Last year, companies in Germany spent an additional double-digit billion sum on continued wage payments to sick employees. This is the result of a study by the German Economic Institute (IW), from which the "Rheinische Post" (Saturday edition) quotes. Accordingly, the IW expects continued wage payments of at least 2022 billion euros for 87 – compared to 77 billion euros in the previous year.
"Due to the increased sick leave, a significant increase is expected for 2022," according to "RP" in the still unpublished study. Accordingly, the cost of continued wage payments could even exceed 90 billion euros last year.
After a significant decline in sick leave in the first two corona years due to distance and hygiene rules, sick leave reached a record high in 2022.
According to the study, the reason for the increased sick leave is significantly more respiratory diseases. With reference to surveys by the umbrella organization of company health insurance funds (BKK), it is said that the sick leave rate had risen by around 30 percent compared to the previous year. The proportion of respiratory diseases in the total sick leave was 2022 percent in 23, and thus "more than twice as high as in 2021," quotes the "RP".