- If you are ill due to your pregnancy, you must tell it to your employer or unemployment insurance fund which must report it to Udbetaling Danmark. As self-employed, you must apply for maternity benefits at virk.dk.
- You will then receive a letter by Digital Post which explains how you should apply for maternity benefits or which information you must send to Udbetaling Danmark in the self-service solution “My maternity leave”.
- If you get a letter by Digital Post that Udbetaling Danmark must have a doctor’s certificate, you must contact your doctor to have it filled in, and the doctor must then send it to Udbetaling Danmark.
You should be aware that if Udbetaling Danmark does not receive the doctor’s certificate within the deadline notified to you, this may influence your right to maternity benefits.
If your work can harm your unborn child
As the mother you can take leave earlier with maternity benefits if:
- your doctor thinks that there is a special risk for you or your unborn child
- your work can harm your unborn child.
Your employer must report your absence to Udbetaling Danmark, which sends you a letter by Digital Post. From the letter you can see which information you must send to Udbetaling Danmark in the self-service solution “My maternity leave”. (Min Barsel)
Sickness during maternity leave
If the child’s mother becomes too ill to take care of your child within the first 10 weeks after the child is born, then as a father or co-mother you can take leave during this period. You can actually take over the mother’s leave, but this requires that you both fulfil the conditions for taking maternity/paternity leave with maternity/paternity benefits.
You also need documentation from a doctor that the mother cannot take care of the child and for how long this is the case.
If you become ill during the leave
If you as a mother become sick in the first 10 weeks after giving birth, or if you as a father or co-mother become sick in the first 2 weeks after the birth, you can choose to transfer part of your remaining leave to the other parent.However, please note that as a salaried employee, you are not able to transfer 9 of the weeks.
If your child is hospitalized
As parents, you can extend your leave if your child is hospitalised. However, this only applies until the child reaches the age of 46 weeks and if you are not working at the same time.
The leave can be extended by the amount of time the child is hospitalised. You can at most extend the leave 3 months altogether.
Please note that it is only a hospitalisation that offers this opportunity. If the child is sent home early, for example, those days are not counted.
Special rules for fathers and co-mothers
If your child is hospitalised during your 2 weeks of leave at birth, you can interrupt your leave and start your up to 22 weeks of leave instead, as the 2 weeks of leave at birth cannot be extended. The 2 weeks of leave at birth must also be taken before the child reaches the age of 10 weeks, otherwise they are lost.
You must contact your employer and make an agreement with them if you want to use your 22 weeks of leave while the child is hospitalised. Also remember to notify your employer immediately when the child comes home from the hospital.
If you want to work during the hospitalisation
If you return to work while the child is hospitalised, you can instead postpone the remaining leave with maternity benefits until after the discharge. To use that possibility, your child must have been discharged no later than 60 weeks after the birth. This also applies to the father or co-mother’s 2 weeks of leave at birth.
Send documentation
In order to extend your leave and be entitled to receiving maternity/paternity benefits, you must send documentation from the hospital for the child’s hospitalisation. It is important that the hospitalisation date and the discharge date is stated on the documentation.
Send documentation to Udbetaling Danmark – Public Benefits Administration via:
Please note that Udbetaling Danmark – Public Benefits Administration can only pay maternity/paternity benefits for the extended period once documentation is received (and the documentation must state the child’s hospitalisation date and discharge date).
Deadlines for application
As self-employed, you must apply no later than three weeks after the first day of absence.
As a salaried employee you must apply no later than:
- 8 weeks after the childbirth if you do not receive salary during the leave
- 8 weeks after the payment of salary has stopped if you receive pay during part of the leave.
As an unemployed person, you must do as follows:
- If you are unemployed and get unemployment benefits from an unemployment insurance fund, you must tell your unemployment insurance fund about your childbirth no later than eight weeks after the childbirth.
- When your unemployment insurance fund has told Udbetaling Danmark about your childbirth, you receive a letter by Digital Post about what you must do and about access to apply for maternity benefits. The unemployment insurance fund cannot inform them of your childbirth until on the first day of your leave. You cannot apply in advance.
- You must apply for maternity benefits no later than eight weeks after receipt of the letter.
If you apply later, you cannot get unemployment benefits until the day when Udbetaling Danmark has received your application.
In special circumstances you can get an exemption from the deadline for application.