Understand how eAU works
Understand how eAU works
The electronic certificate of incapacity for work (eAU) has been mandatory since 01.01.2023 and largely replaces the paper-based yellow slip. Instead of an employee submitting a document, the employer retrieves the certificate directly from the relevant statutory health insurance provider.
What changes for employers:
You now retrieve the certificate of incapacity for work from the health insurance provider yourself. This requires prior notification from the employee — so the obligation to notify remains. For incapacity lasting more than three calendar days (or from day one, depending on company policy), you can still request a certificate of incapacity.
What changes for employees:
The obligation to submit and prove incapacity is replaced by a pure obligation to have it confirmed by a doctor. A statutory-insured employee only needs to have their incapacity confirmed by a doctor; the doctor transmits the certificate to the health insurance provider. The employee still has to notify the employer.
What changes for whom:
Insurance type | eAU retrieval | What the employee must do |
Statutory insurance (GKV) | Employer retrieves from the health insurer | Only have incapacity confirmed by a doctor; no paper document required |
Private insurance (PKV) | No eAU retrieval possible | Employee continues to submit the certificate manually and upload it |
When does the eAU apply?
The eAU applies from the date of the medical confirmation, not from the first day of illness. If an employee falls ill on Monday but does not see a doctor until Wednesday, the eAU carries Wednesday's date. The start date of the time off request in Kenjo and the date of the eAU may therefore differ.
Note: Employees still have the right to receive a certificate of incapacity for work in paper form. This serves as proof if the electronic transmission fails for technical reasons.
Choose the right retrieval method
How you retrieve the eAU depends on whether you use the DATEV integration in Kenjo. Choose the option that applies to you.
Your setup | eAU retrieval | Section in this article |
DATEV integration active | Kenjo retrieves the eAU automatically from the health insurer | Retrieve eAU automatically with DATEV integration |
No DATEV integration | You retrieve the eAU manually via external tools (sv.net, DATEV Online, or your tax advisor) and store it in Kenjo | Manage eAU manually without DATEV integration |
Retrieve eAU automatically with DATEV integration
With an active DATEV integration, Kenjo automatically retrieves the eAU from the statutory health insurance provider as soon as an employee submits a sick leave request. You do not need to trigger anything manually.
Here's how the process works:
Prerequisites
DATEV LODAS or DATEV Lohn und Gehalt is set up in Kenjo.
DATEV personnel numbers (PNR) for all employees are stored in the employee profile.
Insurance type and health insurer for each employee are entered in the personnel file.
The payroll data exchange service has been ordered from DATEV by your tax advisory.
Step 1: Activate eAU
Go to Payroll > DATEV settings > [Company name] > eAU certificate.
Toggle the Activate certificate switch to the right.
Step 2: Add a notification email address
Enter the email address to which notifications about new eAUs and status changes should be sent.
This address will receive a notification when a new eAU arrives or a status changes.
Step 3: Define time off types for eAU
In the overview, select all illness-related time off types for which automatic eAU retrieval should apply.
Click Save changes.
Note: Privately insured employees: Create a separate time off type and policy for PKV employees and assign them to these employees. If a PKV employee uses a time off type for which eAU retrieval is enabled, it will block the absence entry.
Automatic retrieval process
The employee submits an absence request using an illness-related time off type.
Kenjo automatically sends a request to the responsible statutory health insurer.
The health insurer provides the eAU, which typically takes 3–4 days (up to 14 days maximum).
Once the eAU is received, the status changes to Confirmed.
Only then should the sick leave request be approved.
When a sick leave request is extended: Editing an existing request automatically triggers a new eAU request to the health insurer. The status reverts to Pending. Wait again for Confirmed before approving.
Check eAU status
You can see the current eAU status of a sick leave request in the detail view of the request. Go to Time off > Requests, click on the relevant sick leave request, and read the status.
To update the status manually, click Check status. This button is only active for the Pending and Not Requested statuses.
Status | Meaning | What to do |
Pending | eAU has been requested from the health insurer; receipt is pending | Wait; use Check status to refresh |
Confirmed | eAU has been received and confirmed | Sick leave request can be approved |
Missing certificate | Request sent, but no eAU received yet | Check status; contact employee or health insurer directly if needed |
Not requested | Retrieval failed technically | Check error details in the view (common: missing PNR, PKV, connection error); use Check status |
Request with errors | Retrieval not possible due to data error | Click Show error details. Errors are often an invalid PNR, invalid date of birth, or PKV status at the time of the sick leave |
Cancelled | Certificate request was cancelled | Resubmit request if needed |
eAU does not exist | Certificate could not be found with the health insurer | Contact manager or tax advisor |
Common error causes and solutions
Error message in Kenjo | Cause | Solution |
"eAU cannot be retrieved because the PNR number is missing." | PNR number not in the employee profile | Enter the PNR in the employee's personnel file |
"eAU cannot be retrieved because the health insurance is private." | Employee has private health insurance (PKV) | Use a separate time off type for PKV employees |
"Health insurance not stored" | Insurance type missing from profile | Add insurance type and health insurer in the personnel file |
"Insurance number invalid due to date of birth" | Date of birth not correctly stored | Check and correct date of birth in employee profile; contact tax advisor if needed |
Example: An employee changes their insurance during an extended illness. If the previous insurer is no longer responsible, the status will jump to Not requested. In this case, you need to manually verify the new insurance status.
