If you fall ill during your holiday, you can get substitute holidays – that is, holidays that you can take at another time during the holiday period. However, to qualify for these substitute holidays, the illness must last for more than five days (qualifying days) within the holiday year (1 September to 31 August). The five days of illness (qualifying days) can be spread over several holiday periods. This means that you can receive a maximum of four weeks of substitute holiday in one holiday year.
If your period of employment does not run for the entire holiday year (1 September to 31 August) and you have therefore not earned the right to 25 paid holiday days from SDU, you are entitled to substitute holiday according to a proportionately lower number of sick days. The qualifying period will therefore be shorter if five weeks of paid holiday have not been accrued. For example, if you have accrued 20 days of paid holiday in the year of accrual, the substitute holiday will start after the fourth day of illness (20 x 1/5 = 4 qualifying days).
There are three conditions that must be met in order to be entitled to substitute holiday:
- You must have had more than five sick days during your holiday in the holiday year (qualifying days).
- The qualifying days only count from the day you report your illness to your manager. If you only call in sick on the third day, you will have taken holiday leave on the first two sick days. Only in very special circumstances, such as an accident, when you have not been able to call in sick can SDU disregard the requirement to call in sick on the first sick day.
- You must provide a medical certificate or other medical documentation valid from the first day of illness. If you are abroad, you must obtain a certificate from a doctor in that country, which as a minimum contains equivalent documentation of the illness. You must pay for the medical certificate yourself. If you have been ill for several periods, you must submit medical documentation for each period of illness.
If you recover before the end of your planned holiday, when you report yourself fit for duty you must inform your manager whether you want to take the remaining leave or return directly to work.
You must plan your substitute holiday according to the general holiday planning guidelines.
If you are sick up to the end of the holiday period on 31 December and are therefore unable to take the substitute holiday during the holiday period, the substitute holiday will be transferred to the subsequent holiday period.
Special holidays
If you fall ill while on special holiday, these days do not count as qualifying days nor as illness incurred during your leave. Special holidays are considered to have been taken even if you were ill during them, and it is not possible to get substitute days.