Skip to main content
Financial Services

Private holiday in combination with work trips

Guidelines about private holidays in connection with an SDU-funded work-related trip

An SDU work-related trip means that SDU covers the costs of the trip in accordance with the work-related trip circulars and that the employee is covered by SDU’s work-related trip insurance scheme.

For many years, it has been customary and widely accepted that SDU employees can take holidays in connec-tion with their participation in SDU-funded work-related trips. It can almost be described as a fringe benefit for SDU employees who have this option. These guidelines do not change this.

In the vast majority of cases, SDU employees’ organisation of holidays to coincide with their participation in SDU-funded work-related trips is not problematic, but in some situations, however, the private aspect plays such a large role in the overall trip that it is necessary for SDU and the employee to exercise caution. This is mainly due to the following reasons:

  • There will be tax consequences for the employee if SDU and/or the tax authorities assess that the primary pur-pose of the trip has been the private holiday.
  • SDU is not authorised to cover employees’ private expenses.
  • SDU wants to avoid problems with work-related travel insurance when it is termed a work-related trip. This is also due to SDU wishing to avoid employees encountering problems with insurance.
  • SDU wants to avoid what is perceived by the public as a ‘good story’ in the media about SDU funding private holidays.
  • SDU wants to avoid comments from Rigsrevisionen (the national audit office) and/or its own accountancy firm.

It will always be an individual assessment from trip to trip whether the private aspect of the trip constitutes such a large proportion of the trip that SDU cannot cover the cost. The following points should be included in this assessment:

  • A. The holiday aspect should never seem to be the primary purpose of the trip.
    • The greater the proportion of the private part of the total duration of the trip, the more it is likely to be deemed a holiday trip that cannot be covered by SDU. 
    • It speaks in favour of being a holiday trip if the employee’s spouse/partner, children or friends participate in the trip. 
    • It speaks in favour of being a holiday trip if the private part of the trip is decided/booked before the SDU-related part.
    • Examples:
      • A 5-day work-related trip followed by 1–2 days that are used for private activities is unlikely to cause problems in terms of being considered a private trip.
      • 1–2 days of work-related travel and 14 days of private activities will speak volumes in favour of it being deemed a private trip.
  • B. The concept of additional expenses is crucial in SDU’s work-related travel rules and must be included in the assessment. If the employee would have gone on the private holiday to the destination in question regardless, SDU’s additional costs are limited.

 

It will always be an individual assessment from trip to trip whether the private aspect of the trip constitutes such a large proportion that SDU cannot cover the cost.

If Financial Services is in doubt as to whether a trip is wholly or partly in the nature of a private holiday, the rele-vant head of faculty administration, head of department or head of division (leader at management level 2) will make a decision on the matter. The authority to make such decisions cannot be delegated to other persons.

A statement from the head of faculty administration, head of department or head of division must be attached to the invoice/travel reimbursement claim. 

If an administrative employee at the department or other decentralised unit is in doubt as to whether a trip is in the nature of a private holiday, they can discuss the matter with the Travel Office or the relevant manager.

3.1 Rules in the PAV (personnel administrative guide) and SDU’s travel circulars

As mentioned in the introduction in Section 1, SDU employees can take holidays in connection with SDU-funded work-related trips.

In this context, attention should be paid to the following provisions in the Personnel Administrative Guide pub-lished by the Danish Agency for Employees and Competence (in Danish) (https://pav.medst.dk/tjenesterejser/)

  • Punkt 21.2.10
    • ”Hvis den ansatte i tilknytning til en tjenesterejse ønsker at afvikle ferie på det midlertidige tjenestested, kan tjenestestedet godkende, at udrejsen fremrykkes eller hjemrejsen udskydes under hensyn til ferieafviklingen. Forøgede udgifter til transport, måltider og overnatning, som følge af at opholdet forlænges med ferien, afholdes af den ansatte, jf. herved også afsnit 21.4.2.4. Der gælder særlige regler for beskatning af fritidsrejser, der foretages i tilknytning til tjenesterejser.”
  • Punkt 21.4.2.4
    • ”Tilsvarende bortfalder retten (til godtgørelse, red.) altid under ferie samt på fridage, afspadseringsdage mv., der holdes i tilknytning til ferie.”

 

Translation to English:

  • Section 21.2.10
    • ‘If, in connection with a work-related trip, the staff member wishes to hold their holiday at the temporary place of work, the place of work may authorise the outward journey to be brought forward or the return journey to be postponed on account of taking the holiday. Increased expenses for transport, meals and accommodation as a result of the stay being extended due to the holiday shall be paid by the employee (see also Section 21.4.2.4). Special rules apply to the taxation of leisure travel undertaken in connection with work-related travel.
  • Section 21.4.2.4
    • ‘Similarly, the right [to compensation, Ed.] always lapses during holidays and on days off, days off in lieu, etc. taken in connection with holidays.’

