Illness in the family

The rules regarding leave in connection with your child’s sent home day and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sick days are set out in the collective agreement applicable to your employment.

For most employees at SDU, there is a right to absence in accordance with §14 of the collective agreement (in Danish only), provided that operational requirements allow it and the immediate manager has approved it.

This means that employees are entitled to leave to care for a sick child on the child’s sent home day and, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sick days when:

1. the child’s condition makes it necessary
2. the circumstances at the workplace allow it
3. the child is under 18 years of age, and
4. the child lives at home

The sent home day functions as a kind of “day zero.” This means that parents can leave work to pick up a sick child without using the child’s 1st sick day.

The 2nd and 3rd sick days are the calendar days immediately following the 1st sick day, regardless of whether they are working days or days off.

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sick days can be taken independently of one another. This means that an employee may take leave on the child’s 2nd sick day even if they did not take leave on the 1st sick day. Parents may also split the days between them, so that one parent takes leave on the 1st day and the other parent takes leave on the 2nd and 3rd days.

If the child remains ill, options such as annual leave, care days, or accrued time off may be used.

If you are an hourly paid employee, you are entitled to pay during absence due to a child’s sent home day and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sick days to the same extent as you are entitled to pay during your own illness. If you are not entitled to pay during your own illness, you are likewise not entitled to pay during absence related to the child’s sent home day and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sick days.

Note: Until a circular on a child’s illness has been issued, SDU reserves the right to reclaim salary if the agreement on the child’s sent home day and the child’s 3rd sick day—contrary to expectations—is not implemented.

In accordance with the Danish Parental Leave Act (Lov om ret til dagpenge og orlov ved barsel), if you are entitled to unemployment benefits in connection with caring for seriously ill children under the age of 18, you are entitled to full or partial leave with pay during the same period.

If, in accordance with the Danish Social Services Act (Lov om social service), you are granted a care allowance for looking after a close relative who wishes to die at home, you are entitled to full or partial paid leave for the same period.

You are entitled to paid leave for up to five days per child within 12 consecutive months for your hospitalisation with a child under 14 years of age who lives with you.

The same applies if the child stays at home during hospitalisation or receives outpatient treatment, which takes the place of hospitalisation and which requires your presence. The five days can be held separately or consecutively.

It is also possible for you and your manager to agree that you take the five days as 10 half days, for example. If both parents are covered by the agreement, the total period of paid leave may not exceed five days for both parents combined.

You are entitled to unpaid leave as a result of force majeure when compelling family reasons arise in the event of illness or accident, which make your immediate presence urgently necessary.

Periods of unpaid leave are not included in the wage seniority calculations, and pension rights will not be earned.

Employees are entitled to compassionate leave for up to 5 days a year to provide care or support to a relative in connection with illness. Your own children, parents, spouse or partner or a person living in the same household as you are considered relatives. The leave is without pay. The days can be held successively or as individual days. Unused days lapse by the end of the year. Your employer may require you to provide documentation of the need for compassionate leave.

If, within a calendar year, the employee has been absent ‘to care for next of kin with disabilities, chronic or long-term illness’ or ‘to care for next of kin who wish to die in their own home’, this absence shall be deducted from the right to compassionate leave.

The municipality may grant compensation for lost earnings in accordance with §42 of the Danish Social Services Act if you care at home for a child under 18 years of age with a significant and permanent physical or mental disability or a severe chronic or long-term condition. In such situations, you may be granted unpaid leave.

In addition, you may be employed by the municipality to care for a close relative at home because the relative has a significant and permanent physical or mental disability or severe chronic or long-term (including incurable) illness. In this case, you are also entitled to unpaid absence.

Check with your manager or SDU HR if you are in doubt as to whether you are covered by the circular on leave of absence for family reasons.

For all employees, however, the law on employees’ (in Danish only) right to absence from work for special family reasons, which gives the right to absence in connection with the following, applies:

1. force majeure
2. employment by the municipality for care of close relatives with disabilities, chronic or long-term illness and care of close relatives who wish to die at home.

See the descriptions above.