Contact During Sick Leave
May and should I contact employees while they are on sick leave?
Yes — no law bans contact during sick leave. Allowed: brief organizational coordination and honest get-well wishes. Off-limits: diagnosis questions, pressure to return, work assignments. From 42 sick days in 12 months, the BEM obligation also applies (§167 SGB IX).
Contact during sick leave: phrasing compared
| Better phrasing | Not like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| „Get well soon! Let us know if there's anything we can do for you.“ | „So when can we expect you back?“ | Care leaves recovery open-ended — the return-date question builds pressure and reverses the intended signal |
| „A quick handover question: where are the documents for Project X? One line is enough.“ | „Could you still finish the presentation? It's just a small thing.“ | A narrowly limited organizational question is legitimate — demanding work output contradicts the purpose of sick leave: recovery |
| „Without you needing to explain anything: is there something we can take off your plate organizationally?“ | „What exactly did the doctor say?“ | The diagnosis is none of the employer's business — health data is specially protected (Art. 9 GDPR), and disclosing it is solely the employee's decision |
| „Reach out whenever it suits you — there's no rush.“ | „Please stay reachable by phone in case something comes up.“ | Expecting constant availability during incapacity for work is legally risky and undermines recovery |
| „When you're back, we'll calmly discuss what you need.“ | „The team is having to cover your work right now — the sooner you're back, the better.“ | Offer support instead of guilt — pointing to the team's burden creates pressure to return and permanently damages trust |
What's Allowed During Sick Leave — and Where the Limits Are
Note: this guide refers to German employment and social law (§167 SGB IX, §618 BGB, Art. 9 GDPR, and related statutes). If you operate outside Germany, consult local employment law and your HR or legal advisor for the equivalent rules in your jurisdiction.
First, the reassurance: no law prohibits an employer from contacting an employee during sick leave. A certificate of incapacity for work is not a no-contact order — the employment relationship continues, and with it the mutual duties of consideration. On the employer's side, that includes the duty of care (§618 BGB, German Civil Code): the employer must have regard for employees' health — and every contact during sick leave must be measured against exactly that standard. It must not disturb recovery; ideally, it should support it.
Two kinds of contact are permissible. First, brief organizational coordination: handing over open tasks, questions about keys, access, or passwords, an urgent question only the affected employee can answer. Such occasions are legitimate — but only within narrow limits: brief, infrequent, with a genuine reason, and without pressure to respond. Second, a genuine gesture of care: a get-well card, a short message along the lines of 'get well soon, let us know if there's anything we can do for you.' Both show appreciation without demanding anything.
Anything that turns contact into control or leverage is impermissible or legally risky: asking about the diagnosis (health data is specially protected under Art. 9 GDPR — disclosing it is solely the employee's decision), probing the course of recovery, pressuring an earlier return, demanding work output ('just quickly check your email'), and expecting constant availability. Sick leave serves recovery — that is also the underlying principle of continued pay during illness (Continued Remuneration Act, EntgFG). Anyone who effectively keeps an employee who is unable to work still working undermines that purpose.
As a rule of thumb for practice: occasion, tone, and measure. Every contact needs a legitimate reason (organization or care — not control), a tone that demands nothing, and a measure that remains the exception. One call in the first week and a card from the team are care. Three calls a week asking for status updates are surveillance.
Tone Makes the Difference: Care, Not Control
The same phone call can land with an employee as appreciation — or as surveillance. The difference is rarely the occasion; it's almost always the tone. What matters is not how the contact was meant, but how it lands with the person who is ill: those who feel monitored withdraw — and these are exactly the employees who later tend to decline the BEM offer as well. The table above shows the typical phrasing traps: return-date questions instead of get-well wishes, work assignments dressed up as a 'small thing,' team burden used as a guilt argument.
Good phrasing has three features: it leaves the duration of recovery open, it demands neither a reply nor performance, and it makes a concrete offer of support rather than a hidden expectation. Bad phrasing can be recognized by its subtext: 'When are you coming back?' translates to 'We miss you as a worker' — not 'We miss you as a person.' Anyone unsure should test each message with a simple question: would I write this exactly the same way if I knew for certain the person would be out for another six weeks?
Sender, channel, and frequency also deserve deliberate choice. Ideally, the person with the most intact relationship of trust reaches out — that may be the direct manager, but not necessarily, for instance if that relationship is strained. Asynchronous channels (a card, a short message) take the pressure off because they don't demand an immediate response. And on frequency: one contact at the start, then sparingly — for longer illnesses, an occasional sign of life from the company is appropriate; a regular status check is not.
