You can receive sickness benefit if you meet the following conditions:
- You are unable to work because of your own illness, or if you have been injured- you live in Denmark, or are covered by Regulation (EC) No 883/04 on the coordination of social security systems
- You pay Danish tax on your income
- You meet specified requirements on a connection to the labour market (employment).
If you are self-employed, you may have the right to sickness benefit from the municipality after the first two weeks of absence.
Furthermore, to receive sickness benefit as a self-employed person, it is a requirement that:
- You have undertaken self-employed activity to a substantial extent for at least 6 months in the last 12 months, including the last month prior to the absence
- You have been working in your own business for at least 18.5 hours.
If you have had your business for less than six months, your previously work as a salary-earner will be included in the six-month.
As a self-employed person, you can take out two kinds of sickness insurance (regulated by the sickness benefit act). One where you can get sickness benefits from the first day of absence, and one where you can get it from the third day of absence. You can take out a sickness insurance policy from Udbetaling Danmark against an annual fee. For more information, contact Udbetaling Danmark.