- Continued Payment and Recurring Illnesses
Employees are entitled to continued payment of remuneration for up to six weeks per illness. For a recurrence of the same illness, no new entitlement arises if:
- less than six months have passed since the last occurrence of the same illness, and
- less than twelve months have passed since the first occurrence of the same illness.
Example: An employee is off work from 1 October 2025 to 12 November 2025 (six weeks). On 15 February 2026, the employee is ill again with the same illness. Since both six-month and twelve-month limits are not met, there is no new entitlement to continued payment.
Challenge: Employers cannot see diagnoses via electronic certificates, so it is often unclear whether there is a recurring illness.
Solution: Employers may ask the employee directly whether it is a recurring illness. Payment can be withheld until the employee provides this information.
II. Evidentiary Value of Medical Certificates
Medical certificates generally have high evidentiary value. Employers must show concrete facts to challenge them. However, case law has become more employer-friendly. Courts have recently recognized the evidentiary value as questionable in cases such as:
- Sick leave announced in advance (e.g., after a dispute)
- Formal errors (e.g., backdating, incorrect telemedicine procedures, overly long duration)
- Sick leave coinciding exactly with resignation or employer termination
- Sick leave immediately after "unfavourable" instructions from the employer
Each case must be considered individually. However, if there are reasonable grounds to doubt the certificate's validity, withholding payment and considering extraordinary (or, subsidiarily, ordinary) termination may be justified.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
