• Digitalization in business processes in Germany has led to challenges such as the online acquisition and submission of sick leave certificates without physician contact.
• The Higher Labor Court of Hamm ruled that a sick leave certificate obtained without a personal medical examination is insufficient and can justify an employee’s immediate.
• Businesses may want to educate supervisors and HR departments on the varying evidentiary value of sick leave certificates, especially those obtained online without physician consultation.

An employee reported sick to his employer for the period from August 19 to August 23, 2024. He purchased a paid sick leave certificate online and submitted it to the employer as proof of his inability to work. The website he used offered both a “sick leave certificate without consultation” and a “sick leave certificate with consultation.” The employee chose the “sick leave certificate without consultation,” meaning no contact with a physician took place—neither in person, by phone, nor digitally via video—in connection with issuing the certificate.

The employee merely filled out a questionnaire with information about symptoms, fever, the type of work performed, the physical intensity of the job, and questions about delayed recovery. The certificate he received and submitted visually matched the form that was used as the template for paper-based sick leave certificates before the introduction of electronic sick leave certificates (Template 1b, version...

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