Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has announced that Germany will soon relax the rules when it comes to what parents are required to do to claim sick child pay (Kinderkrankengeld). 

Parents will only need a sick note after four days

Current German law stipulates that if your child is unwell and you have to take time off work to care for them, you have to provide your employer with your child’s sick note from the first day of their illness in order to claim Kinderkankengeld. Kinderkrankengeld is paid by statutory health insurance providers and covers up to 90 percent of your lost net earnings while you care for your child.

Now, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has announced that Germany is set to relax the rules when it comes to what parents have to do to claim the support money. "Parents will no longer have to run to the doctor on the first day the child is sick in order to claim Kinderkrankengeld," Lauterbach told Bild am Sonntag. Instead, parents will only be required to provide their employer with a sick note from the fourth day that their child has to stay home sick. 

Lauterbach has not yet announced a specific date from which the new rules will apply but told the tabloid that it will likely be implemented within the cold season of this winter.

Parents can soon take more paid days to care for unwell children

Lauterbach’s new rules aren’t the only thing that is changing around the Kinderkrankengeld support money. October 19 also saw the Bundestag pass a law which means parents will soon be able to claim Kinderkrankengeld for longer.

Previously, each parent was limited to claiming 10 days of Kinderkrankengeld per child, but from 2024, 15 days per child and per parent can be taken, meaning a total of 30 days for two parents or an adult who is a single parent. The rules around who can claim Kinderkrankengeld will remain the same; anyone who has children aged 12 years or younger or older children who are disabled.

Though the change should be applicable soon, the Bundesrat still has to vote on the new Kinderkrankengeld rules before they are signed into law.

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