Prove new illness for continued pay

New disease must be proven for continued pay

27/10/2014

If an employee suffers, the employer pays the salary for six weeks. Thereafter, the health insurance company takes over the payments, but then no longer in full.

If the employee submits a new certificate, he can again claim the remuneration of the employer. However, this is only possible if it is a disease that is not causally related to the already reported disease, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Arbeitsrecht of the German Bar Association (DAV), citing a judgment of the Regional Labor Court Cologne (Az .: 7 SA 454/12).

In the case under negotiation, a worker initially submitted a sick report for the period from 19.08.2011 to 3.10.2011 to his employer. On 4 October 2011, he then submitted another sick leave message, on which the attending physician „corresponding certificate“ had ticked. Thus, the employee got for the period from 19/08/2012 to 30/09/2012, the continued wages in the amount of 2300.00 euros gross and from 1.-3.10.2011 the sickness benefit of his health insurance. From 4.10.2011 he wanted to then take back the wage continuation.

However, as he was unable to prove that his illness was a new disease that was not related to the first illness as a result of breaches of duty for the period from 19.08.2011 to 3.10.2011, the Regional Labor Court of Cologne followed the view the employer who denied a new illness and dismissed the employee's claim for continued pay. „The plaintiff has only communicated the illness diagnoses for the period from 4.10.2011, but weighed out to the causes of incapacity for the period 19.08.2011 to 3.10.2011. Only the indication that the attending physician on the certificate of incapacity from 4.10.2011 the box „corresponding certificate“ was ticked, was not enough,“ said the court in its verdict. (Jp)