German Federal Labor Court on the Evidentiary Value of Foreign Medical Certificates

For a long time, medical certificates of incapacity for work were considered almost sacrosanct and therefore virtually untouchable by employers. However, the German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) has recently addressed the evidentiary value of such certificates in various decisions, setting stricter boundaries to it. In its ruling of January 15, 2025 (Case No.: 5 AZR 284/24), the BAG further clarified its case law and consequently extended it to medical certificates issued outside the European Union. While such a foreign medical certificate generally has the same evidentiary value as a domestic one, it may also be challenged under the same conditions, sometimes enabling employers to refuse continued payment of remuneration during periods of sickness (at least temporarily).

Facts of the Case

The plaintiff, who was employed by the defendant as a warehouse worker, spent his 2022 vacation in Tunisia from August 22 to September 9. On September 7, 2022, he reported sick from his vacation and submitted a medical certificate from a Tunisian doctor written in French. The certificate stated that the plaintiff was suffering from significant lumbar spinal canal complaints, the healing process of which required strict home rest and precluded travel until September 30, 2022. Nevertheless, the plaintiff returned to Germany by ferry and car as early as September 29, 2022, i.e., during the certified period of illness and without again consulting the Tunisian doctor. The plaintiff had already purchased the ferry ticket the day after the medical examination.

The defendant did not accept either the submitted medical certificate nor a later explanatory certificate which, in contrast to the original certificate, explicitly stated the plaintiff’s incapacity for work during the certified period, and therefore refused to continue the payment of remuneration. According to the defendant, the overall circumstances raised considerable doubts regarding the actual incapacity for work. Specifically, the plaintiff undertook the long and strenuous return journey to Germany during the certified period of travel incapacity, which appeared to have been planned well in advance. Additionally, the plaintiff had already submitted several medical certificates in previous years in a conspicuous temporal connection with his vacation.

The plaintiff then filed a claim with the Munich Labor Court for continued payment of remuneration for the month of September 2022. His claim was unsuccessful. However, the Munich Regional Labor Court (Landesarbeitsgericht, LAG) overturned this decision on appeal and ordered the defendant to continue paying remuneration.

BAG Decision

The defendant’s appeal to the BAG has now been successful. The judges held that a medical certificate issued outside the European Union generally has the same evidentiary value as one issued in Germany, provided that it meets the requirements of German labor and social security law. However, such a certificate can be challenged for the same reasons if there are objective indications, based on the overall circumstances, that raise legitimate doubts about the actual existence of the incapacity for work.

In its decision, the BAG criticized in particular that the LAG Munich had only evaluated the evidence submitted by the defendant in isolation, instead of making the necessary overall assessment of the circumstances. Individual aspects such as the unusually long duration of the certificate of 24 days without an ordered follow-up appointment, the arbitrary early return home or the repeated sick leave in connection with vacation leave in previous years might not be sufficient on their own to undermine the evidential value of the medical certificate. However, the combination of these factors raised serious doubts about the certificate’s evidentiary value, leading to the reversal of the former decision and the remand of the case for a new decision by the LAG Munich.

In this proceeding, the plaintiff will no longer be able to rely on the contents of the medical certificate, so it remains to be seen whether he will be able to meet the burden of proof and production with respect to his alleged incapacity for work.

With this, from employer’s point of view pleasing decision of the BAG, there will in future also be promising approaches with regard to foreign certificates of incapacity for work in order to successfully counter alleged claims for continued payment of remuneration by employees if they report sick from their vacation abroad under dubious circumstances.

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