Parties are pushing for legislation granting the right to care for sick children: Government parties fear the Danish model

The proposal looks challenging.

Although a citizen proposal (https://www.borgerforslag.dk/se-og-stoet-forslag/?Id=FT-20035) about the right to care for sick children until they are well again, gained momentum - and within three days reached 50,000 signatures (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/fyn/borgerforslag-buldrer-igennem-vil-aendre-maaden-vi-har-barn-syg-paa) , which is required to be considered in the Folketing - none of the government's parties are currently ready to vote for the proposal. (https://www.ft.dk/ripdf/samling/20251/beslutningsforslag/b10/20251_b10_som_fremsat.pdf)

Today, the proposal has been in open hearing in the Folketing at the invitation of the Employment Committee, and later in the month it will be first-handled in the Folketing.

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S and V are unclear - M says no

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The citizen proposal suggests the creation of a fund that would provide economic compensation, equivalent to 80 percent of a parent's salary, in the event that one's child under 12 years old is sick.

Social Democrat and chairman of the Employment Committee Thomas Skriver Jensen has 'great sympathy' for the proposal.

However, he does not know if he will vote for the proposal due to concerns about the Danish model, which suggests that it is the labor market parties who regulate wages and working conditions.

- Some say it goes against the Danish model. But we are concerned about the family being able to stay together, and there is a problem with illness and children. We have many who come forward and say that they cannot manage with two full-time jobs, he says.

He believes it is important that the issue is discussed in the Folketing, so he can become wiser on whether other measures can be taken to accommodate families.

- Are there other levers we can turn, and what can we do otherwise? For we also have a great interest in more people wanting to have children, but then you have to be able to make it work.

>

> Are there other levers we can turn, and what can we do otherwise? For we

> have also a great interest in more people wanting to have children, but then

> you have to be able to make it work.

> Thomas Skriver Jensen, chairman of the Employment Committee (S)

The same message is heard from the Venstre's employment representative, Kim Valentin, who has not yet taken a final position on whether he will vote for the proposal.

- As much as possible regarding sick days should be handled in the Danish model. I have noticed that some agreements address the problem with sick children, and that there is a development in terms of solving it. That's good, and therefore I have also previously said that the citizen proposal is sensible and should be discussed in the Folketing, he says.

In Moderaterne, the employment representative Rosa Eriksen will vote against, even though the party supports the intention behind the proposal.

- There is a problem in being able to stay home with one's children, until they are well. But it is a complicated issue. Some agreements already have more than the child's first sick day - others do not. If one simply introduces a law with wages, it would also affect the business sector enormously unfairly, as small businesses would stand with a potential large bill, she says.

The party will, however, explore other possibilities for accommodating families.

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'So that others can solve it'

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Contrary to the Social Democrats and Venstre, both the Danish People's Party, the Red-Green Alliance and the Socialists are clear. They support the citizen proposal.

- It is a good proposal. It is the politicians' responsibility to ensure the rights of having the freedom and to be at home with a sick child. And so it is up to the labor market to negotiate wages and conditions after that, says employment representative Sigurd Agersnap.

He criticizes that the government parties refer to the Danish model.

- It is too easy to say that others must solve it. So it will not happen, he says and mentions that it is also a problem for the labor market that parents become sick, because transmission chains are not broken.

At the same time, he believes that the children's perspective is missing in the issue.

- There is also the children's rights in this. For example, the child's right to be with their parents when they are sick.

The party came in 2024 with a proposal to give parents the right to care for a sick child for five days (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/sf-vil-bruge-milliarder-paa-boerns-sygedage-men-regeringen-toever) with financing from the economic budget. A proposal that the government rejected.

The Red-Green Alliance's employment representative, Victoria Velasquez, is in agreement that it should be easier to care for sick children.

- It is completely absurd that children and parents are pressured between work and the children's well-being, while we lag behind the rest of Scandinavia, she says.

The Danish People's Party's employment representative, Nick Zimmermann, would have preferred that the right to stay home with sick children, until they are well, was negotiated in three-party negotiations between the government, the labor movement and the employer organizations.

- But it is apparently not happening. And it is apparently not new. It has been a wish from parents for a long time, and it is something that gives parents indigestion, I know about having children sick on shifts, and it is really hard, if one stands without grandparents or others, he says.

When the citizen proposal in the spring had reached the 50,000 signatures (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/regeringspartier-aabner-forslag-der-skal-goere-det-lettere-passe-syge-boern) , the Alternative also backed it.

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About the citizen proposal

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With the citizen proposal, a law change is proposed, which should ensure the child's right to be cared for at home by a parent/primary caregiver during acute onset of illness throughout the entire illness period.

The proposal takes inspiration from the Swedish model, VAB (vård av barn), where a parent has the right to stay home and care for their sick child, until the child is well again. VAB is a well-documented arrangement, which supports the child's welfare and increases the well-being for both children and parents.

With reference to the Swedish model, parents with a sick child under 12 years old have the right to economic compensation of up to 80 percent instead of wages during absence. Compensation is financed by a state fund, which both employers and wage earners contribute to.

Source: Borgerforslag.dk (https://borgerforslag.dk/se-og-stoet-forslag/?Id=FT-20035)

The decision proposal will be first-handled on November 27.

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