The two words that matter

• Krankmeldung — telling your employer you are sick. Informal, immediate, no doctor needed.
• AU (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) — the doctor's certificate that you are unfit to work. Colloquially "der gelbe Schein", today mostly electronic (eAU).

They are two separate duties with two separate deadlines. Most newcomer mistakes come from mixing them up.

The ritual, hour by hour

1. 1

   Day 1, before your shift: Krankmeldung

   day 1, morning

   Notify your employer "unverzüglich" (without undue delay, § 5 EFZG) — in practice: before your normal start time, the moment you know you cannot work. A short email or call to your manager/HR is enough: "Ich bin krank und kann heute nicht arbeiten. Ich melde mich, sobald ich mehr weiß." No diagnosis required — your illness is none of your employer's business.

2. 2

   Check your contract: when is the AU due?

   day 1–3

   By law the AU is required from day 4 of illness at the latest (§ 5 EFZG) — but your employer may demand it from day 1, and many contracts do. When in doubt, go to the doctor on day 1; a same-day telephone/video AU for mild illness is possible at many practices.

3. 3

   See the doctor, get the AU

   day 1–4

   The doctor certifies you arbeitsunfähig for a set period. Since the eAU, the practice sends the certificate electronically to your Krankenkasse, and your employer retrieves it from the Kasse — you no longer hand in the yellow slip. You still receive a paper copy for your own records: keep it.

4. 4

   Still sick? Extend BEFORE the AU expires

   as needed

   If you are not fit by the last certified day, see the doctor again for a Folgebescheinigung — ideally on the last working day of the current AU. A gap between certificates can cost you Krankengeld later.

What you get paid

Details that matter:

• The 6-week clock runs per illness. A new, unrelated illness restarts the employer-paid clock; the same illness recurring within 6 months generally does not.
• First month on a new job? Entgeltfortzahlung starts only after 4 weeks of employment (§ 3 Abs. 3 EFZG). Fall ill earlier and your Kasse pays Krankengeld from day 1 instead — another reason to pick your Kasse deliberately.
• Krankengeld is not tax-free money for nothing: your pension, unemployment and care contributions (~12 %) are deducted from it, and it counts for the Progressionsvorbehalt at tax time.
• Sick child? GKV parents get Kinderkrankengeld (paid child-sick days per parent per child per year) — one more benefit PKV families have to insure separately.

Sick during Probezeit — can they fire me?

Being sick is not a legal reason for dismissal, and dismissing someone because they exercised this right is contestable. But during the first 6 months (Probezeit / before KSchG protection) an employer can terminate with the short notice period without giving reasons at all. Practical advice: follow the ritual flawlessly — perfect form removes every pretext.

The phrases you need

• "Ich muss mich krankmelden." — I need to call in sick.
• "Ich bin arbeitsunfähig geschrieben bis Freitag." — I'm certified unfit to work until Friday.
• "Ich brauche eine Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung ab dem ersten Tag." — I need an AU from day 1 (say this at the practice if your employer demands it).
• "Ich brauche eine Folgebescheinigung." — I need a follow-on certificate.

Not yet registered with a Hausarzt who can issue the AU? Fix that this week: Your first doctor visit — and rehearse the vocabulary in the Arztpraxis learning world.