💶 Continued pay in case of illness (EFZG)

Six weeks of full pay during incapacity for work due to illness – a special rule applies to repeated exhaustion because of the same illness.

Continued pay EFZG Recurring illness Waiting period

In brief

If you become unable to work because of illness – for example because of an exhaustion-related depressive episode or adjustment disorder – your employer continues to pay your full pay for up to six weeks (continued pay, Entgeltfortzahlung). One condition, among others, is that the employment relationship has already lasted four weeks without interruption when the incapacity for work begins. After the six weeks, the health insurer in principle steps in with sickness benefit (see separate topic page).

Exhaustion illnesses often come in waves: after sick leave you may be able to work again and later be off sick again because of the same illness. For this case a special rule on so-called recurring illness (Fortsetzungserkrankung) applies, which determines whether the six-week entitlement arises anew or not.

Step by step

Check the waiting periodThe entitlement to continued pay only arises once the employment relationship has lasted four weeks without interruption when the incapacity for work begins.
Report and prove the incapacity for workSee the topic page Sick leave for burnout for notification and proof deadlines.
Keep an eye on the six-week periodTogether with your doctor, watch whether it looks likely that the six weeks will be exceeded, so that you can prepare the transition to sickness benefit in good time.
If you are again unable to work because of the same illness, document the time gapNote how much time lay between the periods of sick leave and whether you actually worked in between – this decides on a new six-week entitlement.
Ask if it is unclear whether the diagnosis continuesAsk the treating practice whether the new incapacity for work is based on the same underlying illness – this is often not obvious, but legally decisive.

Deadlines

6 weeks

Maximum duration of continued pay by the employer per case of illness§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 1 EFZG

4 weeks

Minimum duration of the employment relationship (waiting period) for the entitlement to continued pay§ 3 Abs. 3 EFZG

6 months

Time gap without renewed incapacity for work because of the same illness, after which a new six-week entitlement arises§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 EFZG

12 months

Alternative period from the start of the first incapacity for work because of the same illness, after which a new entitlement also arises§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 EFZG

Watch out – common mistakes

These deadlines only apply if the same illness actually continues ("recurring illness"). Whether a new depressive episode or an adjustment disorder after a phase of exhaustion counts as the "same" or a "new" illness is, in each individual case, a medical assessment and can be disputed.
If a second, separate illness arises during the first illness, then according to the case law of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) this does not automatically extend the six-week period – it depends on the circumstances of the individual case.
To prove whether a recurring illness exists, the employer in principle bears the burden of presentation and proof in a dispute if he refuses continued pay.
This page only concerns the employer's duty to pay. General employment-law questions around illness and protection against dismissal can be found in the Employees module.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Conditions of entitlement (§ 3 EFZG)

Under § 3 Abs. 1 Satz 1 EFZG, employees who are unable to work through illness for which they are not at fault are entitled to continued pay by the employer for up to six weeks. Under § 3 Abs. 3 EFZG, the entitlement only arises once the employment relationship has lasted four weeks without interruption when the incapacity for work begins.

Recurring illness (§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 EFZG)

If someone is repeatedly unable to work because of the same illness, the six-week entitlement in principle arises only once per illness ("unity of the case of prevention"). Under § 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 EFZG, a new entitlement to six weeks of continued pay only arises if either (no. 1) the employee was not unable to work because of the same illness for at least six months before the renewed incapacity, or (no. 2) twelve months have already passed since the start of the first incapacity for work because of the same illness. For exhaustion illnesses, which often run in waves (e.g. recurring depressive episodes), the question of whether the "same" or a "new" illness is involved is often the decisive and at the same time the hardest question to answer – it depends on the medical concept of illness, not on the subjective perception of phases of recovery.

Relationship to sickness benefit

If continued pay ends after six weeks while the incapacity for work continues, it is replaced by sickness benefit from statutory health insurance (§§ 44 ff. SGB V, see separate topic page). The health insurer pays from the day after continued pay ends, provided uninterrupted incapacity for work has been medically established.

Who is responsible

Employer (continued pay)

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Continued pay in case of illness (EFZG)“?

Six weeks of full pay during incapacity for work due to illness – a special rule applies to repeated exhaustion because of the same illness.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

6 weeks: Maximum duration of continued pay by the employer per case of illness (§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 1 EFZG)
4 weeks: Minimum duration of the employment relationship (waiting period) for the entitlement to continued pay (§ 3 Abs. 3 EFZG)
6 months: Time gap without renewed incapacity for work because of the same illness, after which a new six-week entitlement arises (§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 EFZG)
12 months: Alternative period from the start of the first incapacity for work because of the same illness, after which a new entitlement also arises (§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 EFZG)

What should I do first?

Check the waiting period: The entitlement to continued pay only arises once the employment relationship has lasted four weeks without interruption when the incapacity for work begins.
Report and prove the incapacity for work: See the topic page Sick leave for burnout for notification and proof deadlines.
Keep an eye on the six-week period: Together with your doctor, watch whether it looks likely that the six weeks will be exceeded, so that you can prepare the transition to sickness benefit in good time.

What do I need to watch out for?

These deadlines only apply if the same illness actually continues ("recurring illness"). Whether a new depressive episode or an adjustment disorder after a phase of exhaustion counts as the "same" or a "new" illness is, in each individual case, a medical assessment and can be disputed.
If a second, separate illness arises during the first illness, then according to the case law of the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) this does not automatically extend the six-week period – it depends on the circumstances of the individual case.
To prove whether a recurring illness exists, the employer in principle bears the burden of presentation and proof in a dispute if he refuses continued pay.

Evidence

§ 3 EFZG (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court), case law on recurring illness, including 5 AZR 505/18 (bundesarbeitsgericht.de)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.