Attendance bonus: Companies want to reduce sickness absence

250 euros extra per season if you have not missed a day due to illness: With this offer, the transport company Kiel KVG is now trying to keep its employees working. If you don’t miss a day during the year, you can earn an extra 1,000 euros. KVG is not the first company to do this Fight high infection rates he tried to lead with an “attendance coin”. Some companies in Bremen have already tried this instrument. But success is limited.

The number of sick days in German companies and authorities has recently increased from year to year. According to data from the Techniker Krankenkasse, employees were absent from work for an average of 19.4 days last year. Cold, psychological suffering and problems with the musculoskeletal system such as back pain were the main reasons.

But turning blue is also a common phenomenon. According to a study by the health insurance company Pronova BKK, one in ten employees “often” prefers to stay at home, even though they really feel fit enough to work. This happens “sometimes” or “very rarely” for half of those surveyed. The so-called “bedside decisions” – get up or stay in bed? – companies try to influence people with their attendance bonuses.

Premium or bonus

The financial incentives come in different versions: as a real benefit per quarter or year or as a calculation factor for a bonus that may be higher or lower depending on the number of sick days. Companies in Bremen have also tried to motivate their employees with these models.

“I find such a legitimate and understandable effort,” says Cornelius Neumann-Redlin, general manager of business associations in the state of Bremen (UVLB). There are high rates of illness problem in many companiesit has to be dealt with. “If you are very sick, it is clear that you do not belong in the office or in the company,” he clarifies. But there are also several cases where people “mark sick”. “So we have to find ways find to encourage people without punishing the sick,” Neumann-Redlin insists.

There is now some experience with the premium model. However, these are rather boring: “I don’t know of any company that could permanently reduce their sickness rate with this,” says Neumann-Redlin. In some cases, absence has even increased – according to the motto: If the bonus is already gone, I can still stay at home. The head of the employer says that the structure of the benefit is difficult: it must be possible to achieve and value for the employee. In most cases, the companies stopped trying. Neumann-Redlin’s conclusion: “The bonus is not the right way.”

The attempts again failed

The unions are also aware of the discussion about the attendance bonus of several Bremen companies. “We are looking at this very seriously,” says Stefanie Gebhardt, Bremer’s managing director IG Metal. “The benefit is a band-aid that doesn’t change the causes.” If, for example, the ergonomic design of the workplace leads to back problems, you must change the conditions in the workplace – and not use bonuses to combat absence due to illness. “A bonus encourages employees to go to work sick and possibly catch their colleagues,” Gebhardt warns. She has also noticed that many companies have stopped offering an attendance bonus.

There is no legal regulation for attendance bonuses – so they must be agreed individually between the employer and the employee. The subject has already appeared in the Chamber of Labour’s legal advice – particularly when the price was not paid, for example because the child was accidentally ill. “Overall, it rarely happens in our consultations,” says Nathalie Sander, spokeswoman for the Chamber of Ladakh.

The Chamber also takes a critical view of the instrument: “If companies really want to do something for the health of their employees, there are protective measures,” Sander believes. Regular risk assessments – including those with psychological stress – provided good information on how to improve working conditions. Sport and healthy food choices as well as a good working atmosphere also promote health.

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