Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy Adnan Delić warned today about the problem of abuse of sick leave. As he stated, sick leave is no longer the problem of employers but also of workers, especially those who really need sick leave.
Delić stated that he recently received a request from a group of female oncology patients who are being treated for breast cancer. He pointed out that they asked for help and protection because of this problem.
“Because of irresponsible individuals who use sick leave as a day off, those who go through the most difficult therapies often encounter disbelief and obstacles to exercise the right they should receive without any question. They are not trusted precisely because of those who abuse sick leave. And examples of abuse are known to all of us. From those who open sick leave and then go on trips, those who open sick leave as an act of defiance every time they don’t like something, to those who work in parallel while on sick leave privately, in the dark. These are situations that employers, workers, and unions talk about every day. In that vicious circle, some lose their trust, others lose their rights,” said Delić.
He adds that this is a problem in both sectors; both private and public.
“In the public sector, every unfounded sick leave directly takes funds from the budget and slows down the work of institutions. This can be seen in every solution that is delayed, in every obligation that is waiting because someone is ‘not at work’. Citizens feel this through slower procedures, slower responses, slower services. In the private sector, the consequences are even more severe: a drop in productivity, a drop in profits, a drop in trust. This is why employers, unfortunately, increasingly refuse sick leaves, even when they are justified because they no longer trust anyone. And that It affects those who really need sick leave. I think we need to talk about this openly, but to stop looking for ways to take what we haven’t earned. To protect those who really need it.
He explained that the Ministry conducted an internal audit of sick leave and that in 2024, 2,252 days of sick leave were used, which is an average of 25 days per employee.
“In the first six months of 2025, 1,125 days were used, which is about 12.5 days per person. Particularly noticeable are cases of short, often recurring sick days, which do not follow medical logic and which directly disrupt the continuity and efficiency of the ministry’s work. If the salary is compensation for work, then the work must be what justifies the salary. In my work, I am guided by the same principle; I am the first at work, I report like any other employee, I work I expect nothing more than what is implied by the contract. It is a fraud against the people whose health has been violated. And we do not need a special law to know what is right, and then towards the community in which we live.”
