Sick note at the weekend in Germany: Sunday, public holidays and what works online

Ill at the weekend: your options

If you wake up on Saturday with a fever, you have three options. The first is the medical on-call service of the regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians on the nationwide number 116 117. It is available around the clock, refers you to on-call practices open at the weekend and arranges home visits if needed. There you are examined, treated and, if unfit for work, signed off. For statutorily insured patients this is free with the insurance card.

The second option is the video consultation. At OpenClinic24 you submit the request at any time of day or night. The consultation takes place as soon as a doctor is online; you receive a message with the link. If you are unfit for work, the doctor issues the private certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, AU) from the day of the consultation, for at most three calendar days, as a PDF.

The third option is to wait until Monday. For many employees with the weekend off this is legally unproblematic, as the next section shows. Medically it is only justifiable if there are no warning signs.

The emergency department is not the right route. It exists for life-threatening conditions. Anyone who goes there for a cold waits a long time and blocks resources. For genuine emergencies such as shortness of breath, chest pain or paralysis, however, always call 112.

Does the weekend count? Deadlines in calendar days

The Continued Remuneration Act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz, EntgFG) counts in calendar days, not working days. This has two consequences. First: the medical certificate must be presented by the fourth calendar day of illness at the latest (section 5(1) EntgFG). If you fall ill on Friday, Monday is the fourth calendar day and you must present the certificate on that day, unless your employer demands it earlier anyway. Second: the duration of the sick note is certified in calendar days. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays count. A certificate “until Sunday” ends on Sunday; anyone still ill on Monday needs a follow-up certificate.

Fell ill on	Notification due	Certificate by	Note
Friday	Friday before work starts	Monday (4th calendar day)	weekend counts
Saturday (day off)	Monday before work starts	Tuesday (4th calendar day)	request on Saturday avoids gaps
Saturday (working day)	Saturday before the shift	Tuesday; earlier if the company requires it	request on Saturday recommended
Sunday	Monday before work starts	Wednesday (4th calendar day)

These deadlines are statutory minimum rules. Many employment contracts, collective agreements and company instructions require the certificate from the first day. Then the weekend request is not an option but an obligation.

Video consultation at the weekend: honest about availability

We do not promise a consultation at a specific time or a round-the-clock service. What we do promise: the request is possible at any time, you see on the page whether a doctor is online right now, and you are notified by SMS and e-mail as soon as the consultation opens. Nothing is charged until after the consultation. If no consultation takes place, no costs arise.

The process at the weekend is the same as on a weekday: describe your concern, create an account, have €10.72 reserved, wait for the consultation, speak by video, retrieve certificate and invoice from your patient account. We do not charge surcharges for weekends, public holidays or nights; the GOÄ items are the same as during the week.

The video consultation is suitable for complaints that can be assessed in conversation: a cold, sore throat, cough, gastroenteritis, a migraine attack, back pain without warning signs, period pain, acute stress. It is not suitable when an examination is needed. Then the doctor refers you to the on-call service or, with warning signs, to the emergency number.

Is Monday enough? Who it applies to and who it does not

For employees with the weekend off it is usually fine to notify the employer on Monday before work starts and submit the certificate within the statutory deadline. Three groups should not wait until Monday.

First, everyone whose employer requires the certificate from the first day. This is in the employment contract, the collective agreement or an instruction after repeated absences. Second, everyone who works at weekends: care, hospitality, retail, production, security, emergency services. Here Saturday is a normal working day with a normal duty of proof. Third, everyone whose symptoms need a medical assessment regardless of the certificate: high fever, severe pain, persistent vomiting, symptoms during pregnancy or with a chronic condition.

Anyone who visits a practice on Monday can, after careful assessment, exceptionally receive backdating of up to three days there (incapacity guideline section 5(3)). That is an exception, not a rule; by video the same standard applies, and the doctor must document the reason. The weekend request makes backdating unnecessary.

Public holidays and bridging days

On public holidays the same applies as at the weekend: GP practices are closed, the on-call service on 116 117 is available, the online request is possible at any time. Public holidays count as calendar days, both for the presentation deadline and for the duration of the certificate.

A note on bridging days: labour courts regard a conspicuous accumulation of sick notes around bridging days as a circumstance that can undermine the evidential value of a certificate. This does not affect people who are genuinely ill; a documented medical assessment, as takes place in every video consultation, proves the incapacity. But it is one more reason to have symptoms assessed on the first day and not only after the public holiday.

When to go to a practice, when to call emergency services

The on-call service on 116 117 is the right address at the weekend when an examination is needed: fever for more than three days, earache, tonsils with pus, abdominal pain, injuries, persistent vomiting with signs of dehydration, symptoms during pregnancy or with chronic conditions. Follow-up certificates also belong in a practice.

Call 112 for shortness of breath, chest pain, sudden paralysis or speech disorder, impaired consciousness, seizure, heavy bleeding or fever with a stiff neck and rash. The certificate is then secondary; it is issued in the hospital.

Checklist for an ill weekend

Note your symptoms: onset, fever, medication. Decide whether there are warning signs; if so, 112 or 116 117. If not, and your employer demands the certificate early or the weekend is working time: submit the online request immediately. Notify your employer before the next shift. Send the certificate from the day of the consultation as a PDF to HR. If symptoms persist, visit a practice by the working day after the certificate expires at the latest.

As of October 2026: the federal government has announced changes to the duty of proof; as soon as a law is passed we will adjust deadlines and tables.