Germany: incapacity for work certificates go digital

Germany’s Federal Cabinet meeting on 18 September adopted draft legislation on ‘lightening the bureaucracy’ facing businesses (Gesetzentwurf zur Bürokratieentlastung III). From among the announced measures, which will in principle allow economic agents secure annual savings of close to €1.5 billion by simplifying several existing procedures, features the digitalization of the Incapacity for Work certificate, the document that testifies to an employer as to an employee’s temporary inability to work and as such triggers health insurance financial cover. With the adoption of this draft legislation that will doubtless easily pass through the Bundestag vote, going forward doctors will be sending the famous ‘Yellow Form’ (Gelber Schein) digitally to both employers and to the health insurance schemes. Employers will be digitally informed of the precise dates of employees’ health insurance scheme cover. For the Economy Minister, who brought the draft legislation, this reform to Incapacity for Work documentation represents a time and money saving move for companies and will also reduce the number of disputes currently surrounding the exact date forms are lodged (in principle within three days following the occurrence of the incapacity).