If you are injured at work, and the National Board of Industrial Injuries acknowledges the injury as an industrial injury, you may be entitled to compensation. The National Board of Industrial Injuries determines whether you qualify for compensation. Read more on their homepage.
Damage to glasses
If your glasses or contact lenses are damaged in connection with your work, your expenses for new ones may be covered. Under the rules applying in 2021, damaged eyeglass frames will be refunded at DKK 1,200. The cost of new eyeglass lenses of the same quality will be covered in full. Frames less than one year old are considered new, and the cost of replacing them will be covered in full. However, we require a receipt proving that the frames are less than one year old. If you disagree with our assessment, you can ask us to forward your case to the Labour Market Insurance for a final decision.
Dental injuries
You can have the costs of dental treatment covered if you suffer a dental injury in connection with your work. Once we have received your claim, we will send you a dentist’s declaration for your dentist to fill in and return to us. We will approve or reject your treatment on the basis of your dentist’s declaration. The extent of cover may depend on already existing damage and dental care.
If you are not a Danish citizen or are away sailing internationally, you may contact a dentist who can e-mail us an estimate of the treatment costs. We will get back to you as soon as possible with an approval, if applicable. If you disagree with our assessment, you can ask us to forward your case to the Labour Market Insurance for a final decision.
Permanent injury
You may be entitled to compensation for a recognised industrial injury if it causes life impairment. You can be awarded compensation for impairments that affect your daily life. You cannot get compensation for temporary impairments connected with the injury, and you must have suffered a permanent injury of at least 5% to be eligible for compensation. The Labour Market Insurance generally uses its injury rating list as a guideline when determining the level of permanent injury.
Loss of earning capacity
You may be entitled to compensation for loss of earning capacity if your industrial injury has reduced your chances of working and earning money. Your chances of earning money by working must be permanently reduced for you to be entitled to compensation for loss of earning capacity. The amount of compensation depends on such factors as your age and income before and after the injury. The Labour Market Insurance determines the amount of compensation.
After your industrial injury, if you can return to your job or to other work at a pay level equivalent to your pre-injury pay, you are not entitled to compensation for loss of earning capacity.
To be entitled to compensation, your loss of earning capacity must be at least 15%. Compensation for loss of earning capacity may be paid out as temporary or final compensation.
You may be entitled to temporary compensation if it is certain that you cannot return to your job but your chances of earning money by working are either unclarified or not fully clarified, or if you are to undergo a period of training to qualify you for different work. This may be the case, for example, if you are receiving sickness benefits, in rehabilitation or receiving ‘flex allowance’ (early retirement allowance for beneficiaries of the subsidised flexible employment scheme). Temporary compensation will usually cease, or be changed, when your situation changes. Temporary compensation is subject to tax.
Loss of earning capacity continued
You may be entitled to final compensation for loss of earning capacity once your chances of earning money by working have been clarified and it is considered certain that you will be unable to earn the same level of pay as before your injury.
This may be the case, for example, if you have to change jobs and thus receive lower pay, if you get a flexible job, or if you have to stop working altogether and are awarded a disability pension.
If the Labour Market Insurance determines that your final loss of earning capacity is less than 50%, your compensation will be paid as a lump sum. This sum is exempt from tax.
If the Labour Market Insurance determines that your final loss of earning capacity exceeds 50%, you will be entitled to monthly taxable benefits.
You can apply to the Labour Market Insurance for payment of up to 50% of the final compensation as a lump sum. The lump sum is exempt from tax. The remainder of the compensation will be paid as monthly taxable benefits.
You should be aware that you are under an obligation to notify the Labour Market Insurance if your circumstances change, for instance, if you change jobs or get a flexible job or return to the job market full-time.
Death
Surviving spouses, cohabiting partners or registered partners are entitled to a tax-exempt transitional allowance. In 2021, the allowance, which is adjusted annually, amounted to DKK 177,000. Compensation can also be paid for loss of dependency, if the deceased provided for the surviving dependants. The Labour Market Insurance determines the compensation on the basis of the age, children, health, education, work, pay, housing expenses and other financial circumstances of the surviving dependants. Surviving children receive separate compensation.
Treatment costs
If you have been involved in an accident at work, and your injury has been recognised as an industrial injury by the Labour Market Insurance, you are entitled to have certain treatment and transport expenses covered by the insurance. Cover is based on the Danish Consolidation Act on Workers’ Compensation. Unfortunately, the guidelines regarding treatment costs only exist in Danish. (Link to Danish guidelines here).
However, it is advisable to obtain an advance approval from us before any treatment is initiated.
Compensation is not awarded
Under the Danish Consolidated Workers’ Compensation Act, compensation is not awarded for pain and suffering and loss of earnings.
