What is phased reintegration?
Phased reintegration – colloquially the "Hamburger Modell" – is a procedure that gradually returns long-term sick employees to their previous workload under medical supervision. Instead of resuming full duties immediately after weeks or months of incapacity, employees start with reduced hours that are increased step by step over a defined period.
Crucially, throughout the reintegration the employee remains legally unfit for work. The activity serves solely to restore full working capacity.
Legal basis: §74 SGB V and §44 SGB IX
- § 74 SGB V – for employees with statutory health insurance whose previous role can be resumed gradually.
- § 44 SGB IX – in the context of medical rehabilitation, where reintegration is part of a rehab measure (transitional allowance from the pension insurer).
Participation is voluntary, requires a medical recommendation with a step plan, and can be stopped at any time.
Process and step plan
- Medical recommendation with a concrete step plan.
- Step plan: working hours per phase – e.g. 4 hours/day in weeks 1–2, 6 hours in weeks 3–4, then full hours.
- Agreement of employee and employer; approval by the health fund or pension insurer.
- Implementation and medical adjustment as needed.
- Completion: incapacity ends once full hours are reached.
Pay, sick benefits and cost
As incapacity continues, the employer does not pay the regular salary. Instead the health fund pays sick pay (§74 SGB V) or the pension insurer pays a transitional allowance (§44 SGB IX). Employers generally bear no additional wage costs during reintegration – but do bear the organisational effort of adapting tasks to reduced capacity.
Reintegration and BEM
- BEM (§167 (2) SGB IX) is the legally required process: employers must offer it to anyone unfit for work for more than six weeks within 12 months.
- Phased reintegration is an instrument that may be used within a BEM or independently.
Mental illness: the leading cause of long absences
Mental illnesses such as depression and burnout cause the longest absence durations of all diagnosis groups – and most often lead to phased reintegration.
The most effective lever is prevention, which is legally required anyway: the psychological risk assessment under §5 ArbSchG systematically uncovers psychological stressors before they cause illness. Companies that implement it consistently reduce both long-term illness and the need for reintegration. Learn more about the psychological risk assessment →
