The general question has recently been raised of how to act in case you fall ill to the extent that you are unable to continue to work (cf.thread: Urlaub Problems).

First, there is a distinction to be drawn between informing your employer about your sickness as such and documenting the state of sickness by handing him out a doctor´s certificate.

You are obliged to inform your employer about the illness and the expected duration without undue delay, i.e. immediately. This, as said, is just an information, an act of declaration. It need, therefore, not be written. You can just pick up the phone and call your employer or the human resources section dealing with such events.

Should the period of sickness exceed three days, you have to document it to the employer. On the fourth day you have to present your employer with a proper certificate that contains all necessary particulars as required by law (i.e fact of inability to work, expected length, etc) issued by a doctor. Should the inability to work be longer than stated in the certificate, you have to get a follow up one in time.

Now, the employer must not wait for the fourth day to peruse the doctor´s certificate. He has the right to demand it earlier, even for the first day of sickness. This demand - which need not be written either and needs merely be voiced - can also precede your illness.

This is done, for example, by stating such an obligation in your employment contract. It is therefore best to have a look in one´s contract first.

Unless the illness in question and circumstances involved prevent you from acting in the above way with no fault of your own, the employer can take the legal consequences of that omission to act.


Rechtsanwalt_Jain@yahoo.de

With reference to a recent labour court decision, I would like to point out one pitfall that should be avoided.

The situation involves a working parent covered by public health insurance. During the leave her child falls ill.

If the parent herself would have fallen ill, after notifying her employer and giving proof by a doctor’s certificate, she would not exhaust her leave during the time of being unfit to work due to her illness. This is enshrined in Section 5 BUrlG

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/burlg/__9.html

The situation is different when not the parent but the child falls ill. For employees with public health insurance they can demand unpaid leave according to Section 45 SGB V during which period they are eligible for sick allowance.

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__45.html

Here comes the pitfall:

If the employee – who has been granted paid leave for a particular period- notifies her employer that her child has fallen ill, esp. by furnishing the employer with a doctor’s certificate to that effect, this is could be construed as asking for unpaid leave under the Section mentioned before. Whether this is a fair construction on part of the court given that the employee does not seek to be worse off than before notification is another question. The consequence is loss of the unpaid leave status.

In its decision the court pointed out that it is not the intention of Section 45 SGB V to protect the employee against wage loss when he takes over the care of his ill child. That is why there is no room to make up for lost vacation. The employee’s claim for subsequent extra leave making good for the days she had to look after her child was thus quashed.

The court order is accessible here:

http://www.gerichtsentscheidungen.berlin-brandenburg.de/jportal/?quelle=jlink&docid=JURE100064561&psml=sammlung.psml&max=true&bs=10

In order to avoid disadvantages with regard to wage loss from the beginning the employee on granted leave should refrain from accessing her right of getting unpaid leave according to Section 45 SGB V.


contact(at)kanzlei-jain.de

Dear Vakalat,

is there any circumstance or condition under which B1 test certificate is not required for german citizenship.sickness,family hardships e.t.c.

also if wife has german citizenship and family oes back to india then is it possible for the husband to ask for his rente contribution back (even if wife remains german)..


Please advise.