Sick leave must be reported on the day of illness before the start of regular working hours by informal email to the relevant department in the PolSoz administration at Urlaub-AU@polsoz.fu-berlin.de. 

As your department (line manager and secretary) must also be informed, you should copy them in or inform them separately.

You can report sick for 3 days without presenting a doctor's note.

A doctor's note is required from the 4th day at the latest. Most doctors now only issue an electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU), which sends your data directly to your health insurance company, where your employer can access it electronically. Instead of receiving a paper certificate from you, the department administration only needs the start and end dates of your electronic certificate of incapacity for work. If you still receive a printed certificate from your doctor (employees with private health insurance still receive a doctor's note in paper form), please submit it by email to the above address and send the original to the following address:

Freie Universität Berlin
FB Politik und Sozialwissenschaften
Abteilung Krankmeldungen
Ihnestr. 21
14195 Berlin

Please note: Weekends and public holidays are also included in the calendar days. So if you reported sick on a Friday and are still sick on Monday, you must submit a doctor's note by Monday at the latest.

Every day of absence due to sickness or injury, including each day of consecutive periods of absence, must be covered by a doctor’s note. 

Return to work notification

On the day you return to work, you must send an email with the subject line “Return to work notification” (Gesundmeldung) to the above email addresses. The return to work notification is essential, as otherwise you will continue to be considered sick and the department will make inquiries.

Sickness During Vacation

If you are unable to work due to illness during your vacation, the days missed will not be counted against your vacation time upon presentation of a doctor’s note, provided that the illness is reported immediately—that is, on the day it occurs. To extend your vacation by the number of days missed, you must obtain prior approval from your supervisor.