When You're Sick and Unemployed

You can claim unemployment benefits from the unemployment insurance fund (a-kasse) for a maximum of 14 sick days. If you are sick for more than 14 days, you’ll begin receiving sickness benefits (sygedagpenge) from your municipality. 

We will automatically inform your municipality if you are sick for more than 14 days and need to transition to receiving sickness benefits. 

Your municipality will then send you a form, which you must complete and return within 8 days. 

If you haven’t heard from your municipality within five weeks of registering your first sick day, you must contact them yourself to request sickness benefits. 

Report your recovery on jobnet.dk 

When you are well again after more than 14 sick days, you must:  

• Report your recovery on jobnet.dk. 
• Submit a completed application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) to us. 

Find the application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) on Mit AKA 

In some situations, you’ll receive sickness benefits from your municipality from the first sick day instead of unemployment benefits from the unemployment insurance fund. 

You are also entitled to receive sickness benefits from your municipality from your first sick day, if you: 

• Are not entitled to unemployment benefits because you’ve not been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least a year. 
• Are not entitled to unemployment benefits because you do not meet the employment requirement (beskæftigelseskrav). 
• Are newly graduated and subject to a waiting period (karensperiode). 
• Are unemployed after running your own business and subject to a three-week quarantine (karantæne). 
• Have a permanent part-time job. 
• Work on a shift schedule or according to a shift plan. 
• Have a permanent contract and a notice period agreement with your employer. 

Report sick on jobnet.dk  

You must report sick on jobnet.dk even if you fall into one of the above categories. If you need to receive sickness benefits from your first sick day, we will inform your municipality automatically. 

Your municipality will then send you a form, which you must complete and return within 8 days. If you haven’t heard from your municipality within three weeks of registering your first sick day, you must contact them yourself to request sickness benefits. 

You can read more about sickness benefits on lifeindenmark.borger.dk. 

Please note that you do not receive sickness benefits on public holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day). 

Report your recovery on jobnet.dk 

When you have recovered after more than 14 sick days, you must: 

• Report your recovery on jobnet.dk. 
• Submit a completed application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) to us. 

Find the application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) on Mit AKA 

You’ll draw from your unemployment benefit weeks in the first six weeks you are sick. This applies, regardless of whether you receive unemployment benefits from us while you are sick, or sickness benefits from the municipality. 

If you are sick and receive sickness benefits for over six weeks, you no longer use part of your unemployment benefit weeks. The three-year period in which you are entitled to unemployment benefits is extended by the number of weeks you receive sickness benefits beyond the six weeks. 

Example 

If you are sick for ten consecutive weeks, you use six unemployment benefit weeks out of your total 104 weeks. You do not draw on your unemployment benefit weeks in the following four weeks. Your three-year period is extended by four weeks. 

If you’ve been sick for more than three months, you must register as unemployed on jobnet.dk and submit a new application for unemployment benefits to us. 

When you recover after long-term sickness, we must assess whether a new availability evaluation (rådighedsvurdering) is necessary. To make this assessment, we need to know how long you’ve been sick and what was the matter with you. 

Our employees have a duty of confidentiality. 

Use the Rådighed efter sygdom (availability after illness) form 

Find the application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring) on Mit AKA 

You only need to report sick to your employer if you are employed in a wage subsidy job (løntilskudsjob) or job rotation. You are entitled to receive either a salary on sick days or sick pay following the rules for regular employees. 

If you work permanently part-time and receive supplementary unemployment benefits (supplerende dagpenge), you must report sick to your employer and register it on jobnet.dk.

Remember to report your recovery in both places as well. 

If you become sick before leaving your job and are still sick on your first day of unemployment, you must contact your job centre to report sick to receive sickness benefits. If you are on gardening leave during your notice period, that period counts as employment 

If you become sick on the day you’ve registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk, you must report sick on jobnet.dk. In this case, you can receive unemployment benefits for the first 14 days. If you are sick for longer, you are eligible for sickness benefits from the municipality. 

As a self-employed person, you are entitled to sickness benefits from the municipality if you become sick. 

You can also take out an insurance which ensures you receive sickness benefits for the first two weeks of being sick.