Manage eAU manually without DATEV integration
Without DATEV integration, Kenjo cannot automatically retrieve the eAU. You retrieve the certificate yourself from the health insurance provider — either directly or via your tax advisor — and then store it in Kenjo. For a clear overview, a dedicated time off type is recommended (e.g. "Sick with eAU") assigned to the relevant employees.
Option A: Retrieve eAU yourself
The employee submits a time off request due to illness. For statutory-insured employees in Germany, an eAU is available from their health insurance provider.
Log in to sv.net, DATEV Online, or your payroll software at the earliest one day after the request and retrieve the eAU for the employee.
Attach the eAU to the time off request in Kenjo and approve the request.
Option B: Retrieve eAU via tax advisor
In this case, your tax advisor handles the retrieval. You can involve them in two ways.
Via two-step approval:
Set up an approval rule under Time off > Settings > Two-step approval and add the tax advisor as the second approver (as a named user).
The employee submits a time off request due to illness.
The manager approves the request as the first step.
The request goes to the tax advisor for second approval.
The tax advisor retrieves the eAU from the health insurance provider.
Once the eAU is available, the tax advisor approves the absence. Uploading the eAU to Kenjo is optional.
Via a weekly or monthly report:
The employee submits a time off request due to illness.
Go to Analytics > Dashboards and open the Time off history dashboard.
Click Export and send the exported file to your tax advisor.
The tax advisor retrieves the eAU. They either upload it directly to Kenjo (if they have access) or send it to you to attach to the request.
Track open eAU
Open the Time off history dashboard under Analytics > Dashboards.
Filter by the illness-related time off type and the desired time period. You will then see all sick leave requests for that period.
The Status column shows the approval status of the time off request (e.g. approved or pending).
The Attachment column (yes/no) shows whether a document has already been attached, such as the uploaded eAU.
Using these two columns, you can identify which sick leave requests still need an eAU to be retrieved or uploaded.
Optional workflows for reminders
With workflows, you can partially automate the manual process. Two practical examples:
Reminder to HR Admin to request the eAU: Trigger "Time off request created", filter "Time off type equals Sick" and "Working hours/days is greater than or equal to 3", action email notification to the responsible employee.
Monthly reminder for dashboard export: Recurring workflow at the desired frequency, action email notification reminding you to export the Time off history dashboard and send it to your tax advisor.
Set up workflows and email templates under Settings > Workflows and Settings > Email templates.
Manage privately insured employees
For privately insured employees, no eAU retrieval is possible, regardless of whether you use the DATEV integration. The process remains unchanged: the employee manually uploads a copy of their certificate of incapacity for work as an attachment to the absence request.
Important: If a PKV employee uses a time off type for which automatic eAU retrieval is enabled, their absence entry will be blocked. Create a separate time off type (e.g. "Sick PKV") and a suitable policy for PKV employees and assign them to these employees.
All exceptions to the automatic eAU process:
Employees with private health insurance
Employees in marginal employment in private households
Sick notes issued by doctors not participating in the statutory health care system
Frequently asked questions
Does eAU retrieval work without DATEV integration?
Automatic retrieval in Kenjo only works with an active DATEV integration. Without DATEV, you retrieve the eAU manually via sv.net, DATEV Online, or your tax advisor, and then store it with the time off request in Kenjo. Keep track of open eAU certificates using the dashboard under Analytics > Dashboards.
From when must an employee provide a certificate of incapacity?
As an employer, you can require medical confirmation from the first day of illness; the statutory obligation to provide proof applies from the fourth calendar day. For statutory-insured employees, the certificate is retrieved from the health insurance provider and the employee does not need to submit a paper document. For privately insured employees, manual upload of the certificate remains required.
The eAU has a different date than the sick leave request in Kenjo. Is this an error?
No, this is not an error. The eAU applies from the date of the medical confirmation, not from the first day of illness. If an employee falls ill on Monday but only sees a doctor on Wednesday, the eAU carries Wednesday's date. The start date of the time off request in Kenjo may differ from this.
What happens if the eAU status does not change?
This applies to automatic retrieval with DATEV integration. Click Check status in the request detail view to manually retrieve the current status. If the status remains Pending after 14 days, contact the employee or their health insurance provider directly. For Request with errors or Not Requested status, first check the error details in the view — often the PNR number is missing or the insurance status is not stored correctly.
What happens when a sick leave request is extended or edited?
With active automatic retrieval, editing an existing sick leave request automatically triggers a new eAU request to the health insurance provider. The status resets to Pending. Wait for Confirmed status again before approving the request.
Can an employee still upload a document manually?
Yes. Even when eAU retrieval is automatic, employees can additionally upload a document to the request — for example, a paper copy of the certificate. For statutory-insured employees, this is optional. For privately insured employees, manual upload is the only option.