In general if you need to take some sick days from work, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) must be notified for official sick leave as well as your employer.Īccording to the ÖGK you must go to a doctor to “determine the illness and the associated incapacity for work”. For other illnesses they needed to see a doctor to get a sick note but now they have the option of calling once again.Ĭan’t I normally call in sick by telephone? Over the summer it was only possible for employees to do this if they believed they might be suffering from a Covid-19 infection. The new legislation allows employees to call their doctor in order to be officially signed off sick, rather than visit them for an appointment. But given the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Austria the government has deemed it necessary to again relax the rules around calling in sick. The new legislation was introduced in November last year, and was in place until July 2021.
