Sick pay and short-time work

One such case is short-time work when your employer is forced to cut down their workforces' hours and pay. This is known as "Kurzarbeit" in German. 

Will I receive sick pay if my employer has introduced short-time work?

If your employer is on short-time work and you become ill, you will continue to receive your salary and short-time work allowance for up to 6 weeks. This applies regardless of how many hours you work under your employer's short-time working policy. 

If your illness extends beyond this period, you will receive sick pay from us. The amount you receive is based on your average income before you were written off sick.

What happens if my employer introduced short-time work whilst I am ill?

If your employer introduces short-time work during the first weeks of your illness, your continued remuneration is reduced. Your employer adjusts it to the reduced working hours. Additionally, you will receive a short-time work allowance from your employer.

From the 7th week of your illness, we pay you sick pay. The amount of sick pay you receive is not reduced due to short-time work.

What if I am not entitled to continued remuneration? How can I protect myself financially if I fall ill?

If you are employed temporarily or intermittently, you are not entitled to the continued payment of wages. This is referred to as "kurzzeitig / unständig beschäftigt" in German. If you are uncertain about your employment status, you should check your employment contract or ask your employer. In this case, you can choose from the following options to secure yourself financially:

• You can take out statutory health insurance with a sick pay entitlement.
• You can take out one of our optional sick pay plans . Please note that this information is currently only available in German.

What happens if I fall sick in the first month of starting a new job?

If you fall sick in the first month of starting a job with a new employer, you will usually not yet have been paid. In many cases, we cover the loss of earnings at the amount of sick pay.