. 3 (1) sentence 1 EntgFG
Same illness, break of less than 6 months and not 12 months since the start	only the remaining days of the 6 weeks	sickness benefit	Sec. 3 (1) sentence 2 EntgFG
Same illness after a break of at least 6 months or 12 months since the start	yes, new 6 weeks	then sickness benefit	Sec. 3 (1) sentence 2 no. 1 and 2 EntgFG
Ill in the first 4 weeks	no	usually sickness benefit	Sec. 3 (3) EntgFG
Self-inflicted illness	no	sickness benefit; in case of intent, a crime or an intentional offence, the health insurance fund can refuse it in full or in part	Sec. 3 (1) EntgFG, Sec. 52 (1) SGB V
Mini-job	yes, as for all employees	no sickness benefit from the mini-job, as it is exempt from health insurance	Sec. 1, 3 EntgFG, Sec. 7 (1) SGB V
Child ill	no, not under the EntgFG	possibly paid time off under Sec. 616 BGB, otherwise child sickness benefit	Sec. 45 SGB V
Accident at work, occupational disease	yes, up to 6 weeks	then injury benefit from the statutory accident insurance	Sec. 3 EntgFG, Sec. 45 SGB VII
Rehabilitation or spa treatment, approved	yes, as for illness	then benefit from the funding body	Sec. 9 EntgFG
Organ or tissue donation	yes, up to 6 weeks	employer is reimbursed by the recipient's health insurance fund	Sec. 3a EntgFG
Dismissal during the illness	until the end of the contract; for dismissal because of the illness up to 6 weeks, even after the end of the contract	then sickness benefit	Sec. 8 EntgFG

How much is sick pay?

You receive the remuneration that you would be entitled to for your regular working hours (Sec. 4 (1) EntgFG), as if you had worked. This also includes supplements that would have been payable, for example for night, Sunday or public holiday work.

It does not include additional remuneration for overtime or expenses that are only paid for costs actually incurred (Sec. 4 (1a) EntgFG). In addition:

• Piecework and other performance-related pay: What counts is the average earnings achievable during regular working hours (Sec. 4 (1a) sentence 2 EntgFG).
• Short-time work: The reduced working time counts (Sec. 4 (3) EntgFG).
• Collective agreement: It may set a different basis of calculation (Sec. 4 (4) EntgFG).
• Special payments: The employer may only reduce them if this has been agreed, and by at most a quarter of the average daily earnings per day of illness (Sec. 4a EntgFG).

Example calculation: Lea works shifts for €3,000 gross a month. For her regular night shifts she receives an average supplement of €240, and recently €180 for overtime. If she is ill for a whole month, the employer continues to pay €3,240 gross: basic salary and night supplement, but not the €180 for overtime.

Sick pay or sickness benefit: the comparison

	Sick pay	Sickness benefit
Who pays?	employer	statutory health insurance fund
From when?	from the first day of illness, after the 4-week waiting period	from the end of sick pay, i.e. usually from day 43
How long?	up to 6 weeks per case of illness	for the same illness at most 78 weeks in 3 years
How much?	100% of pay without overtime remuneration	70% of regular gross pay up to the contribution assessment ceiling, at most 90% of net pay
Legal basis	Sec. 3, 4 EntgFG	Sec. 44, 47, 48, 49 SGB V

After 6 weeks: sickness benefit from the health insurance fund

As long as your employer pays, sickness benefit is suspended (Sec. 49 (1) no. 1 SGB V). After that, the health insurance fund pays 70% of regular gross pay, at most 90% of net pay (Sec. 47 (1) SGB V). At €3,000 gross, 70% is arithmetically €2,100; if your net pay is €2,100, the cap is 90% of that, i.e. €1,890. A full month counts as 30 calendar days (Sec. 47 (1) sentence 7 SGB V). Your share of the contributions to pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance is still deducted from sickness benefit (Sec. 170 (1) no. 2 (a) SGB VI, Sec. 347 no. 5 SGB III, Sec. 59 (2) SGB XI).

For the same illness, sickness benefit is paid for at most 78 weeks within 3 years (Sec. 48 (1) SGB V). Each follow-up certificate must be issued at the latest on the next working day after the certified end date; Saturdays do not count (Sec. 46 sentence 2 SGB V). People with private insurance receive daily sickness allowance under their contract.

Your obligations: sick notification and sick note

• Report immediately: You inform your employer without delay of your incapacity for work and its expected duration (Sec. 5 (1) sentence 1 EntgFG).
• Sick note from the 4th day: If the illness lasts longer than 3 calendar days, you need the doctor's certification at the latest on the following working day, or earlier if the employer requests it (Sec. 5 (1) sentences 2 and 3 EntgFG). If it lasts longer, you need a new one.
• Electronic sick note: People with statutory health insurance no longer have to submit anything. They have their incapacity for work certified in good time, and the employer retrieves the data from the health insurance fund (Sec. 5 (1a) EntgFG, Sec. 109 SGB IV). Exceptions: mini-jobs in private households and doctors not registered with the statutory health insurance system.
• Ill abroad: Report as quickly as possible with your address at the place where you are staying; the employer bears the costs. People with statutory health insurance also inform their health insurance fund (Sec. 5 (2) EntgFG).

