ROUTE
Sick Pay in Germany
For the first 6 weeks of illness your employer pays 100 % of your salary, then the insurer pays Krankengeld for up to 78 weeks. The big trap: a single gap day between sick notes.
✓ Checked: 18/07/2026
⚠️ Who this covers: people in the statutory system. The first six weeks of continued pay are owed by the employer to every employee, but the sickness benefit that follows is a STATUTORY fund benefit. Privately insured people receive no Krankengeld but a daily sickness allowance — and only if they bought it as a separate tariff, with its own waiting period and amount. Self-employed people in the statutory system are likewise uncovered without an explicit election.
COSTS AND DEADLINES
What you pay for on this route
- Sickness benefitcapped at 90 % of net pay — § 47 (1) SGB V70 % of regular earnings
Deadlines you cannot miss
- Follow-up sick note: no later than the next working day after the previous one endsKrankengeld: Insurer Sick Payhard deadline
Amounts follow official fees as of each step’s verification date. Your city may charge a different rate — check the step itself.
› More about this route
Prolonged illness in Germany is paid in two stages: first the employer continues full salary for a limited period, then the health fund takes over. The second stage lasts considerably longer than the first, but its rules are stricter.
This two-step route covers both phases: continued pay from the employer with its conditions, and the fund’s benefit with how the amount and maximum duration are calculated.
The biggest trap hides in the certificates: incapacity must be certified continuously without a single day’s gap. A break in the chain can end the entitlement, and it is almost impossible to repair retrospectively. This is where money is most often lost.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Allowing a gap in the certificates. The follow-on certificate belongs before the previous one expires, not after — one day breaks the chain.
- Booking the follow-up appointment too late. Schedule it for the last valid day or earlier, never the day after.
- Not telling the fund about a change of status. Dismissal or a contract ending during illness changes the arrangement, and silence creates overpayments.
- Assuming the benefit equals your previous salary. The fund pays a share of former earnings, and that gap belongs in your budget.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
How much does the employer pay, and how much the fund?▾
The employer continues full pay for a limited period for the same illness. The fund then takes over, and its benefit is a share of previous earnings rather than one hundred percent.
Why does continuity of certificates matter so much?▾
Because entitlement against the fund attaches to continuously certified incapacity. A missing day between two certificates can break the chain, and the consequences are very hard to correct.
How long does the fund pay?▾
For the same illness the benefit is capped at a maximum duration measured within a three-year period. Other mechanisms apply once it is exhausted, and they are worth learning about early rather than in the final month.
What happens if I am dismissed while ill?▾
The fund’s payment usually continues, though the arrangement and amount can change. Report the change yourself and immediately — overpayments discovered later are reclaimed.