DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Career
German news & articles
Tesla criticised for normalising home visits to Berlin employees on sick leave
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

Tesla criticised for normalising home visits to Berlin employees on sick leave

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

2025 in Germany: All the changes you need to know about2025 in Germany: All the changes you need to know about
March 2024: 10 changes affecting expats in GermanyMarch 2024: 10 changes affecting expats in Germany
February 2024: 14 changes affecting expats in GermanyFebruary 2024: 14 changes affecting expats in Germany
2024 in Germany: All of the changes you need to know about2024 in Germany: All of the changes you need to know about
June 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in GermanyJune 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in Germany
November 2024: 10 changes affecting expats in GermanyNovember 2024: 10 changes affecting expats in Germany
Do you need to speak German to get a high-paid tech job in Berlin?Do you need to speak German to get a high-paid tech job in Berlin?
Nationwide healthcare strikes to hit Germany on March 6Nationwide healthcare strikes to hit Germany on March 6
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usImpressumSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Oct 2, 2024
Olivia Logan

Editor at IamExpat Media

Editor for Germany at IamExpat Media. Olivia first came to Germany in 2013 to work as an Au Pair. Since studying English Literature and German in Scotland, Freiburg and Berlin she has worked as a features journalist and news editor.Read more

The boss of the Berlin Tesla gigafactory, André Thierig, has faced widespread criticism for normalising company visits to employees on sick leave.

Berlin Tesla factory managers check on employees off sick

Management at Tesla’s factory in Grünheide, outside Berlin, has received criticism after bosses went to the homes of staff on sick leave to check on them.

According to The Guardian, bosses visited around 24 employees who have been on paid sick leave during or for the past nine months.

Plant boss André Thierig has accused factory employees off sick of taking advantage of German labour law and pointing out that there is a 2 percent average sick leave rate among temporary employees at Tesla. Temporary employees in Germany do not have the same protections against dismissal as those with permanent work contracts.

IG Metall, the German union representing a portion of Tesla’s 12.000 employees at the factory in Brandenburg, has said that the plant has around a 15 percent sick leave rate among permanent employees. For context, the 5,8 percent sick leave rate recorded across Germany in the first quarter of 2024 was considered by health insurance provider DAK-Gesundheit to be high.

The union cites a “culture of fear” and “extremely high workload” as the main reasons for high sick leave rates at Tesla. “When there are staff shortages, the ill workers are put under pressure and those who remain healthy are overburdened with additional work,” IG Metall regional director Dirk Schulze said.

Since the factory opened in 2022, German magazine Stern has also reported on several worrying factory accidents endangering employees and the environment. These include a fire caused by a battery which resulted in contaminated water leaking into the soil and an illegal petrol station which “uncontrollably” leaked 250 litres of diesel.

Are German companies allowed to check on employees during sick leave?

In Germany, you are required to inform your employer immediately if you are sick and must provide a doctor’s note if you are off work for more than three days. During this time, and for up to six weeks after you first call in sick, your employer is required to pay your regular wage. 

If you are still sick after six weeks, your employer is no longer obliged to pay your wage. Instead, you can claim sickness benefit (Krankengeld). Krankengeld amounts to 70 percent of your gross salary and is paid out by your health insurance provider.

Only in the case of certain serious illnesses are you required to tell your employer why you are off work. However, if you are off work for longer periods, several months, for example, you must give your employer a new sick note from the doctor every six weeks.

After several months of sick leave, you may also be required to meet with your health insurance provider and explain why you have been off sick for so long.

While it is not illegal, it is uncommon for companies in Germany to send a representative to check on sick employees at any point while they are on leave.

Thumb image credit: Kittyfly / Shutterstock.com

By Olivia Logan