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‘Treated like shirkers’: German unions cry foul over Merz’s sick-note crackdown
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
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It's proof you went to the doctors because you're sick.
Which is stupid. If you have a cold or seasonal flu thing there's no reason to go to the doctors. You just rest for a day or two instead of getting everyone at work sick too.
Corporations love such notes in the US.
Inever cared. It's an HR thing. Hand me anything, or nothing at all, as long as you came back I'm happy.
In the US, I have never in my life gotten a note from the doctor. At best I message my team and say I'm working from home. At worst I message and say I'm sick and not working.
Tbf you can be sick wirh no pay docked for several weeks in germany. That's not the norm in the US
In Switzerland you need it only if you have something that prevents you from working for 3 days or more IIRC.
According to the article in DE it's similar and Merz takes offense at being able to get it from the doctor on the phone.
Yeah the three day things is a part of US work culture too. At that point there's not much i could do to protect someone.
I’ve never experienced that and I’ve never worked outside the US. I’ve only ever seen a note needed for FMLA. (Extended medical leave)
Depends on the employer. Most corporations will demand dr notes.
I once worked for a company that told me that I could have meetings all day because I had all night to finish my code. This was the same company that told me that if I even thought about a client outside of work hours that I should still charge that client. Even they didn’t require a note.
Really?
I've worked for close to a dozen enterprises (places with thousands to tens of thousands of employees) and notes were never required.
If you don't trust an emplotee, you may as well not employee them at all.
Cool