Unlimited Sick Days: Denmark’s Dream Policy or Workplace Dilemma? LWID S3E28 (replay)

Unlimited sick leave sounds great—until it doesn't. Golda and Narcis—both internationals with a strong connection to Denmark—explore the country’s ongoing debate around expanded parental leave to help parents take care of sick children. From the pressures on dual-income households to the impact on startups and the fairness toward colleagues without kids, this conversation tackles the policy from all sides. It’s a deeply personal yet broadly political topic, especially for internationals navigating parenting without local family support. 

This conversation originally aired in Season 3, Episode 3, and still feels just as relevant today.

Full episode: 

https://lwidpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2209797/episodes/16586898-culling-wolves-unlimited-parental-sick-days-police-scandal-lwid-s3e3

❓ Have questions, ideas or feedback?

Please email us at lastweekdk@gmail.com.

👀 Subscribe to the newsletter (available in multiple languages!)

English -Romanian - Polish - Spanish - Turkish - Italian - German - Hungarian

🛍️ Support the show by grabbing your LWID merchandise:
https://last-week-in-denmark.tpopsite.com/shop?limit=48

Follow us on the socials:

✨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/last_week_in_denmark/

🎉Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lastweekindenmark

👉LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lastweekindenmark

Get involved with our events and publications:

⭐Website: https://lwid.dk/

Transcript

Steph:

Welcome to the Last Week in Denmark podcast. Each week, two of our community members talk through the top Danish news, stories and developments, sharing personal insights and international perspectives. If you're an international living in Denmark or thinking of moving here, you'll want to check out many of these episodes. We've got three full seasons for you to explore. During our summer break, we're highlighting standout moments from the most recent season. This week, we're revisiting a thoughtful conversation between Golda and Narcis about Denmark's debate over unlimited sick leave for parents with ill children. As two internationals with strong ties to Denmark, they weigh the pros and cons. From stretched workplaces and startup challenges to fairness for colleagues without children and the lack of support for internationals. It's a relevant and emotionally charged discussion that dives into the realities of parenting in Denmark and what these policy changes could mean for working families, especially international families. You'll find the full episode link in the show Notes. If this episode resonates with you, please screenshot it and share it on social media, and tag Last Week in Denmark when you do. We're here to help internationals in Denmark stay informed and feel connected. Thanks for helping us reach more people like you.

Golda:

Well, that takes us into our second topic, which is increase parental leave for sick children. We're both parents. So, what is your perspective on this?

Narcis:

Well, I see that there are attempts, to be honest, I saw attempts from some companies, now there's attempts from some institutions. It seems to be a narrative. And to be honest, funny enough, I sit in a political party and at one evening there was one of our representatives who comes and she says that, well, I have this dream. I want to bring unlimited sick days for parents to everyone. To the old, to everyone that works in the public system. I hear, I'm a parent, but I'm at the same time also a business owner. So it's... Am I happy with unlimited sick days for sick children? Well, I understand the reasoning behind it, but there's always two parents, right? So, how do you share that? Like, a parent takes two days, then another parent takes two days. So, is there a certainty that one of the parents actually goes to work?

Golda:

Yeah, that's a good question. So one of the discussions that we have had, I am also a parent, as I mentioned, we have had amongst my colleagues. Now, I work outside of Denmark, but I actually work the Danish market. So my job is in Danish still and I speak to Scandinavian colleagues. And it's very interesting because from a parental perspective, you can say that, yes, when your child is sick, it's almost like chaos in the house. Even if you work remotely, you're kind of just constantly keeping an eye on them and they're barging in and disturbing you. But at the same time, wouldn't that shift the burden of work upon your colleagues who don't have children?

Narcis:

I do not think of that.

Golda:

Yeah. And is that fair to them that they have to take up extra workload just because they didn't decide to reproduce?

Narcis:

Oof. That's... [laughs] I feel like it's a Pandora box. Where we live. We live in a time when Mette Frederiksen says make more children. Denmark is dying. We need people to pay taxes in the future, as well. Uh, otherwise it's not going well. So, definitely we are talking about a time where we need to have more children. So, any sort of policies out there are about how do we get Danes to get more children.

Golda:

Yes. So, I see it now. They're like, this is your incentive. You can have more days off if your kid is sick.

