sick note - High sickness quotas among employees in Rhineland-Palatinate
TK- and DAK-insured employees in Rheinland-Pfalz had on average more than two weeks of absences due to illness in the first half of 2024. The Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) reported around ten missed days per thousand employees, and the DAK reported eleven. This was roughly at the level of the previous year, with both reporting approximately 6.0 percent.
On average, 60 out of every 1,000 employees and employees in Rheinland-Pfalz were absent due to illness each day from January to December. The DAK reported the highest value in seven years in Rheinland-Pfalz based on their own data. More than half of the workforce had been sick at least once in the first six months of the year (52.3 percent).
Absences at the TK were higher than in the first half of 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. The TK reported that employees had missed a statistically significant ten days of work on average. "For comparison: In the first half of 2020, absences with an average of 8.5 days per employee in the state were still significantly lower," TK spokesperson Christina Crook reported.
Respiratory infections, such as colds or the flu (2.6 missed days), were the most common reason for reporting sick to the TK. This was slightly above the national average (2.3) and just above the previous year's level (2.7).
The second most common diagnosis was in the so-called psychological category (1.8). This was followed by muscle and skeletal issues, such as back pain (1.5 missed days). Both were at the national level.
Mental health issues were again a significant cause of absences. Respiratory infections and muscle-skeletal problems, such as back pain, were particularly common among DAK insured individuals with 196 and 193 missed days per 100 insured individuals, respectively. Injuries followed in fourth place with 107 missed days.
Interestingly, the diagnosis group in which coronavirus infections are recorded showed significantly fewer absences than in the previous year's first half, with 40 instead of 63 missed days per 100 insured individuals, according to DAK spokesperson Daniel Caroppo.
The heads of the DAK-Gesundheit and TK in Rheinland-Pfalz urged employers to prioritize occupational health protection.
"It is clear that it is in the interest of businesses to pay increased attention to the health protection of their employees," said the DAK-Gesundheit Landeschef Rainer Lange, looking at the companies. "The high sick leave rate clearly shows how closely health is linked to the topics of work and economic success."
TK Landesvertretungsleiter Jörn Simon said: "Due to demographic developments, the workload and the share of older employees will continue to increase." Therefore, measures for occupational health promotion for employers will be even more important if it is a matter of preserving the health of their employees for as long as possible.
Data source of the evaluations
For the analysis, the Berlin IGES Institute evaluated the data of approximately 149,000 employed DAK insured persons in Rhineland-Palatinate. In total, DAK has 330,000 insured persons in Rhineland-Palatinate. Other insurances like AOK, Techniker, and Barmer have not released the numbers yet.
The TK evaluated the sick notes of the 5.7 million insured persons in Germany as a whole, of whom 258,000 are from Rhineland-Palatinate. This includes socially insured employees and recipients of unemployment benefits.
- Employees in Mainz, being part of Rheinland-Pfalz, also experienced an elevated health status issue, with an average of over two weeks of absences due to illness in the first half of 2024.
- The German Press Agency reported that mental health issues were a significant cause of absences, particularly prevalent among DAK-insured individuals in Rheinland-Pfalz.
- According to the DAK, more than 60 out of every 1,000 employees in Rheinland-Pfalz required a Medical certificate for an 'Absent day' on average per day during the first half of 2024.
- As per TK's report, muscles and skeletal issues, including back pain, were the third most common reason for employees in Mainz to miss work, following respiratory infections and psychological disorders.
- The Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) mentioned that diseases related to cold symptoms, such as colds or the flu, accounted for approximately 2.6 missed days per employee in Mainz, slightly above the national average.
- In the context of the high sick leave rate, DAK-Gesundheit Landeschef Rainer Lange emphasized the importance of employers prioritizing occupational health protection in Mainz, stating that health is closely linked to topics of work and economic success.
- TK Landesvertretungsleiter Jörn Simon suggested that with demographic developments leading to increased workload and the share of older employees, measures for occupational health promotion would become even more crucial in Mainz to preserve the health of employees for as long as possible.
