Sick Leave

If your symptoms are so severe that you are unable to work at the moment for health reasons, you can report sick to your employer. This gives you time to recover, recharge your batteries and deal with your symptoms proactively. A doctor's certificate of incapacity for work must usually be submitted on the third day of illness, but regulations can be set out in individual employment contracts.From the first day of sick leave issued by a doctor, sick pay replaces your salary. This is usually paid by your employer up to and including the sixth week after the sick note.

From the seventh week to the 18th month of sick leave, the sick pay is reduced to 70% of the contributory salary and paid out by the health insurance fund. However, these sickness benefits are paid for a maximum of 78 weeks in three years, provided that the incapacity for work extends over this period.The regulations may differ for self-employed persons and short-term employees. The health insurance funds can provide clarification here.

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‍Rehabilitation

The main aim of rehabilitation, or rehab for short, is to prevent an illness from worsening and to restore the patient's ability to function as well as possible. Such measures are usually carried out by a team of different experts (e.g. neurologist, physiotherapist and psychotherapist).

There are two types of rehabilitation in the labour context:

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Medical rehabilitation

If your earning capacity is significantly jeopardised or already reduced, you may be entitled to medical rehabilitation services. Whether rehabilitation is possible should be discussed with the attending physician. Disease-related counselling centres can also help you find the ideal treatment. Medical rehabilitation is either covered by pension insurance or paid for by the health insurance fund if the rehabilitation serves to prevent the need for care.During rehabilitation, the symptoms and, if possible, the causes are treated and patients learn how best to deal with the illness themselves.‍

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Vocational rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation is not curative treatment, but rather services for participation in working life. The aim is to maintain earning capacity and/or create new career prospects. These services can either be provided by specialised clinics (e.g. parallel to medical rehabilitation), take place at the workplace or be used in the form of further training measures.The pension insurance companies provide information on whether there is an entitlement to occupational rehabilitation and how to apply for it.‍If you now want to slowly re-enter working life after a longer break, there are a number of options in addition to vocational rehabilitation programmes.

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If you now want to slowly return to working life after a long break, in addition to vocational rehabilitation benefits, there are also legal reintegration measures that you can make use of.

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Stage-by-stage reintegration (Hamburg model)

The Hamburg Model is a legally enshrined approach to helping people gradually return to work after a break of more than six weeks due to illness.

Doctors, patients and employers work together to develop a plan for returning to work. This begins with a reduced working week adapted to the patient's health, which is gradually increased to the initial level before the illness. In addition, occupational rehabilitation services can be utilised to cover the costs of necessary changes to the workplace, such as technologies adapted to fatigue.

The plan is highly individualised and usually lasts between six weeks and six months. During the reintegration period, the patient continues to receive sick pay from the health insurance fund or a transitional allowance from the pension insurance fund instead of their normal salary.The prerequisite for gradual reintegration is the doctor's determination that the patient is currently unable to fulfil their full workload, the accepted application to the pension or health insurance fund and the employer's consent.