It’s not winter yet and yet many people are already on sick leave. What could be behind it and what measures companies are now taking.
Hauke Evers doesn’t like to talk about the new bonus. The commercial manager of the Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft (KVG) is afraid that everything will be misreceived and criticized. But the KVG was faced with a major problem at the end of last year. On some days almost a fifth of the employees were on sick leave. In order to continue to ensure bus traffic, Evers had to act. The KVG’s solution: Since this year, it has been paying employees more salary if they take less sick leave.
The Kiel transport company is not alone with the problem.
Germans are calling in sick more and more frequently. Although sick leave fluctuates with the season, in recent years absences from work have remained at a high level even in summer. After evaluating its insured data, the health insurance company DAK-Gesundheit announced that almost a third of those in employment (30.5 percent) was on sick leave at least once in the period from July to September inclusive.
This is most often due to cough, runny nose and sore throat. The number of acute respiratory diseases in Germany is currently at a comparatively high level for the time of year. For the week of October 14th, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) assumes that there will be around 6.9 million people affected across Germany, regardless of a doctor’s visit, according to a current report.
How big the phenomenon is becomes clear from the average number of sick days. In 2007, Germans were on sick leave for 8.1 days, the lowest number since reunification. The number climbed to 11.1 days by 2021 and skyrocketed thereafter. In 2023, employees in Germany were on sick leave for an average of 15.1 working days per year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
A big challenge for Hauke Evers. In the second half of 2023, almost 20 percent of the workforce reported sick on some days. “We could no longer maintain traffic,” remembers the commercial manager. “If shifts are not filled, there is a loss of performance and there is a huge outcry when the bus doesn’t come.” He sat down with the works council and they decided at short notice to introduce an attendance bonus.
Accordingly, KVG bus drivers receive up to 250 euros gross per quarter in addition to their salary, provided they have not been sick for a single day. Employees can earn an extra 1,000 euros a year if there are no days of absence. If there are up to four cancellations in the quarter, bus drivers still receive half of the bonus, i.e. 125 euros.
The KVG was inspired by other companies. The Hochbahn pays an attendance bonus of up to 670 euros per six months, the Hamburg transport company said when asked by t-online. Tesla in Grünheide is also planning a similar project, in which minor downtimes will be rewarded with up to 1,000 euros.
The problem with such bonuses: They could lead to employees dragging themselves to work sick to get the extra money. However, Evers doesn’t think so. None of his employees would get behind the wheel while sick; the net subsidy of around 160 euros per quarter is too low, he says.
After the introduction, the KVG gave a positive assessment of the project. For the months May to August, around 500 employees received the first bonus, but more than 300 did not receive it. The long-term effects are still unclear; the bonus will initially be tested for a year. According to Evers, the current sickness rate is 11 percent, slightly above the annual average.