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A discussion I had with a German couple in Verona while I was on vacation suggested that German companies don't generally give sick days and that the mandated v
by halostatue 16y ago
A discussion I had with a German couple in Verona while I was on vacation suggested that German companies don't generally give sick days and that the mandated vacation time had to be used for sick days. Was what I heard correct?
As a comparison, the American company I work for (in Canada) provides a default of two weeks vacation with two weeks PEL (Personal Emergency Leave) that can be used for doctors' appointments, etc. That's twenty days, although only ten of them can be used for vacations.
I realize that not every company in America provides sick days, but that's IMO a different issue.
- ulf 16y agoI am german also, and I never heard of people having to use vacation for sick days. You need to provide a doctors note (generally only after the third day of sickness) and then you are set. You just miss the time, but get paid and do not have to make up for anything.
- yardie 16y agoThey don't have sick days. When you are sick you are sick it could be 1 day or 6 months. They don't give sick days because the government pays for your time off. So while they may miss out on your productivity, financially, they've lost little. As an American I've encountered far too many Americans coming into work with just "a little cold" and getting the rest of the office sick. Dragging everyone else down with them because they can't afford to take time off to see a doctor and get medicated.
- ugh 16y agoThat’s not correct. Your employer has to continue paying you for up to six weeks. (You generally need a doctor’s note after three days.) If you are sick longer than that your health insurance has to pay you some of your wage, usually 70 percent of your gross wage and at most 90 percent of your net wage.
- yardie 16y agoYes, you are correct. Last time I was sick for a few days I had to bring in the doctors note, which was handed over to the bookkeeper. I assumed, wrongly, they turned it into the state to recover costs. Which is what happens when I buy things for work, travel for work, or use a hotel for work. But I think the 80/20 split is still in effect for anything longer than a few weeks.
- ulf 16y ago"They don't give sick days because the government pays for your time off." That is not true. The employer pays the salary for six weeks of sickness. After that, the health insurance provider takes over. I believe that the american sick-day-model could never work here because of unions and other employee-interest organizations. So it is not really up to the company, they have to pay you your salary and cannot take vacation time away from you because of sickness. However, ongoing sickness can be a reason to fire an employee.
- halostatue 16y agoThank you for the clarification. The situation is more complex for most high-tech employees in the U.S. in any case given short-term and long-term illness benefits.
- eru 16y ago> However, ongoing sickness can be a reason to fire an employee. Are you sure about that?
- ulf 16y agoThere are some very strict requirements, but yes, it can be a reason for termination. The requirements are things like future prognosis of the employee's health, and undoubted negative impact on the economic situaion of the employer because of the illness.
- eru 16y agoOK. But isn't there a clause, that when you already knew when you hired the guy, that you can't fire him? (Or was it the other way around, and you were barred from knowing when hiring? It's all complicated.)
- Ras_ 16y agoSix weeks... quite long compared to Finland. Here the employer has to pay full wages for 10 first days of sickness, after that the state (Social Insurance Institution) covers about 70%. Ongoing sickness is an acceptable reason to fire an employee (with similar "very strict requirements") also here.