Long-term illness: the 120-day rule in Denmark

What are your options if you are affected by a serious or long-term illness and you need to be off work for an extended period of time?

Get answers to your questions about long-term sick leave (typically over 30 days).

What happens if I am ill and unable to work for a longer period?

If you are ill for an extended period of time, you are entitled to support to keep you in your job. Conversely, you also have an obligation to attend certain things.

Here you can see a timeline of deadlines, documents and meetings you may encounter during a long-term sick leave:

First day of illness: Your employer can ask for a sick note from your doctor (a so-called friattest) or fit for work certificate (mulighedserklæring) from day 1 of your illness.

The sick note from your doctor is to confirm that you are ill and it has to be paid by your employer. Learn more about the sick note

The fit for work certificate describes your options for returning to work. Read about the fit for work certificate

14 days after the first day of illness: Your employer can ask for a duration statement (varighedserklæring).
Read about the duration declaration

No later than 4 weeks after the first day of illness: Your employer must invite you to a sickness absence interview about your options for returning to work.
Read more about the sickness absence interview

1 month after your first day of illness: If you are ill for more than 30 days, your employer must notify the municipality if they want to be reimbursed for part of your sick pay. This must be done no later than 5 weeks after your first day of illness.

From then on, you will have a parallel sickness benefit case with the municipality.

The municipality will send you an information form that you are obliged to fill out so that the municipality can assess what action they should take to help you return to work.

After the first 6 months: The municipality must decide whether your sickness benefit period can be extended 22 weeks after the municipality was informed that you had been ill for 4 weeks. At this point, you have been on sick leave for 26 weeks or approximately 6 months.

The sickness benefit period can be extended if there are prospects of you returning to work, e.g. because you are undergoing treatment, a work trial, rehabilitation or work experience placement. They can also be extended if you have applied for disability pension or are seriously, life-threateningly ill.

If the period of sickness benefit is not extended and you still cannot return to work, you are entitled to a job assessment programme with resource allowance.

For how long can I be on sick leave and will I still receive my salary?

As a salaried employee, you are entitled to full pay during illness, regardless of how long you are ill. If you normally receive a bonus, you are also entitled to it during illness.

The majority of IDA's members - both private and public sector employees - are employed as salaried employees, but if you are not, sick pay is covered by your terms of employment.

As a rule, you can be on long-term sick leave as long as there is medical documentation for it and you fulfil your obligations, for example by responding to enquiries and attending meetings when called.

Your manager has a duty to investigate the possibility of keeping you on the job before you are dismissed. You may be able to change your tasks, work part-time with a partial recovery programme or be relocated.

You may be subject to the 120-day rule.

What is a sickness absence interview?

If you are absent for more than 4 weeks, your manager must call you in for a sickness absence interview.

A sickness absence interview (sygefraværssamtale) is a dialogue with your employer about how to retain you in your job. The purpose is to strengthen the dialogue between you and should focus on when and how you can return to work - not to verify whether you are ill.

You cannot refuse to attend sickness absence interviews at your workplace, but if you are too ill to attend a face-to-face meeting, you can ask for it to be held by phone.

Your employer will often request a fit for work certificate in connection with a sickness absence interview.

When can I be called for a sickness absence interview?

Your employer is obliged to hold a sickness absence interview with you no later than 4 weeks after your first day of illness.

You must be called in for a sickness absence interview with reasonable notice, which is typically a few days.

You can be called in for a sickness absence interview either by phone or in writing.

Your employer is not obliged to call you in for a sickness absence interview if you are in a terminated position and resign within 8 weeks of the first day of illness, but can still choose to do so.

What happens at a sickness absence interview?

The sickness absence interview should generally be held in person, but if you cannot attend due to illness or other practical reasons, you can have the interview by phone, online via Teams, via email or similar.

During the sickness absence interview, you can discuss when and how you can return to work and whether a partial recovery programme can help you.

If there are doubts about whether you can handle your usual work tasks and whether you can return to them, you can also discuss options for being assigned different tasks or undergoing skills development or further training.

You can bring an accompanying person, such as your union representative, a colleague or your partner, to the interview. Bringing an accompanying person can help you stay focused on which measures can support you in staying in your job.

What is a sick note?

After your first day of absence, your employer may require a medical statement of incapacity for work from your doctor. This is called a sick note or friattest.

If your employer asks you to procure a sick note, the employer must cover the costs.

What is a fit for work certificate?

Your employer can request a fit for work certificate (mulighedserklæring) at any time. The purpose is to determine your work ability during your illness. The fit for work certificate is comprised of two sections:

The first section is filled in by you and your employer. Here, you describe whether you are on full or partial sick leave, and whether you are prevented from performing your work tasks.
The second section is filled in by your doctor.

You can find a form and instructions at the Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (in Danish)

What is a self-certification form?

