Taking sick leave after resigning! Allowed?

Many people find themselves in the situation where they want to quit their job because the workload is too high. But what if the resignation doesn’t take effect immediately and you have to observe a notice period that extends over weeks, a month or even several months? At such times, the idea of taking sick leave to wait until the end of the notice period may come up. But is this allowed? A recent court ruling gives us important insights into this topic.

The case of the assistant doctor

This case involved an assistant doctor who earned €4,500 gross per month. He decided to resign and handed in his notice on February 28, with a notice period of one month, which was to end on March 31. He continued to work for the first two weeks after his resignation until mid-March. However, he then decided to take sick leave by obtaining a certificate, the famous yellow or, more recently, pink slip, from his doctor. However, his employer doubted the authenticity of the sick note and accused him of faking the illness.

What the labor courts say

The case eventually ended up before the labor court. The company argued that the assistant doctor’s office was extremely tidy and that there were no personal items in it. In addition, the sick note ended on the very day on which the notice period expired. The labor court ruled in favor of the employee at first instance. The court found that he was entitled to his wages as he had submitted the required certificate of incapacity for work.

However, the company was not satisfied with the decision and appealed. The case then ended up before the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Regional Labor Court. In the second instance, the judges again ruled in favor of the employee. They declared that the objective probative value of the medical certificate exceeded the subjective impression of the company. It was not relevant on which day of the week the sick note ended, but what was written on the certificate itself.

Conclusion

In Germany, it is therefore permitted to take sick leave after being dismissed as long as you are actually ill and present a doctor’s certificate. However, if you deliberately take sick leave to avoid the notice period, you are committing fraud – not only against your employer, but also against your health insurance company, as it will reimburse the employer’s continued payment of wages.

Overall, this ruling shows that there is a difference between genuine illness and deliberately feigning illness and that the consequences for the latter can be severe. So you should always act honestly and fairly, even if the temptation to take sick leave to escape stress at work is great.

If you are also in the situation of wanting or needing to terminate your employment contract, you are welcome to use our termination letter for your employment contract: How to terminate your employment contract

Simply fill in online, download and send!