🤒 Sickness, continued pay and levies U1/U2
In brief
If your employee falls sick, you keep paying wages for up to six weeks. The entitlement arises after four weeks in the employment relationship.
The sick person must notify you without delay. If the illness lasts longer than three calendar days, they must present a medical certificate at the latest on the following working day. You may also demand the certificate earlier.
Small employers (up to 30 employees) take part in the U1 levy scheme: you pay a small contribution and get part of the continued pay reimbursed. The U2 reimburses costs for maternity and applies to all employers.
For mini-jobs, the Minijob-Zentrale handles this.
Step by step
- Receive the sick notificationRecord the prompt notification and the expected duration.
- Check the certificateAfter more than three calendar days, the medical certificate is due at the latest the next day.
- Continue paying wagesUp to six weeks, after four weeks of employment.
- Apply for reimbursementIf you take part in U1/U2, apply online via payroll program or SV-Meldeportal.
Deadlines
- If the same illness recurs, the entitlement is retained only if there were at least six months of fitness for work in between or twelve months have passed since the start of the first illness (§ 3 Abs. 1 EntgFG).
- U1 reimbursement: under § 1 Abs. 1 AAG 80 percent (employers with up to 30 employees excluding trainees); the statutes may limit it, to at least 40 percent (§ 9 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 AAG). 50, 70 and 80 percent are the optional rates in the funds' statutes. Minijob-Zentrale: U1 80 percent, U2 100 percent.
- The U1 for mini-jobs was reduced from 1.1 to 0.8 percent on 1 January 2026 (Minijob Magazin).
- The electronic sick note (eAU) and the retrieval procedure were not evaluated here.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Continued pay (EntgFG)
§ 3 Abs. 1 EntgFG: employees are entitled to continued pay by the employer in case of illness for the period of incapacity for work, up to six weeks. Under para. 3, the entitlement arises after the employment relationship has existed uninterrupted for four weeks. On the amount (§ 4 EntgFG): para. 1, loss-of-earnings principle, the pay due for the regular working time must continue to be paid (100 percent); under para. 1a, overtime pay and expense-related benefits are not included.
Notification and proof (§ 5 Abs. 1)
Incapacity for work and its expected duration must be notified without delay. If it lasts longer than three calendar days, a medical certificate must be presented at the latest on the following working day; the employer is entitled to demand it earlier.
Compensation schemes U1 and U2
Under § 1 Abs. 1 AAG, employers with as a rule no more than 30 employees (excluding trainees) take part in U1; U2 applies to all employers (§ 1 Abs. 2 AAG). Each health insurance fund sets the levy rates in its statutes; participation is determined under § 3 AAG at the start of the calendar year: what matters is whether no more than 30 employees were employed in at least eight calendar months of the previous year. Part-time staff count as 0.25 (up to 10 hours a week), 0.5 (up to 20) and 0.75 (up to 30); severely disabled persons are disregarded. These factors differ from the Kündigungsschutzgesetz (which uses 0.5 and 0.75). Under § 1 Abs. 2 AAG, U2 reimburses expenses for maternity in full, at all health insurance funds. Reimbursement applications can only be submitted online. The legal basis is the Aufwendungsausgleichsgesetz (AAG).
Mini-jobs
The Minijob-Zentrale runs the procedure for marginally employed persons; U1 0.8 percent, U2 0.22 percent (Minijob Magazin and Minijob-Zentrale). Reimbursement at the Minijob-Zentrale: U1 80 percent, U2 100 percent.
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