The Techniker Krankenkasse reports the lowest sick leave in May in ten years. In the first phase of the corona pandemic, the value had risen sharply. There are numerous reasons for the recent development.
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), fewer employees reported sick in May than in any May in the past ten years. According to this, the proportion of employees on sick leave was 3.35 percent, as an evaluation of the fund shows that is available to the dpa news agency.
In 2010, the share was 3.39 percent in May. The lowest May sickness rate since the beginning of the evaluations was measured according to the largest health insurance fund in Germany in 2006 at 2.92 percent. More than ten million people are insured with the TK.
Decline since April
In March, the sickness rate had reached 6.88 percent, the highest level in 20 years, before falling to 3.99 percent in April. At that time, the increase was also explained by preventive sick leave due to the corona pandemic. TK boss Jens Baas attributes the decline since April to the end of the cold season, which is responsible for high absenteeism every year.
“On the other hand, there are certainly a number of factors: generally improved hygiene measures, more home office, fewer sports, school and commuting accidents, but also factors such as an unsafe job market situation,” Baas is quoted as saying.
“Employer fears not confirmed”
The diagnosis of Covid-19 is comparatively rare in sick leave. According to this, only 0.35 percent of the employees with sick leave were affected in May. In the previous month it was 0.64 percent.
“The numbers also show that people were very responsible with sick leave over the phone. A constant increase in incapacity for work, as feared by some employers, has not been confirmed,” said TK board member Karen Walkenhorst. From mid-March to April 20, patients with mild respiratory complaints were able to receive up to 14 days of sick leave from the doctor after consultation by phone. This was introduced as a protective measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
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