One point is almost always overlooked in everyday practice: whatever employees voluntarily share about their health in such conversations is health data under Art. 9 GDPR — the highest protection category in data protection law. This information does not belong in the personnel file, in a manager's notes, or on an email distribution list. If anything is recorded at all, it should be only organizational facts (e.g., handover completed, expected absence per the follow-up certificate) — never illness details or speculation about causes.
The Bridge to BEM: Contact Does Not Replace the Process
As valuable as good contact during sick leave is, it does not replace BEM. As soon as an employee has been unable to work for more than six weeks — 42 cumulative working days — within the preceding 12 months, the employer must offer a Company Integration Management process (Betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement, BEM) under §167(2) SGB IX (German Social Code, Book IX). This is a formal process with a written invitation, defined mandatory components, and documentation requirements — a friendly phone call does not fulfill this obligation, even if it pursues substantively the same goal.
Conversely, early, genuine contact can pave the way for something that lays the groundwork for BEM: a voluntary wellness conversation after the employee returns — what is traditionally called a return-to-work conversation, only with the right attitude: positive, voluntary, and without consequences. It doesn't ask 'Why were you sick?' but 'What do you need to stay healthy?' Anyone who has already signaled care rather than control during the sick leave is more likely to get a yes to this invitation. How the wellness conversation differs from formal BEM is covered in the dedicated guide on the topic.
Important for the distinction: even a successful voluntary conversation does not exempt the employer from the formal process. Once the 42-day threshold is reached, BEM under §167(2) SGB IX must additionally be offered, with all documentation requirements — the voluntary early offer shows care but replaces neither the written invitation nor the BEM file. Anyone who confuses the two will be left without the decisive evidence in a wrongful-termination lawsuit.
The good news: both reinforce each other. Employees who experienced appreciation during sick leave accept the later BEM invitation considerably more openly — BEM then works as it is meant to: an offer of support, not an instrument of control. And for documentation, the same rule applies in both worlds: record the process, never the health condition.
Related measures & topics
Key takeaways
- No law prohibits contact during sick leave — what matters is occasion, tone, and measure
- Permissible: brief organizational coordination and honest get-well wishes; off-limits: diagnosis questions, pressure to return, work assignments, expectations of availability
- The standard is the duty of care (§618 BGB): contact must not disturb recovery — it should support it
- Health information volunteered in conversation is Art. 9 GDPR data — none of it belongs in the personnel file or meeting notes
- From 42 sick days within 12 months, no phone call replaces the formal BEM offer under §167(2) SGB IX
Frequently asked questions
May I call an employee while they are on sick leave?+
Yes — there is no statutory ban on contact. Brief organizational coordination with a genuine reason (handovers, access, urgent questions) and honest get-well wishes are permissible. What matters is occasion, tone, and measure: no pressure to respond, no status checks, contact remains the exception.
Does a sick employee have to be reachable?+
The employer may not expect constant availability during incapacity for work — sick leave serves recovery. Narrowly limited, urgent organizational questions are common and legitimate; no obligation to answer the phone continuously or keep working follows from that. Anyone who doesn't reply immediately is not violating any duty.
May I ask what's wrong with the employee?+
No. The diagnosis is none of the employer's business — health data is one of the specially protected categories of data (Art. 9 GDPR), and disclosing it is solely the employee's decision. If someone volunteers details, these must not be entered into the personnel file or into meeting notes.
Are get-well wishes or a card from the team okay?+
Yes — that's the best form of contact. A card or short message ('get well soon, let us know if there's anything we can do') shows appreciation without demanding anything. Important: don't attach return-date questions and don't expect a reply. Asynchronous channels take the pressure off.
At what point does voluntary contact become a legal obligation?+
Once an employee has accumulated 42 working days of incapacity for work within the preceding 12 months, the employer must offer BEM (§167(2) SGB IX) — formally, in writing, and documented. Friendly contact or a voluntary wellness conversation do not replace this process; but they do make it considerably easier for the employee to accept the BEM invitation.
Keep an Eye on Absences Before Contact Becomes an Obligation
EasyBGM automatically monitors the 42-day threshold daily, reminds you in time about the BEM offer, and documents every step traceably — separate from the personnel file.
Sources
- §618 BGB (German Civil Code) — Duty of Protective Measures (Employer's Duty of Care) ↗
- §167(2) SGB IX — Company Integration Management (Betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement) ↗
- Continued Remuneration Act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz, EntgFG) — Continued Pay During Illness ↗
- Art. 9 GDPR — Processing of Special Categories of Personal Data (Health Data) ↗
- BMAS — BEM Guidance Manual ↗
- BAuA — BEM Guide for Employers ↗
Last updated: 2026-07-07. This guide refers to German law (§ 167 SGB IX) and is not legal advice — have your specific case reviewed by a professional.