Sick leave in Germany goes digital: briefly about the main changes

If you need sick leave (Krankschreibung), then you used to have to go to the doctor and get a yellow sick leave and send one voucher to your employer and the other to your insurance company.

Since October 1, 2021 doctors have been able to send sick leave to the insurance in digital form. Until December 31, 2021, there is a transitional period when doctors can send sick leave to the insurance company in digital form or write out sick leave on paper, as before. From January 1, 2022 doctors will be required to send sick leave to the insurance company only in digital form and you will not need to send the yellow slip to the insurance company yourself.

Until the end of June 2022, you yourself are responsible for notifying your employer about sick leave. That is, you will continue to receive a yellow sick leave in paper form. From July 1, 2022, doctors will be required to notify the employer of sick leave electronically. Thus, doctors will no longer issue a paper sick leave without fail, and you will not need to notify your employer and insurance.