Danish sickness benefit
You may be entitled to sickness benefit in Denmark if you cannot work because you are ill or injured.
As a general rule, to receive sickness benefit you must be resident in Denmark and pay tax on your income in Denmark. However, there may be exceptions if you live in another EU country, work in Denmark, or relocate within the EU. There may also be exceptions if you move to a country with which Denmark has a special agreement.
You can start by considering these questions:
- Are you covered by social insurance in Denmark?
- Are you an employee, self-employed, unemployed or a student?
- Do you need to report sick to your employer, the municipality or your unemployment insurance fund?
- Is it your employer or the municipality that will pay the sickness benefit?
- Who should I contact if I have questions?
When are you entitled to Danish sickness benefit?
The first thing you need to know is whether you are socially insured in Denmark. If you work or live in several Nordic countries, this will depend, amongst other things, on where you work and how much of your work you perform in your country of residence.
In general, if you live in another Nordic country and work in Denmark, the Danish rules will apply to you as long as no more than 25% of your work takes place in the country where you live. Otherwise, the rules of the country where you are living will apply.
As a rule, if you live in Denmark and work in another Nordic country, the Danish rules will apply if more than 25% of your work takes place in Denmark. Otherwise, the rules of the country where you are working will apply.
If you are unsure about whether you are covered by the Danish rules, contact Udbetaling Danmark.
To have the right to sickness benefit, you must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- You are in employment and have worked for at least 240 hours within the last six whole months before your first day of sick leave. You have worked for at least 40 hours in at least five of those months.
- If you had not become ill, you would have the right to unemployment benefit.
- Within the past month, you have completed a programme of vocational training of at least 18 months’ duration.
- You are on a paid internship as part of a study programme that complies with the appropriate legislation.
- You are employed in a flexi-job.
You can read more at borger.dk.
You can read the rules for self-employed people at borger.dk.
As an unemployed person, you may have the right to sickness benefit if you would otherwise have been entitled to unemployment benefit if you had not become ill.
You can also meet the employment status requirement if, within the past month, you have completed a programme of vocational training of at least 18 months’ duration.
You can read more (in Danish) at borger.dk.
As a student, you do not generally have the right to sickness benefit unless you have earned the right to this through paid employment.
If you are receiving a Danish study grant (SU) for a programme of higher education, you can apply for a supplement to your monthly student grant (‘SU-klip’).
If you are receiving a student grant from another Nordic country, you should contact the authority responsible for paying this for further information.
How do you report sick and apply for sickness benefit?
The following applies to employees. If you are self-employed or unemployed, you can read more at borger.dk.
Unless otherwise specified by your employer in a staff notice or the like, you must notify your employer as soon as possible that you are ill, and no later than two hours after you were due to start work.
If you are absent from work due to illness, your sickness benefit is paid by your employer and/or the municipality.
If you do not receive full pay from your employer while you are ill, then the employer must pay you sickness benefit for the first 30 calendar days. However, this only applies if you have worked for the employer for a certain period of time. You can read more about this at borger.dk.
If you do not have the right to either full pay or sickness benefit from your employer, you can apply for sickness benefit from your local municipality.
If you are an employee, you can generally receive sickness benefit for a maximum of 22 weeks within a nine-month period. Before the end of the 22 weeks, the municipality will reassess your situation and decide whether it is possible to extend your sickness benefit period.
You can read more about the relevant conditions for employees, the self-employed and the unemployed at borger.dk.
You can only receive sickness benefit for a limited period of time. If you are on sick leave for an extended period, there will come a time when the municipality must reassess your situation: The reassessment time comes when you have been on sick leave for about five months. You can read more about this at borger.dk (in Danish).
What happens while you are on sick leave?
You must meet up in person for the interviews in the municipality. In some situations, the interviews may take place by telephone, by e-mail or in writing. If you have a serious illness in which contact is not possible or appropriate, the follow-up can take place without personal interviews with you.
It is a condition of receiving sickness benefit that you participate in the municipality's follow-up and efforts to get you back to work. If you do not comply with the agreements, you may lose the right to sickness benefit, and your employer may lose the possibility to receive reimbursement.
Within the first four weeks of your absence due to illness, your employer must invite you to an interview to work out how and when you can return to work. If you have a long-term illness, it may for example be possible for you to return to work on reduced hours at first, or to do work appropriate to your condition.
If your illness is expected to last more than eight weeks, you are required to participate in a follow-up programme with your local municipality.
The municipality must follow up on an ongoing basis for as long as you receive sickness benefit.
The municipality must hold a follow-up interview no later than eight weeks after your first day of illness, at which you will talk about your possibilities to return to the labour market and what help you need from the municipality. How often you are in contact with the municipality as a sick person depends on the course of your illness and your situation. You can always request an interview with the municipality yourself.
The efforts of the municipality will always be adapted to your particular situation and state of health.
If the municipality decides not to extend your sickness benefit after 22 weeks, but you are still unfit for work, you will be transferred to a job assessment process (‘jobafklaringsforløb’). During the job assessment process, you will receive a resource allowance (‘ressourceforløbsydelse’) irrespective of your financial status or whether you have a spouse/cohabiting partner. The process lasts for up to two years, but the municipality may decide to sign you up for another one if you are still not fit for work.
If you are partially incapacitated, you can receive reduced sickness benefit. In order to qualify for this, a doctor must assess that you can only work partially or that you need outpatient treatment.
You can return to work on reduced hours at any point while receiving sickness benefit. You will be paid by your employer for the hours that you work and receive sickness benefit for the hours that you are absent due to illness.
You must be absent from work for at least four hours per week in order to receive sickness benefit.
If your illness is so serious that it is not possible or practical for you to engage with the programmes run by your municipality, you are not required to attend interviews or return-to-work programmes.
This will for example be the case if you are diagnosed with cancer or have severe heart problems. This exemption is called the stand-by scheme.
If you believe that you should be exempt, you should state this on the information form or contact your municipality.
When can you lose your right to sickness benefit?
You can lose your right to sickness benefit:
- If you delay your own recovery
- If you fail to engage with follow-up procedures or other schemes run by your municipality
- If you fail to fulfil your duty to report or document your absence due to illness.
What if you have a long-term or chronic illness?
If you have a significantly increased risk of absence from work due to a long-term or chronic illness, your employer may be reimbursed for sickness benefit expenses from your first day of absence. In such cases, you and your employer must enter into a special agreement with the local municipality. This is called a section 56 agreement (‘§ 56-aftale’).
You can read more about this at borger.dk.
What if you have a work-related injury or disease?
You can read about how to report a work-related injury or disease at borger.dk. Here you will also find information about compensation and who can help you with your case.
Who should you contact if you have questions about sickness benefit?
If you have questions about sickness benefit, you should contact your municipality. If you are unsure about whether you are covered by the Danish rules, contact Udbetaling Danmark.
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.