ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY FOR CARER’S LEAVE
PROCEDURE (ACT ON EMPLOYEES’ ENTITLEMENT TO ABSENCE FROM WORK FOR SPECIAL FAMILY REASONS §1A)
Published: 22.12.2017 (Last revised: 12.09.2022)
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As of 2 August 2022, all staff members are entitled to carer’s leave for five working days each calendar year if a close family member needs essential care or support due to a serious health condition. Carer’s leave is self-paid.
There will be a transition period, 2 August-31 December 2022, during which staff members have the right to take two working days of carer’s leave.
CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER
Close family member is defined as one’s own children, parents, spouse or partner, or a person living in the same household as the staff member. In the case of carer’s leave for a person living in the same household, it is required that the staff member shares a registered address with the person to be cared for, for example a stepchild or a parent-in-law.
PERSONAL CARE OR SUPPORT
Staff members may only use carer’s leave when there is a specific situation where they have to provide personal care or support. For example, this may be to accompany a relative to an examination for dementia or another serious illness such as cancer. This may also be to accompany a relative suffering from Alzheimer's or another serious physical or mental health condition for a blood test, or a doctor's or dentist appointment. In addition, this may be situations where care or support is provided to a dying person, a sick person who is hospitalized, in hospice, in a nursing home or the like.
MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION
The employer may require the staff member to medically document the need for carer’s leave. In the specific situation, it is up to the employer to decide whether the staff member should present medical documentation. The medical documentation may, for example, be a notification for treatment or other documentation that significant care or support is needed in the specific situation. It is the responsibility of the employee to obtain and, where appropriate, pay for the relevant medical documentation.
If an employer requests medical documentation from the staff member, this is for visual inspection only; the medical documentation may not be archived in the staff member's personnel file.
TAKING CARER’S LEAVE
Carer’s leave may be taken as a total period or as individual days. Unused carer’s days lapse at the end of the year.
PROCEDURE
- The employee contacts the department/institute per email or telephone
- The employee sends a confirmation via email to the department/institute on the specific day or days on which carer's leave is taken
- The institute/department forwards the email from the employee to the sickness absence team hr-fravaer@adm.aau.dk
- The sickness absence team takes care of the further case processing, where, among other things, a letter is sent to the employee regarding confirmation and information about salary deductions.