In Germany, the number of sick leave increases year after year. In 2023, employees were off work for 15 days, four days more than in 2021. And this worries businesses. The Mercedes boss even denounced absenteeism “twice as high as in other European countries“. These absences, which have an impact on activity, make some employers suspicious. To the point that some seek the services of detectives to track down fraudsters.
Marcus Lentz, who practices near Frankfurt, promises bosses who use his services a 90% success rate. That week, its teams followed twelve employees, looking for flagrante delicto. “It could be someone who is on sick leave for a herniated disc and who lays rolls of grass in their garden. Or someone who is suffering from the flu and who goes shopping all day and, evening, go to the swimming pool”he lists, ensuring that these are “real examples”. “We observe and follow people. Almost all fraudsters make a mistake.”
Among his clients, the detective includes both listed companies and SMEs with around a hundred employees. The investigations, which last three or four days, are billed from 6 to 8,000 euros and most often result in dismissal. Last year, Marcus Lentz's agency processed 800 requests, twice as many files as five years ago.
“When the economy is bad, entrepreneurs want to separate themselves from the bad sheep, estimates Marcus Lentz. They're fed up with lazy employees who treat sick leave as extra vacation time. Let's be honest, who likes to be scammed ?”
“If they don’t do anything, then one day half the staff will be sick and the company will go bankrupt.”
Marcus Lentz, detectiveat franceinfo
This increase in sick leave weighs on the German economy. Klaus Michelsen of the Association of Pharmaceutical Research Companies has done his calculations. Sick leave cost Germany 0.8 points of growth in 2023. “If we express this in euros, this represents around a loss of 30 billion euros for the entire economy, he explains. This is considerable, especially since German growth has stagnated since 2019. This is an additional factor that weighs. I can understand that companies are worried and are devising strategies to avoid sick leave.”
Since the Covid crisis, a simple phone call to the doctor can be enough to obtain a stop. A simplified procedure, which would have contributed to amplifying the phenomenon. A misconception, according to Elke Ahlers, economist at the WSI institute. He assures that abuses remain exceptional.
“I absolutely won't say that Germans tend to give in. There are certainly a few people who take advantage of the system, but the majority have real reasons. We have a shortage of workers, companies are underfunded. -staff and many employees are overworked.”
“Checking with detectives to see if people are really sick is anything but normal.”
Elke Ahlers, economistat franceinfo
Last year, Tesla, which operates an automobile factory near Berlin, also sent executives to the homes of certain employees to verify the reality of their sick leave. In response to the controversy, Elon Musk's group called the practice “completely normal”.
