Part of the topic series Electronic Certificate of Incapacity for Work (eAU)
Sick days are part of everyday business in every organization, and precisely for that reason they are highly critical for payroll processing. Behind each individual case of illness lies a complex process that must be correctly documented, verified, and accounted for. Even minor errors in recording or processing sick leave can have direct consequences for continued salary payments. This is not only a matter of financial discrepancies but also of legal security and the reliability of the entire payroll process. With increasing digitalization and the introduction of the eAU, data availability has improved; at the same time, however, the requirements for correct processing of this information have also increased significantly.
In payroll processing, every second and every cent matters. According to Statista, Germany’s average sickness rate remains at a level that costs companies billions annually. However, the real “hidden loss” occurs in HR departments: manual reconciliation of eAU data leads, according to reports by the Handelsblatt, to error rates of up to 5% in payroll processing in many SMEs. In total, this results in thousands of euros lost through overpaid continued salary or incorrectly calculated deadlines.
The critical point occurs when transitioning to sickness benefit. Without a seamless digital chain between the time tracking system and the health insurer’s feedback, dangerous documentation gaps emerge.
The problem: Traditional systems “trust” the employee until an HR clerk verifies otherwise in the social security portal.
The ZEUS® solution: The system proactively validates entitlement. If no legally valid proof via eAU is available, the system triggers an immediate alert. This prevents continued salary payments beyond the statutory period due to unclear follow-up certificate status.
The German Pension Insurance carefully examines whether periods of continued remuneration are properly backed by eAU retrievals. With the ZEUS® solution from ISGUS, you generate an audit-proof history. Every retrieval, every response, and every resulting correction in time accounts is documented down to the second. This turns the risk of back payments into the certainty of a perfectly maintained digital personnel record.
The most common errors stem from manual processes in which sick leave notifications are recorded incompletely, processed with a delay, or transferred between different systems. Without a centralized database, inconsistencies quickly arise between time tracking, HR, and payroll. The situation becomes particularly critical when information is not up-to-date or requires duplicate maintenance. An integrated solution like ZEUS® mitigates these risks by automating data processing and centralizing data availability, thereby ensuring that all stakeholders operate based on a unified, consistent information base.
The electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU) fundamentally transforms payroll processing, as sick notes are now provided digitally by health insurance funds rather than requiring manual submission. This data can be directly imported into systems such as ZEUS® and processed further. Consequently, the flow of information is significantly streamlined, and payroll processing is based on up-to-date and reliable data. At the same time, this places increased demands on systems to correctly interpret this information and integrate it into the relevant processes.
Time recording serves as the foundation for continued wage payment, as it documents all relevant working hours and periods of absence. Payroll processing can only be carried out reliably if this data is complete and accurate. When combined with the eAU (electronic certificate of incapacity for work), an integrated time recording system such as ZEUS® ensures that periods of illness are automatically taken into account and correctly posted to the respective time accounts. This creates a seamless data chain extending from the initial sick report to final payroll settlement, free from media breaks or manual data transfers.
Continued payment of wages is clearly regulated by law particularly under the Continued Remuneration Act. Nevertheless, its practical implementation is complex, as various factors must be taken into account, such as the duration of illness, supporting documentation, follow-up certificates, and special cases. Companies must ensure that all relevant data is accurately recorded and processed. Digital solutions such as ZEUS® assist in systematically mapping these statutory requirements and structuring processes to ensure they remain auditable and compliant at all times.
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