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Sickness (Sygdom)

Sickness (Sygdom) If you get ill, you must always report sick on the first sick day. Whether or not you are employed or unemployed, you have a duty to know the rules on absence from work and the time limits that apply. And it is important that you adhere to them.

If you are employed, you must immediately contact the workplace when you are to report sick. If you are unemployed, you must report sick on Jobnet.dk.

If you are employed 

You must always inform your workplace if you are sick – no more than two hours after the time you were supposed to have shown up for work. 

If you have left your workplace due to sickness, you must report sick on the first whole sick day unless otherwise agreed. 

Local rules: You must be aware that your workplace may have its own rules for what you should do when you get sick. You must always observe those rules.

The rules are found in a local collective agreement or the business' staff policy. Ask your work environment representative, your trade union representative or your local 3F trade union which rules apply to you during sickness. 

Do you have a job, and when are you entitled to pay or sickness benefits from your employer

If you have been employed for at least 8 weeks and have had 74 hours, the employer pays sick pay to you. If you are ill for more than 30 calendar days, your local authority must pay sickness benefits if you comply with the requirements for the local authorities to pay.    

If you are employed according to a collective agreement that gives you the right to sick pay from the employer in excess of 30 calendar days, the employer continues to pay sick pay to you.    

If you have a job, the employer must give notification of your sickness absence.   

The employer’s notification takes place via Nemrefusion.     

It is important that the employer observes the deadline for notification for the purpose of the local authority’s possibility of following up on the case, and thereby also the possibility of the local authority, at an early stage of the period of sickness, to obtain relevant information to the case, e.g. medical information. Even if you get pay from your employer, you must attend the meetings to which the local authority summons you.    

You will receive a notification letter from Nemrefusion in which you are informed about the information that the employer has given to Nemrefusion on notification of the sickness absence. If you disagree with the information provided by the employer, you, as the salaried employee, must no later than 8 days after the notification letter was sent from Nemrefusion inform the local authority through digital self-service.   

If you are going to receive sickness benefits from the local authority, you must fulfil one of the following conditions:    

  • be employed on your first day of sickness and have been employed for at least 240 hours within the past six completed calendar months prior to the first day of sickness and for at least five of these months have been employed for at least 40 hours each month, or     
  • would have been entitled to unemployment benefit or a temporary labour market benefit, if you were not ill, or     
  • have finished vocational training of at least 18 months within the past month, or    
  • be an apprentice in a traineeship with pay as part of a recognized education, or    
  • be employed in a reduced-hour job     

Sick following an industrial injury

If you have suffered industrial injury, you are entitled to sickness benefit from the first day of sickness, even if you do not meet the above conditions. However, payment of sickness benefit is not made until your industrial injury has been acknowledged by Labour Market Insurance.   

If you are unemployed    

If you are unemployed and receive unemployment benefit, you must report sick through jobnet.dk on the first day of sickness.    

The unemployment fund pays the unemployment benefits for the first 14 days of the period of sickness. When the right to unemployment benefits has ceased, there is a right to sickness benefits from the local authority.

If you work in Denmark and live in another EU country

If you work in Denmark and live in another EU country, you are entitled to sickness benefits from the municipality in which you work. The municipality is also obliged to pay for your transportation if you are called in for follow-up interviews with the municipality in connection with your sickness benefit case. 

If you are unemployed and live in another EU country, it is your home country which must pay benefits to you. 

Sickness in your holidays 

If you get sick before your holidays start, you have the option to take the holidays at another time. 

You must report sick to your employer right away and observe the rules that apply to your absence from work. If you recover before your planned holidays end, you must report fit for work and state if you want to show up for work or if you want to take the rest of your holidays. 

Reporting fit for duty 

At any time during your period of sickness you can report fit for duty, either fully or partially. 

There are various ways to report fit for duty depending on the situation you are in: 

If you are employed: you must report fit for work both with your employer and on "my page" (min side) at Jobnet.dk

If you are unemployed: you must report fit for work on "my page" (min side) at Jobnet.dk. You will receive unemployment benefits from the day you have reported fit for work. 

Partial reporting fit for duty: You have the option to report partially fit for duty, which means that you work reduced hours. If you are unemployed and have reported partial fitness for duty, you receive full sickness benefits. Ask your local 3F branch for further information about this. 

Ask your local 3F trade union if you are in doubt or need help.