Due to an unusually high number of sick days at the German Tesla factory, Managing Director André Thierig and Head of Human Resources Erik Demmler visited employees unannounced at home. They were not amused.
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.”
Jesus christ imagine being this oblivious.
"We harassed workers outside of their work hours and they were mean!"
There will be a lawsuit and it will be hilarious to anyone with the vaguest concept of workers rights
As a German, this is so fucking hilarious. No German manager would ever come up with an idea like this. This must be some clueless yanks who think they can import their idiotic "hustle culture" here.
If you have a legitimate suspicion, that your employee is not actually sick, you can hire a private investigator. Otherwise you just shut the fuck up. And if your sick leave ratio is high, you should ask yourself what it is in your company, that makes people sick.
Most employers wouldn't use a investigator. The normal thing would be to get an assesment from the Medizinische Dienst. But only if they can justify their suspicions, not as a general thing for all sick employees.
I don't know about Germany, but in Denmark (their neighbor to the north), you ask the employee for a statement from the doctor. The employer pays the doctors fee, and there are strict rules about when they can even ask for it.
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.
How about doing that, when they feel better, and are back at work... Did they bring soup and tissues?
That shit is extremely rare over here in Germany, and it will not improve employee satisfaction or their commitment. And you are not bound to open the door anyways or to stay home when you are sick (you can get better at your partners place, no problem) so simply don't open the door when you are sick.
If they tried this in Australia Fairwork would go so far up their arses they'd never come back out. I'm presuming Germany has even more robust worker rights
If someone came unannounced to my home identifying themselves as the Head of Human Resources, checking in on my sick leave... I'd probably sneeze or have a giant coughing fit right in their face.
"If there's anything you need" -- bud, I need to be left alone to recover.
I did this once to my store manager. Dude wanted me IN, no matter how much I told him I'd been throwing up all morning. I managed to drive the 15 minutes into work...and promptly threw up all over his shoes when he started trying to yell at me on the sales floor.
Never had anyone doubt that I was sick again at that job.