Social security and repatriation

As a seafarer, you are covered by special regulations on health insurance, sickness benefits and maternity/paternity benefits. Below, you can see what you are entitled to. Read about Assistance with repatriation.

Assistance with repatriation

The Danish Maritime Authority can in particularly serious cases of illness or accidents help arrange the return journey, if it is necessary for the inflicted seafarer to be escorted by a suitable person.

In the event of death, the Danish Maritime Authority can help arranging how to bring back the deceased to Denmark, if the seafarer upon his/her death had residence in Denmark.

In urgent cases, outside office hours, please contact the duty officer +45 72 19 60 00.

Health insurance

If you are living and staying in Denmark, you are covered by the public health insurance if you are taken ill after the termination of your service. This is also the case if you are working on board a ship that is exclusively engaged in domestic voyages.

The health insurance benefits include, inter alia, subsidies for health services abroad, such as medical assistance, treatment in hospital, medicine and dental treatment corresponding to the general subsidy provisions in Denmark. The subsidy for dental treatment is at 50 per cent.

The shipowner or the employer can submit an application to the Danish Maritime Authority for having the expenses refunded.

You are entitled to health insurance outside Denmark for a period of up to 18 weeks from the first whole day lost through sickness if you:

are working on board a Danish ship engaged in international voyages
are staying abroad and have - during the last two weeks - been working on board a Danish ship unless you have, after the termination of service, had another work
is employed by a company and are staying abroad as part of your employment
are travelling to or from a Danish ship engaged in international voyages.

Sickness benefits

As a seafarer, you are covered by special provisions on sickness benefits if you:

are working on board a Danish ship not exclusively engaged in domestic voyages
are staying abroad and have, during the last two weeks, been working on board a Danish ship unless you have, after the termination of service, had another job
you are employed by a shipowner and staying abroad as part of your employment
are travelling to or from the ship if you are working on board a Danish ship engaged in domestic voyages.

If you work only on ships engaged in domestic voyages or if you hold your holiday/days off ashore in Denmark after the termination of your service, you are covered by the general provisions on sickness benefits - even though you are still employed by the shipowner.

During illness, you are entitled to receive wages (sickness pay) from your employer in accordance with the provisions of the act on seafarers' conditions of employment, etc. If you are ill at the termination of the ship service, the shipowner is obliged to pay sickness pay for a period of up to 16 weeks irrespective of the termination of your employment before the expiry of 16 weeks.

If you are not entitled to receive sickness pay, your employer must pay you sickness benefits for the first 30 days of the period of sickness (employer period) if you meet the conditions below.

You have been employed uninterruptedly during the last eight weeks.
You have been working for at least 74 hours during the eight-week period.

When your employer is no longer obliged to pay sickness pay, you can receive sickness benefits from the Danish Maritime Authority if you meet one or more of the conditions below.

You have been employed uninterruptedly during the last 26 weeks and been working for at least 240 hours during this period.
You are a member of an unemployment fund and are as such entitled to receive benefits.
You have contracted an industrial injury covered by the act on industrial injury insurance.

If this is the case, the Danish Maritime Authority will pay you sickness benefits. If your employer pays you sickness pay, the Danish Maritime Authority can refund your employer. The Danish Maritime Authority can pay you sickness benefits for a period of up to 18 weeks from the first whole day lost due to sickness.

After 18 weeks, the payment of your sickness benefits will be made by the municipality where you are domiciled. If you live in another EU/EEA country, the payment will be made by the municipality in which the shipowner or the employer is domiciled.
If you live outside the EU/EEA, your right to receive sickness benefits expires after 18 weeks.
If you have incurred an industrial injury and this is the reason why you are reported ill, the Danish Maritime Authority will extend the sickness benefits period until the National Board of Industrial Injuries in Denmark has taken a decision on your loss of the capacity for work.

Shipowners and employers are obliged to take out insurance for all employees. This means that all seafarers, irrespective of nationality, on board Danish ships are covered by the act on industrial injury insurance.

Periods entitled to maternity pay / parental leave

If you resign due to pregnancy, you are entitled to wages (maternity wages) from your employer for a maximum of 2 months, as long as you have not worked elsewhere.

After the end of the 6th month of pregnancy, you can always demand to resign from the service on board the ship.

When your employer are no longer obligated to pay maternity wages, you are entitled to maternity benefits from Udbetaling Danmark or the Danish Maritime Authority for a period up to 28 weeks.

If you live and stay in Denmark or in an EU/EØS country, the maternity benefits is paid by Udbetaling Danmark.

If you live or stay outside Denmark or EU/EEA countries, maternity benefits is paid from the Danish Maritime Authority.

In the event of absence, you are entitled to maternity benefits from the Danish Maritime Authority, as a father or mother/co-mother, in connection with the birth of your child.
You must have been serving on a Danish merchant ship within the last 2 weeks from the start of the leave. Likewise, it is a condition that you have been a part of the Danish labour market in the last 13 weeks before the before the start of absence and during this period, you must have been working for at least 120 hours.

If you live outside the EU/EØS and the conditions above are met, you are entitled to maternity benefits from the Danish Maritime Authority from 4 weeks before the expected time of birth (due date).

The right to maternity benefits expires 28 weeks after the birth.

The child's mother is entitled to maternity benefits in the event of absence, in the first 10 weeks after the birth.

The child's father or co-mother is entitled to maternity/paternity benefits for 2 weeks in the event of absence, within the first 10 weeks after birth.

Both the child's mother and father/co-mother are each entitled to maternity/paternity benefits during absence, for 9 weeks after the expiry of the first 10 weeks. The 9 weeks must be carried out before the end of 28 weeks after the child's birth.

If your child is hospitalized, the period during which there is a right to maternity benefits can be extended or postponed.

Please see Order on maternity/paternity benefits for seafarers.

The order has not yet been translated into English, which is why the Danish version is linked.