Narcis:

Exactly.

Golda:

And if you don't have a kid, go have a kid.

Narcis:

Exactly. So, your colleagues who are pissed off at you that you get too many free days, then what stops you? Well, medically speaking, there could be a lot of things stopping you. So, I mean, if you cannot luckily enough, there is plenty of programs right now. You can have fertility free support for the first two children. So the government tries their best to support if you want to have children. Of course, if you do not want to, that's also fine. But also I'm thinking about another perspective. We're talking about businesses where there are colleagues who can take over. But what about businesses where there are no colleagues to take over the workload? Um, remember, imagine you, you have a startup and you only have three employees, all of them key. Two of them have to stay home because their child is sick. That will just basically delay your companies quite significantly. Like, I cannot even imagine if multiple, if the majority of the people in my company will go home for two weeks. Because I remember when my daughter was sick, she was sick full guard for weeks at the time. Especially in the first year, I could not imagine like a time when, when she was not sick. Especially when they get to go into this daycares and kindergartens. They have to go through, take every germ possible and every sickness possible and bring it home.

Golda:

They do.

Narcis:

So, you might as well. To be honest, I would prefer a different solution. Make three years of parental leave, you know, be down with it. Three years of "Vaya con Dios, see you in three years." And then, I know that after the child has been to daycare, has been to kindergarten, the number of days that they are sick drops significantly. Like, I haven't seen my daughter sick for months now. Because they have already been affected by every disease you can imagine.

Golda:

[Laughs] How old is she?

Narcis:

Three years and six months.

Golda:

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. She's been through a lot. I was with this seven and a half, and she goes to school and she tells me two or three of her classmates are sick and coughing. And I tell her, you better stay away from those ones. And make sure you wash your hands, because we don't play that in this house anymore.

Narcis:

Yeah. So, but in the end, the idea of this is... I understand it. Yes, if you are a parent and you know your child is sick at home, you cannot really work very well or focus on the work. So, I understand the reasoning behind it, the moral thinking behind it. It's a bit more hard to implement. Because one thing is the ideal world, another thing is people taking advantage of it or people using it in the wrong way, as well.

Golda:

Yeah. One thought I also had is how do they know people actually have children?

Narcis:

[Laughs] You're joking, right?

Golda:

No! I'm so serious. Like, it's not like my employer has ever asked to see my child.

Narcis:

Okay.

Golda:

I just. I don't know. Did your employer ask you to see your child?

Narcis:

Luckily, I don't. Never had an employer, but...

Golda:

Oh, okay. Because it just came to my mind when you said that some people might abuse it. Because it's true. What if somebody just says, yeah, I have a sick child, and they don't necessarily have that. We're just hoping that doesn't happen.

Narcis:

No. Yeah. It's because you have to understand this is built on Scandinavian work culture philosophy. We trust our employees to be responsible adults. And fair enough, we should. That's the right way. And to be honest, for Internationals, such an initiative will be a godsend. Why? Because we don't have a support system in Denmark. We don't have grandma, grandpa with us to take care. We don't have a cousin who could just jump in and take care of it. So, for Internationals, such ideas are amazing. It's just a question of finding a way of how do you balance the unlimited sick days between the two parents? Because it shouldn't be fair that one parent gets none and the other parent uses stays at home for two weeks because one business will be affected a lot. And the other business, where let's say the other parent lives, works, will not never have known that the child has been sick.

Golda:

That's true.

Narcis:

So, that should be one way. Another way should be how are the businesses compensated for this? I lose my worker for two weeks. Will they go on sick days? Will they go on sick leave? Like, will it be that like a sick leave? So that the government pays for their salary for two weeks?

Golda:

Yeah, that's a...

Narcis:

Next question is who pays for it?

Golda:

Yeah, who pays for it?

Kalpita:

Hey, this is Kalpita and Golda, co hosts of the Last Week in Denmark podcast. Did you know Last Week in Denmark offers sponsored content in the newsletter? Our reporters are producing original articles and content tailored for internationals in Denmark.

Golda:

So, if you have a business our readers should know about, let us write about it. Get in touch with us at reporter@LWID.dk. You can also reach out to us on LinkedIn and Instagram @LastWeekInDenmark