Your employer may ask you for a self-certification form (Tro- og love-erklæring). In it, you inform your employer in writing that you are sick and that it is in good faith. You don't need a doctor to make this declaration - you are simply confirming your own assessment of your health.

If you sign a self-certification form that turns out to be false, it is considered fraud and can have serious consequences.

What is a duration declaration?

If you are employed under the Salaried Employees Act, your employer may ask you for a statement on the expected duration of the sick leave after 14 days. This is called a duration declaration (varighedserklæring).

The duration declaration is your doctor's assessment of how long your illness is likely to last. The doctor typically only makes them for 4 weeks at a time because they don't consider it medically justifiable to assess the illness further into the future. If you are still ill after, for example, 4 weeks, the employer can ask for a new medical certificate.

The duration declaration is made by your doctor and your employer must cover the cost.

What does “the 120-day rule” mean?

The 120-day rule means that you can be dismissed with one month’s notice if you have been ill for at least 120 calendar days within a year.

The 120 days do not have to be consecutive.

Pregnancy-related illness is not included in the 120 days. 

For the 120-day rule to apply, these conditions must apply:

The 120-day rule must be written into your employment contract.
The notice of termination must come immediately after the 120 days.
You must be on sick leave when you are terminated.

If you are dismissed with reference to the 120-day rule, your notice period is 1 month.

As a public employee in the state, region or municipality, you are not covered by the 120-day rule. If you are dismissed due to illness, your normal notice period applies.

Can I be dismissed due to sickness?

As a rule sickness is a lawful absence and consequently is not in itself a fair reason for dismissal. However, you can still be dismissed based on the specific circumstances of your case. The following factors may come into play:

Your sick leave has been prolonged
Your sick leave has had a negative impact on operations
It is unclear at the time of termination when you can return to full-time work.

Can I be on partial sick leave?

You have the option of taking partial sick leave instead of full sick leave if:

You are partially unable to work due to illness.
You are absent due to illness for at least 4 hours per week.

The purpose of partial sick leave is to avoid full-time sick leave.

You do not need to have been on full-time sick leave first to get partial sick leave.

You will be entitled to your usual (full-time) salary regardless of whether you are on partial or full-time sick leave. Your employer can receive reimbursement from the municipality for the hours you are on sick leave.

Your employer can refuse partial sick leave.

Partial sick leave is not a permanent solution. If your partial sick leave is prolonged, the municipality can investigate whether you need to be helped in another way.

Can I get do a partial return to work?

If you've been on sick leave, a partial return to work can give you the opportunity to gradually return to your job so that the transition isn't too difficult and you don't risk ending up on sick leave again.

You must be on sick leave for at least four hours a week to be eligible for a partial return to work.

When you are partially fit, you'll need to make an escalation plan with your manager about what you can do and how many hours you can work.

You will be entitled to full pay during partial recovery.

What are my options if I am chronically ill?

If you suffer from a long-term or chronic illness where you have at least 10 sick days per year, you can apply for a so-called Section 56 agreement.

The Section 56 agreement entitles your workplace to be reimbursed an amount equivalent to sickness benefit from the first day of illness.

You can find the application form at borger.dk - you must first select your municipality.

See the application form for section 56 agreement at borger.dk

You and your manager fill out the form and send it to the municipality where you live. They must approve the application.

The agreement is valid for up to 2 years, but you can also make a temporary Section 56 agreement.

What are my options if I am critically ill?

Critical illness is part of what your insurance and/or pension company covers. Just as it also covers loss of earning capacity and payment in the event of death.

You should therefore contact your insurance company or pension company for advice on your critical illness options.

Can I go on holiday during long-term illness?

As a general rule, you are not allowed to take holidays, travel or weekends away if you are on sick leave, unless approved by your municipality and your employer.

This requires you to get a doctor's assessment of whether a holiday will delay your recovery. The job centre must then make a technical recovery certificate so that your employer can get a sickness benefit refund, and your employer must approve the holiday.

You can't travel abroad while your employer is receiving sick pay reimbursement.

Contact IDA if you are planning to go on holiday during illness.

Read about holidays during short-term illness

What can I do while on sick leave?

If you are on long-term sick leave, you are allowed to perform everyday tasks and do things in your free time as long as

You follow the doctor's recommendations and do not interrupt any treatments.
Your activities do not delay your illness and your behaviour is reasonable.
You attend sickness absence interviews at your workplace.

If you have a second job during your sick leave, it depends on the nature of your illness and work whether you can continue your second job during your sick leave.

If you are considering quitting or changing jobs during sick leave, contact IDA for advice.

Get personal advice

IDA’s social worker advises on sickness benefit, aids, rehabilitation, flexible work and early retirement.

It is also possible to get assistance in appeals regarding sickness and pensions.

Get help from IDA if your dismissal is unjust

Contact IDA for advice if you have been dismissed because of sickness and you are in doubt whether or not it is legal.

Contact IDA

Illness and sick leave

Long-term illness: the 120-day rule