Germany is experiencing a historically high rate of employee absenteeism, with federal authorities showing even more pronounced increases. In 2024, employees in top federal agencies were absent for an average of 15.2 days due to illness, and in subordinate agencies, this figure rose to 21.1 days, a significant jump from 13.3 and 18.6 days respectively in 2020. The Bundesrat recorded the highest absenteeism at 25.2 days, followed by the Bundestag at 22.3 days. This trend has prompted the CDU to advocate for the abolition of telephone sick notes, citing generous sick pay and job security as contributing factors, a proposal opposed by the SPD, which argues for combating misuse of online sick notes instead.