Inspection visits to Tesla employees on sick leave

According to the Handelsblatt, Thierig and Demmler spoke at a works meeting, of which the German newspaper has an audio recording. In August, the level of sick leave among the 12,000 employees in Grünheide had risen to 17 per cent, and at the beginning of September, it was still at 11 per cent. That is apparently not acceptable.

“That meant we had to go to the people. And that’s what we did. This has nothing to do with general suspicion. We simply picked out 30 employees who had the relevant abnormalities, who had been on sick leave for quite a long time, but also to a lot of people who handed in first sick notes,” Demmler is quoted as saying.

The unannounced inspection visits by top managers were obviously not well received. “You could just tell by the aggression,” Demmler continues. “By having the door slammed shut. By being threatened with the police. By being asked if you don’t have to make an appointment first.”

Demmler obviously emphasised that the intention was not to criticise or make demands of the employees – rather, they wanted to find out how people were doing and how they could help. However, the conflict is not new. As early as 2023, Thierig criticised the attitude of some employees. There was no room in his factory for people who “couldn’t get out of bed” in the morning, he said at a works meeting. In July 2024, Tesla even offered a bonus for employees with low sick leave.

It remains to be seen whether the controversial home visits will help to reduce the number of sick employees. From a legal perspective, however, they are probably justifiable, as unannounced home visits by the employer are not prohibited – “at least if the employer suspects that something is wrong with the sick note.”

handelsblatt.com (in German)