Sick for 15 years, full salary: when the civil service becomes a goldmine

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Permanently ill and still paid - how does that work?

It sounds like a bad joke, but it's reality: a teacher from North Rhine-Westphalia was on sick leave for over 15 years - and continued to collect her full salary during this time. Not a single day of teaching, no rehabilitation measures, no retraining - but every month her account rang up.

Now it's getting serious: two disciplinary proceedings have been initiated - one against the teacher herself and one against the person in charge at the district government. The aim: to clarify how something like this could have happened in the first place.

Although the woman had been deemed unfit for work since 2009, an official medical examination was only ordered in April 2025 - a full 15 years later. The teacher promptly objected, but both the Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia ruled in favor of the employer: such an examination was completely permissible. And what's more - the long period of illness alone was sufficient as a valid reason.

The verdict: Even the state can wake up sometimes

The OVG NRW ruled clearly: the state does not lose its right to control just because it has been asleep for years. The teacher had invoked her personal rights - in particular because it also involved mental illness. But this did not convince the judges. The examination may also include psychiatric aspects, as long as there are corresponding indications - for example from medical specialists.

The court's plain language: this is not just about the civil servant concerned, but also about the public interest. Civil servants are not private employees - they have duties, not just rights. And: The state has a duty of care, but also a responsibility towards the taxpayer.

And what about the authorities?

Perhaps even more scandalous than the case of the teacher is the look behind the scenes. Why did no one take action for 15 years? Why were there no reactivation attempts, no reviews, no proceedings?

For this reason, the person in charge at the Düsseldorf district government is now also being scrutinized. Apparently, they looked the other way for years, although the case should have been conspicuous long ago. Incapacity to work is not a permanent condition for life - especially not without regular reviews.

We say: Failure all along the line

If a system allows someone to do nothing for 15 years on a full salary - and nobody cares - then it's not just the teacher who is the problem. Then it is a failure of the authorities on a grand scale. Anyone who confuses civil servant status with a permanent pension has missed the point. It's almost too late that an investigation is being carried out now. And the fact that the state has been paying for itself for 15 years - that's not tragic, it's grotesque.