EFZG §3 spell linking#
For: Manager | Admin You’ll need: A spell-tracking sick-leave policy. See Tracking modes — balance, spell, and unlimited.
Under the German Continued Pay Act (EFZG §3), if an employee is sick again with the same illness within a defined window after their last sick day, the new absence isn’t a fresh entitlement — it’s a continuation of the original spell. Shiftavo models this with a per-policy linking window and a checkbox on the approval form.
What it means#
A spell is one continuous illness, possibly made of several absences. The continued-pay clock runs against the spell, not the calendar.
The ‘Linking window’ on the policy is the cooling-off period: how many days must pass between the end of the last spell and the start of the new request before Shiftavo treats them as separate spells.
New request starts inside the window after a prior spell → candidate for linking. Shiftavo shows an alert on the review form with a checkbox to confirm.
New request starts outside the window → fresh spell; no alert.
The default value used in DACH for the same-illness rule is six months, but the field is editable per policy because case law and house rules vary.
When to use which#
The linking window only applies to spell-tracking policies (typically sick leave). It has no effect on balance or unlimited policies.
Set the window to match how your jurisdiction interprets EFZG §3 or its local equivalent. If you operate across borders and the rules differ by country, create one policy per country and assign by employment type.
How it shows in the app#
When you open a sick-leave request to review and a prior spell falls inside the linking window, the form shows an alert at the top with a checkbox: ‘Link to prior illness spell’. Tick it to mark this absence as a continuation; leave it unticked to start a new spell. The choice is recorded against the leave-balance transaction so the ledger explains the continued-pay calculation later.
For the step-by-step on actually linking a request, see How to link a sick request to a prior illness.