Part of the topic series Electronic Certificate of Incapacity for Work (eAU)
The introduction of the electronic certificate of incapacity for work has fundamentally changed the way organizations handle sick leave. What used to be managed via paper, signatures, and manual handover is now processed digitally through health insurance providers. However, while the legal framework has long been in place, practical reality shows a key difference: companies that rely on automated processes benefit from real relief, while others continue to struggle with manual effort. The good news: automated eAU retrieval is now easier to implement than many assume.
The introduction of the eAU was intended to eliminate paperwork, but initially created new digital silos. Many companies today face a “dead end” situation: the employee has visited the doctor, but the information does not automatically flow into the organization. According to Statista, the number of electronically transmitted sick notes has increased significantly since 2023, yet the mere existence of this data in health insurers’ systems is of little value if HR software does not actively retrieve it. Without an automated trigger, the process remains a manual guessing game.
True “sick leave 2.0” means systems communicate with each other without human intervention acting as a mediator. As soon as an employee reports an absence via the ISGUS web terminal or the mobile app, the digital chain is immediately activated.
The technical advantage: ZEUS® does not wait passively for data to arrive. Instead, the system continuously checks legal deadlines in the background and triggers the request precisely to the communication server of the responsible health insurance provider. This process eliminates the classic media break that previously existed between internal time tracking and external reporting portals (such as the social security reporting portal). The result is a closed data loop that saves time and reduces manual entry errors to virtually zero.
In a modern working environment, information is the most important resource for workforce planning. With ZEUS®, HR managers and supervisors gain access to an intuitive real-time dashboard. They can instantly see the current processing status: “retrieval initiated”, “confirmed”, or “clarification required”.
At all times, privacy is fully protected: medical diagnoses remain exactly where they legally belong with the physician and the health insurance provider. HR only receives the time periods relevant for continued salary payments. This allows companies to combine digital efficiency with the highest standards of data protection and IT security (ISO-certified).
| Process step | Before (manual) | Today (automated with ZEUS®) |
|---|---|---|
| Sick leave notification received | Employees submit a paper certificate | Digital notification is provided directly by doctor and health insurer |
| Data retrieval | HR must actively request data from health insurers | Automatic retrieval in the background without manual intervention |
| Data transfer | Manual entry into the time tracking system | Direct transfer into the system in real time |
| Transparency | Different information levels across the organization | Centralized and up-to-date data for HR and management |
| Error rate | High due to duplicate data maintenance and media breaks | Minimal due to automated processes |
| HR workload | Multiple manual steps per sick leave case | Almost no effort due to full automation |
| Legal compliance | Risk due to delayed or missing data | Legally compliant and traceable process |
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