Continued payment of wages during illness

Continued payment of wages or continued payment of remuneration in the event of illness means that a legally insured employee continues to receive their full salary from their employer in the event of illness or incapacity to work.

Continued payment of wages during illness: How long is the entitlement for?

This entitlement lasts for a maximum of 6 weeks for each new illness. After these 6 weeks, you are entitled to sick pay from the health insurance fund. However, this no longer pays the full 100% of the salary, but a lower percentage.

As a general rule, every employee in a regular employment relationship subject to social insurance contributions is entitled to continued payment of wages. This includes not only full-time employees, but also part-time employees, mini-jobs, working students and seasonal workers.

Criteria that must be met

These must meet the following criteria:

• The employee has been employed by the employer for more than 4 weeks.
• The employee is unfit for work.
• The illness is not your fault.
• The illness exists during regular working hours.

When does the employer no longer have to continue to pay wages?

If the employee’s illness or accident was caused by gross negligence or intent, the employer does not have to continue to pay wages. In individual cases, this is decided by case law.

Examples of this include the following:

• A car accident due to a gross violation of traffic regulations.
• An injury occurred during a self-initiated physical altercation.
• An accident happened during a dangerous side job.

Health insurance & sick pay

If an employee is unable to work for longer than 6 weeks, the health insurance fund pays sick pay from the 7th week or from day 43. The continued payment of wages by the employer ends accordingly.

In total, insured persons can receive up to 78 weeks of sickness benefit for the same illness within 3 years. The prerequisite for this is uninterrupted incapacity to work.

It is important to note that only those with compulsory statutory insurance are automatically entitled to sickness benefit. Those with voluntary statutory or private insurance may have to take out separate sickness benefit insurance.

Equally interesting is the fact that sick pay does not have to be applied for separately. The health insurance fund itself contacts the employee and employer in good time and clarifies the next steps.