New national action plan to reduce sick leave
Published: 1 February 2004
In Denmark every year 142,000 persons are absent from their work due to illness, according to a report [1] /(pdf file)/ from the Danish Ministry of Employment [2] (June 2003). The initiatives launched by the Danish government in the national action plan, ‘ Det gør vi ved sygefraværet - Regeringens handlingsplan [3]’ /(pdf file),/ aim to reduce these levels.[1] http://www.bm.dk/sygefravaer/konferencen_maj_2003/analyserapport.pdf[2] http://www.bm.dk/english/default.asp[3] http://www.bm.dk/publikationer/2003/sygefravaer/handlingsplan/handlingsplan_sygefravaer.pdf
_In December 2003, the Danish government launched a new national action plan aimed at reducing levels of sick leave. Its main objective is to modernise and simplify the Danish sickness benefit scheme. The action plan contains 23 initiatives, including preventive measures at company level, such as making sick leave a compulsory part of the statutory OSH audits (_Arbejdspladsvurdering , APV).
In Denmark every year 142,000 persons are absent from their work due to illness, according to a report (pdf file) from the Danish Ministry of Employment (June 2003). The initiatives launched by the Danish government in the national action plan, ‘ Det gør vi ved sygefraværet - Regeringens handlingsplan’ (pdf file), aim to reduce these levels.
| Short-term | Long-term | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 63,000 | 53,000 | 116,000 |
| Self-employed people | 2,000 | 5,000 | 8,000 |
| Pregnant women | 1,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 |
| Unemployed people | 1,000 | 12,000 | 13,000 |
| Total | 67,000 | 75,000 | 142,000 |
Source: Danish Ministry of Employment, ‘Analyse af det danske sygefravær’, Copenhagen, June 2003
Since the late 1990s, the figures for sick leave have been rising, and this represents an increasing economic burden. Public expenditure on sickness benefits has grown by as much as 25% from 1999 to 2002. However, the report shows that a considerable part of the increase is due to the fact that the public sickness benefit scheme was extended in 2002 to cover the whole labour market, including public sector employees.
In addition, the report reveals that sick leave can contribute to exclusion from the labour market as well as a range of psychosocial side-effects for persons affected.
Main points
The action plan includes 23 specific initiatives aimed at reducing levels of sick leave in Denmark. It focuses mainly on the following aspects:
Improvements in local government procedures concerning follow-up on sickness benefits. This should streamline cooperation between employees, their companies and the health system.
Improvements in how companies handle sick leave. Among other things, it will be compulsory for companies to integrate sickness absence in the statutory OHS audit.
Establishment of a central statistical resource covering sick leave for the entire labour market.
Introduction of an electronic system between government and companies to reduce the administrative burden.
Modernisation and simplification of the Danish sickness and maternity benefits act.
In order to promote the national action plan on sick leave, the Danish government has put aside 60 million DKK (€8 million) for 2005 and 50 million DKK for subsequent years.
Reactions from the social partners
On the employer side, the Danish Employers’ Association (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening , DA) and the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri , DI) support the tightening of procedures for local government. However, the employers are unhappy with the fact that sick leave will have to be integrated as a compulsory part of legal workplace assessment.
Among the employee organisations, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen , LO) has criticised the fact that the statistical reports on sick leave for individual companies will not be made available to the public. Nonetheless, overall it views the action plan positively, highlighting the link between sick leave and working conditions.
Further information
The national action plan on sick leave is available online (in Danish). The Danish Ministry of employment has launched a dedicated website, which includes background material and a short summary of the plan.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2004), New national action plan to reduce sick leave, article.
