News - Payroll and HR, Q12 - 2016

Reimbursement of sickness benefits – mandatory digital self-service for employees

The requirement of digital self-service for sick employees was introduced on 1 December 2015.

Under the new regulations, it is mandatory for sick employees to use digital self-service in the following three situations:

1. To fill in the disclosure form, which is sent to the sick employee through Nemrefusion when the employer has reported the sickness absence through Nemrefusion. The form must be filled in and returned to the local authority within eight days. If this deadline is not observed, the employer's entitlement to reimbursement will be lost unless a valid and acceptable reason for such non-observance can be provided.

TIP! An employer can obtain protection against the risk of losing the entitlement to reimbursement by writing in the contract of employment­ (or in an addendum to the contract) that if the employee fails to observe the deadline, the employer reserves the right to set off any loss of reimbursed sickness benefits against the employee's pay.

2. If the employee wants to comment on the information reported by the employer through Nemrefusion.

3. When the employee requests sickness benefits from the local authority.

The employee gains access to the digital self-service system through “Mit sygefravær” (my sickness absence), either via a link in the letter from Nemrefusion, www.borger.dk/sygedagepenge or www.mitsygefravaer.dk. The employee signs with NemID.

Please note that:

• Employees who are exempted from the electronic mail service also have to fill in the disclosure form digitally. Here the citizen will receive the link by ordinary mail.

• Disclosure forms etc. that are not filled in online will, as a general rule, be rejected by the local authority.

Is your company fully up-to-date with the ACF system?

If your company is a member of an employers' organisation affiliated with the Confederation of Danish Employers, and if it has been agreed under a collective agreement to use holiday cards, it is compulsory for the company to report holiday data to the Confederation of Danish Employers' Central Holiday Register (ACF). Reporting only relates to the employees who are covered by such a collective agreement.

The handling of this area - from an administrative point of view - is a major task for the company.

This includes a range of duties, including reporting, upward and downward adjustments of holiday cards, checking of reported data, etc.

For the individual employee, it may be extremely difficult to find out how to obtain his or her holiday pay, how to check the amount remaining on the holiday card, where to see the holiday card, etc.

The payroll department at Azets has trained specialists in this area, and we will be happy to offer our advice to the individual companies and their employees on these issues.

If you want to know more, just contact your payroll consultant or manager at Azets.

Dismissal with dignity

Dismissing an employee is an unpleasant experience for the manager in charge, but it is particularly unpleasant for the employee, who may go into a state of shock, lose his or her self-esteem and become concerned about the future. If, on top of this, the dismissal is also handled in an undignified manner and the employee feels badly or unfairly treated, then the consequences are more long-lasting. The turmoil that may arise among the other employees becomes more pronounced when the dismissal is effected in an appropriate fashion. It is essential that a dismissal is handled in an as dignified way as possible to ensure that confidence in management is maintained.

First of all, a dismissal has to be face to face, giving the employee a fair opportunity to ask questions. Besides, if possible, an employee should never be dismissed on a Friday as it is necessary that a chance to follow up the dismissal is available once the employee has recovered from the first wave of shock.

The interview

As a manager, you should be well prepared for the interview by having planned the opening in advance, possibly in writing if you are not comfortable with the situation. Tell the employee at the beginning of the interview that this is a dismissal and give a relatively short explanation why. If the reason for the dismissal is linked to the business or affairs of the company, you can explain about these and why this specific employee has to go. If the reason for the dismissal is linked to the conduct or capacity of the employee, you have to specify the reason, for instance lack of skills, lack of cooperation or other circumstances. The oral explanation must be consistent with the explanation given in the written dismissal letter, which the employee is required to sign to acknowledge receipt. The employee will most likely not be able to concentrate on the details communicated during the interview.

It is quite natural that the dismissal may provoke a reaction from the employee. This may be in the form of anger, or the employee may become upset and cry or perhaps become paralysed. Allow for the employee to scold or cry, but do not change the explanation and do not make any promise of mitigating circumstances, re-engagement or the like. As a manager, you must remain loyal to the decision of dismissal, and you should not inject your own position or opinion into the interview.  The dismissal situation is also hard for you as a manager, but you should not mention it to the employee, who already has plenty to worry about.

When the employee seems to be ready for the next step, you can explain the terms of the notice period although these details are also included in the written dismissal letter. You can for instance choose to read aloud the dismissal letter and explain its contents. It is important that you are familiar with the terms and conditions and are able to answer any questions the employee may ask. For instance, if the employee is not placed on garden leave, how is the notice period going to progress and how will responsibilities be transferred, or how should the other colleagues be informed? If the employee is placed on garden leave, you should explain the conditions of this type of dismissal. Explain the practical circumstances, for instance when and how to return all property belonging to the company, such as mobile phone, personal computer, etc.

After the interview

When the employee has acknowledged receipt of the written dismissal letter by signing it, you should schedule a follow-up interview approximately one week later. At that point, the employee will have had a chance to come to terms with the dismissal and to conduct a dialogue with dignity. Here the parties can agree on the practical arrangements in connection with the last day at work: is it standard company practice to organise a farewell reception with gifts and a speech, or does the employee prefer to leave the company unnoticed?