Retentions of Employee on Sick Leave or at Risk of Illness

Advice on prevention – Employees at risk of illness

At the Center for Sickness benefit, we are always happy to offer advice and practical support—preferably before your employee needs to go on sick leave.

That’s why we have a dedicated Retention Team with a hotline: 28 98 36 62. You are welcome to use this service, though it is specifically aimed at businesses with employees residing in Frederiksberg.

Sickness benefit regulations

The Sickness Benefits Act aims to ensure that, in collaboration with you as an employer, we quickly focus resources and work together on an early and targeted effort for sick employees who are at the highest risk of losing their jobs.

A sick employee is entitled to up to 22 weeks of sick pay (with reimbursement to you as the employer) to clarify and resolve their case, provided they meet all of the conditions for receiving sick pay.

After receiving sickness benefits for 22 weeks, all sickness benefit cases must be reassessed. It will be evaluated whether it is possible to extend the sickness benefits under one of the seven extension rules of the Sickness Benefits Act. If the criteria for extending the sickness benefits are not met, the employee will be offered a job clarification program with a reduced benefit (and a corresponding reduced reimbursement to you as an employer).

Given the short deadline and reduced reimbursement during the job clarification program, it is crucial that you as an employer do not delay reporting the illness. Instead, you should quickly engage and contribute with suggestions and possibilities for retention, especially for employees who are at risk of long-term and complex sick leave.

Make use of our retention consultants

We aim to raise awareness about retention opportunities, and we are eager to share and contribute our knowledge and experiences with you in the companies.

Our retention consultants can offer to be active sparring partners and we can, among other things, provide:

• Sparring sessions with both the sick employee and the company
• Participation in roundtable discussions – at the workplace, via Skype/Teams, or at the jobcenter
• Workplace visits
• Clarification of the situation and mutual expectations
• Advice and guidance on partial sick leave, compensatory arrangements, § 56, etc.
• Contribution to the preparation of a retention plan and possibility certificate
• Information on relevant legislation
• General advice and guidance both before, during and after sick leave

Work retention – Early contribution 

Employee retention is a key focus, and the Center for Sick Leave Benefits aims to actively collaborate with businesses. The goal is to intensify and strengthen early contribution efforts for employees at risk of illness. Together, we can shift the focus to opportunities rather than limitations.

Work retention is about supporting employees who are struggling to perform or maintain their jobs due to illness or injury. Illness and sick leave are costly, and we know that preventing issues and making an early contribution can pay off. The earlier, the better.

Work retention benefits the employee, the company, and society as a whole. Therefore, we must act quickly together — because we truly cannot afford not to.

An active sickness and retention policy is important and cannot stand alone. Early collaboration between the sick employee, the company, the general practitioner, professional organizations, and the Jobcenter can help achieve shorter periods of sick leave or even prevent a period of absence altogether.

Fast Track – early follow up

Fast Track stands for "Early Follow-up". The purpose of this scheme is to initiate early dialogue with the sick employee within the legal 8-week period, allowing us to quickly assess the employee's needs, opportunities, and determine if there is a need to involve other relevant partners, such as your company as the employer.

The request is made via Nem Refusion on Virk.dk and can be submitted from the first day of sickness and up to a maximum of 5 weeks of illness.

The arrangement can be used when there is a risk of long-term sick leave (8 weeks or more, starting from the first day of illness), in the case of repeated shorter sick leaves, and when there is uncertainty about when and how the sick employee can return to their job. The focus of early follow-up is to increase the chances of a faster return to work while ensuring your ability to retain the employee.

Work Life and Stress

Are you a manager of an employee suffering from stress who lives in Frederiksberg Municipality?

We have a great offer for you.

Read the full BROCHURE – you can find it at the bottom of the page under LINKS.

Benefits include:

• All experience and research show that stress and well-being challenges are easier to resolve when addressed early.
• It is in the interest of both your workplace, your employee, and the municipality to intervene as early as possible – so that your employee can thrive again and, for example, avoid taking sick leave.
• Savings on costs for temporary staff, new hires, training, and other expenses related to illness.
• A positive effect on the rest of the staff, as they see that action is being taken when a colleague is struggling.