Employer not paying: what you can do

1. Check your payslip: Is the payment missing, are supplements missing, are the days correct?
2. Demand payment in writing: with the amount and a deadline, for example 2 weeks.
3. Observe exclusion periods: Many employment contracts and collective agreements let claims lapse after a few months. Without such a clause, the claim becomes time-barred after 3 years (Sec. 195 BGB).
4. Inform the health insurance fund: Sickness benefit is only suspended to the extent that you actually receive pay (Sec. 49 (1) no. 1 SGB V). If the health insurance fund pays, your claim against the employer passes to it to that extent (Sec. 115 SGB X).
5. File a claim: At first instance before the labour court, you can represent yourself (Sec. 11 (1) ArbGG). How proceedings there work is explained in our guide on the unfair dismissal claim.

Special cases of sick pay

Mini-job and part-time

Mini-jobbers and part-time staff have the same entitlement as full-time staff; you are paid the earnings for the working days lost. A clause that excludes mini-jobbers is invalid (Sec. 12 EntgFG).

Child ill

If your child is ill, the EntgFG does not apply. For a short time, the employer may have to pay under Sec. 616 BGB if the contract does not exclude this. Otherwise, the health insurance fund pays child sickness benefit, 90% of the lost net pay, or 100% if contributory one-off payments were received in the preceding 12 months, if the child is under 12 or disabled and dependent on help, a doctor certifies the need for care and nobody else in the household can provide it (Sec. 45 (1) and (2) SGB V). In 2026, this applies for up to 15 working days per child, 30 for single parents, in total at most 35 or 70 (Sec. 45 (2a) SGB V). After that, the wording again provides for 10 or 20 days per child (Sec. 45 (2) SGB V).

Accident at work and occupational disease

Even after an accident at work, the employer pays first for up to 6 weeks. After that, the statutory accident insurance, usually the employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft), pays injury benefit instead of sickness benefit (Sec. 45 SGB VII, Sec. 11 (5) SGB V).

Rehabilitation and spa treatment

For an approved preventive or rehabilitation measure, the rules on sick pay apply accordingly (Sec. 9 (1) EntgFG). Report the start and duration without delay and present the approval (Sec. 9 (2) EntgFG).

Ill during holiday

Days of illness during holiday that are certified by a doctor are not counted against your holiday (Sec. 9 BUrlG). What happens to outstanding holiday in case of illness and dismissal is explained in our guide on remaining holiday on dismissal.

Pregnancy

If you are ill during pregnancy, normal sick pay applies. In case of a prohibition on employment, the employer pays maternity protection pay based on the average of the last 3 months before the pregnancy (Sec. 18 MuSchG).

Dismissal during illness: what happens to sick pay?

Sick pay generally ends with the employment (Sec. 8 (2) EntgFG). If the employer dismisses you because of the incapacity for work, it continues to pay for up to 6 weeks, even beyond the end of the contract (Sec. 8 (1) sentence 1 EntgFG). If you resign yourself, payment ends with the end of the contract, except in the case of a summary resignation for a reason for which the employer is responsible (Sec. 8 (1) sentence 2 EntgFG). Who pays when is explained with an example in our guide on dismissal during sick leave, and what applies to a dismissal for operational reasons in our guide on redundancy dismissal. Even when ill, you have only 3 weeks to file a claim against the dismissal (Sec. 4 KSchG): have it reviewed in good time, at a fixed price.

For employers: reimbursement and checks

• U1 levy: For businesses that normally have no more than 30 employees, excluding trainees, the health insurance fund reimburses 80% of sick pay and employer contributions (Sec. 1 (1) AAG). The statutes may lower the rate, but not below 40% (Sec. 9 (2) no. 1 AAG). The previous year is decisive: at most 30 employees in at least 8 calendar months (Sec. 3 (1) AAG).
• Clarify previous illness: In case of repeated incapacity for work, you can ask the health insurance fund whether it is the same illness.
• Doubts about the sick note: You can request an assessment by the Medical Service (Medizinischer Dienst) via the health insurance fund (Sec. 275 (1a) sentence 3 SGB V), for example in case of conspicuously frequent or short sick notes or if they often begin at the start or end of the working week (Sec. 275 (1a) sentence 1 SGB V).
• Accident caused by a third party: The claim for damages for loss of earnings passes to you in the amount of your payments (Sec. 6 EntgFG).

Before withholding wages, written advice from our employment lawyer is worthwhile, at a fixed price.