 

This means that SDU’s expenses for a work-related trip that includes a private holiday before, during or after the work-related trip may not exceed the expenses for the work-related trip if no holiday had been included before, during or after the work-related trip.

In addition to the above rules, the provisions of SDU’s internal circular on work-related travel still apply. This includes the rule that the place of work plans the work-related trip as well as the rule on additional expenses. See https://sdunet.dk/da/servicesider/oekonomi/rejser/generelle-regler/cirkulaerer_tjenesterejser

 

3.2 If the private holiday is held at the same destination as the SDU-related activity

If SDU employees spend their holiday at the same destination as the SDU-related activity, the following applies:

  • SDU pays for air and train tickets.
  • SDU covers expenses for accommodation, meals and so on during the period(s) in which the SDU-related activity takes place.
  • SDU does not cover any expenses during the period(s) when the employee is on holiday.

 

3.3 If the private holiday is not held at the same destination as the SDU-related activity

For administrative reasons, all employees are encouraged to limit spending their holidays at a different destination than the SDU-related activity.

If SDU employees spend their holiday at a destination other than the SDU-related activity, the following applies:

  • SDU covers the cost of air and train tickets corresponding to the cost that SDU would have incurred if a private holiday had not been included.
    • It is the employee’s responsibility to document the amount that the cost of air and train tickets would have been if a private holiday had not been included. The documentation must be obtained on the same date as the air/train ticket was purchased. This requirement is due to the fact that prices, especially for air travel, fluctuate greatly.
  • Other expenses for air and train travel must be covered by the employee.
  • SDU covers expenses for accommodation, meals and so on during the period(s) in which the SDU-related activity takes place.
  • SDU does not cover any expenses during the period(s) when the employee is on holiday.

 

3.4 Workflow in practice for private holidays at a destination other than the SDU-related activity

If an SDU employee spends their holiday at a destination other than the SDU-related activity, (see Section 3.3) the following applies to the coverage of transport costs:

  • Expenses for transport from the employee’s place of work in Denmark to the destination where the SDU-related activity takes place (or vice versa):
    • Tickets must be purchased in accordance with SDU’s rules for air, train, etc. travel, including by using SDU’s travel agency, electronic invoicing and/or SDU company-issued credit cards.
  • Transport costs from the destination where the SDU-related activity takes place to the holiday destination (or vice versa) and transport costs from the holiday destination to the employee’s place of employment in Denmark (or vice versa).
    • When purchasing tickets, the employee must not use SDU’s travel agency, must not use an SDU-issued credit card nor have an invoice issued to SDU.
    • The employee must claim SDU-related additional expenses as expenses in SDU’s travel reimbursement system.
  • The SDU employee can be reimbursed for transport costs that would have cost SDU the same if the employee had not gone on a private holiday before or after the work-related trip by using the same reimbursement claim in SDU’s travel reimbursement system where expenses for hourly and daily allowances or catering are settled – i.e. only after returning from the trip. The reimbursed amount must be documented (see Section 3.3).

For academic staff recruited abroad where the employee’s family still lives (i.e. when the employee can be said to have two residences), the following special rules apply:

The employee has the option to start the work-related trip at the alternative residence abroad (family residence). Transport between Denmark and the alternative residence is always at the employee’s own expense. SDU is authorised to cover only the employee’s additional expenses. It is therefore possible for SDU to cover the em-ployee’s transport costs between the conference venue and Denmark with a reduction for the saved transport costs between the alternative residence and Denmark. The amount of the saved expense must be documented. The documentation must be provided on the same date as the purchased air ticket is booked.

Example:

An employee has an alternative residence in Hungary. She is travelling to the USA for a conference. She wants to fly from Hungary to the USA and from there to Denmark.

  • Transport from Denmark to Hungary is at the employee’s own expense.
  • SDU covers the transport from Hungary to the USA.
  • SDU covers a share of the transport from the USA to Denmark.
    • The one-way flight from the USA to Denmark costs DKK 3,000.
    • An air ticket from Hungary to Denmark would have cost DKK 1,000.
    • The employee is reimbursed DKK 2,000 by SDU. The amount of DKK 2,000 corresponds to her additional expenses, as she would otherwise have had to transport herself from Hungary to Denmark.

 

The individual department or unit – not the employee – determines whether an employee is covered by the special rules in this section.

The rules in this section do not apply in connection with holidays at a destination other than the alternative residence, i.e. the residence where the employee’s family lives. If the employee recruited abroad spends their holiday at a destination other than the alternative residence, the rules in Sections 1–3 apply.

The guidelines were approved by University Director Thomas Buchvald Vind on 2 August 2023.

The Travel Office

  • Campusvej 55
  • Odense - 5320
  • Phone: +4565502020

Last Updated 30.06.2025