(de-news.net) – First-day sickness certificates and more extensive social policy reforms have rekindled internal tensions within Germany’s ruling coalition, with SPD worries about unforeseen consequences, opposition criticism, and disagreements over labor market policies and pensions.
After Labor Minister Bärbel Bas of the SPD questioned a recently agreed requirement that employees obtain a medical certificate from the first day of illness, Germany’s governing coalition is facing renewed tensions over planned social-policy reforms. Although Bas reaffirmed her support for the coalition, she argued that the measure should be reevaluated, particularly because a large number of exemptions could undermine the policy’s original purpose and effectiveness.
Collectively bargained businesses that currently use alternative arrangements would be exempted under Bas’ proposal. She also believes the first-day certification requirement should be linked to stroke-prevention measures and guaranteed medical appointments, both of which depend on future health-policy legislation. Bas has said she will not advance implementation on her own because those provisions have not yet been finalized. The compromise is particularly difficult for the SPD because, while the party accepted the certification requirement as part of the broader coalition agreement, it had opposed waiting days and reductions in continuing wage payments. Bas has cautioned that if employees with minor illnesses seek certification immediately and then receive longer periods of leave, the policy could paradoxically result in longer absences rather than shorter ones.
The measure had only recently been reaffirmed by coalition leadership. The first-day certification requirement was explicitly included in a reform agenda approved by the Union and SPD parliamentary leaders at a meeting in Münster. The agenda is intended to be fully implemented by the end of the year. Matthias Miersch, the SPD’s parliamentary leader, described the agreement as a clear road map for the coalition’s work. The cabinet had also demonstrated its commitment to the broader reform program during its previous retreat at Neuhardenberg, underscoring the government’s stated intention to move ahead with the agreed agenda.
The Union parliamentary group has shown little inclination to reopen the compromise at a fundamental level. The coalition has already established a substantive direction focused on modernization, economic growth and structural social reforms, according to Marc Biadacz, its social-policy spokesperson, who pointed to the cabinet and parliamentary retreats as evidence of that course. He said the sickness-certification rules should be made sufficiently accommodating and realistic during the legislative process, but argued that the pension package should now be implemented as agreed. He also supported labor-market policies including extended non-cause-based fixed-term contracts, improved severance benefits and tax breaks for working on Sundays and holidays.
The head of the CDU’s employee wing, Dennis Radtke, responded angrily to Bas’ intervention. He argued that agreements reached jointly must also be defended jointly, even while acknowledging that not every coalition decision had been entirely satisfactory. He noted that the details of the certification system could still be addressed through legislation, but warned that the country and the government would suffer if contradictory messages continued to emerge from within the coalition. His criticism reflected the broader concern that public disagreements could weaken confidence in an already negotiated reform program.
Opposition parties have used the dispute to cast further doubt on the coalition’s credibility. Felix Banaszak, the leader of the Green Party, has consistently opposed the first-day certificate requirement, arguing that it would place additional burdens on medical practices, increase costs for the health system and signal mistrust of employees. He noted that Bas had raised her concerns almost immediately after the coalition had presented the matter as settled. Banaszak also criticized what he described as inconsistent communication within the government. In his assessment, the episode demonstrated the risks of agreements reached under pressure and then defended inconsistently by the parties that negotiated them.
Coalition’s social agenda comes under pressure
The proposal has also drawn criticism from the Left party. Luigi Pantisano, the party’s leader, said mandatory certification from the outset represented a sign of mistrust toward employees and could force sick people to visit doctors while creating unnecessary administrative burdens. He also questioned whether Bas’ criticism would lead to meaningful changes, suggesting that resistance within the SPD reflected broader opposition to elements of the coalition’s social-policy agenda.
Public-opinion data provides some support for concerns that the measure could produce unintended consequences. According to a YouGov survey commissioned by the German Social Association VdK, 21 percent of participants said they would request a longer period of sick leave than medically necessary in order to avoid returning to a doctor for a new certificate. Another 3 percent said they would prefer to take vacation time, while 14 percent said they would be more inclined to work while ill rather than obtain certification, potentially increasing the risk of workplace transmission. Sixty percent said the reform would not change their behavior.
The survey also offered little evidence of widespread fraudulent sick leave. Only 3 percent of respondents said they had previously called in sick while being perfectly well, compared with 73 percent who said they had done so only when they were clearly ill and unable to work and 21 percent who acknowledged doing so for milder illnesses. Verena Bentele, president of VdK, argued that the findings contradicted allegations of systematic abuse. Instead, she said, the results suggested that requiring medical visits on the first day of illness could encourage longer absences or presenteeism, potentially increasing pressure on workers and employers while adding to the workload of already overburdened medical practices.
Beyond sickness certification, other elements of the coalition’s social reforms are also under debate. Bas has expressed openness to a roughly five-year transition period to end the unreduced early pension available after 45 years of contributions, emphasizing the importance of reasonable expectations and giving employees time to adjust their retirement plans. She has also indicated some flexibility over the future of “mini-jobs,” particularly for students who rely on such employment while pursuing their education. These positions are currently permitted to pay up to 603 euros per month, and workers can generally choose not to make pension contributions. A government pension commission has recommended integrating mini-jobs more fully into statutory pension insurance in an effort to expand social-insurance coverage and strengthen workers’ long-term retirement security.
Because legislation is routinely changed during parliamentary deliberations, SPD lawmaker Markus Töns has argued that modifying the government’s initial reform proposals would be consistent with normal parliamentary procedure. He has also called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to adopt a more courteous tone, saying the public has at times been placed under excessive pressure by the government’s rhetoric surrounding the reforms.
Taken together, the disagreements illustrate the challenge facing a coalition that is seeking to maintain a jointly negotiated reform schedule while managing substantial differences over the consequences of its social-policy decisions. The dispute over first-day sickness certification has therefore become more than a disagreement over one administrative rule. It has developed into a broader test of the government’s ability to reconcile internal coalition compromises with competing demands for labor-market and fiscal reform, social protection and practical administration.
