If you are a PhD student and not financed via Aarhus University, the Graduate School requests you to notify your supervisor and the Graduate School (find your contact person regarding illness here).
Please note that you must have been either full time or part time ill for a minimum of thirty consecutive days altogether before the Graduate School, after an individual special assessment, can grant an extension of study period.
Please also note that because you are not financed via Aarhus University (and are thereby not employed by Aarhus University), the Graduate School only grants an extension of the study period. This also means that the Graduate School does not finance the period of sick leave.
Regarding Industrial PhD students/PhD students employed in a company specifically: If you are an Industrial PhD student/PhD student employed in a company, you must comply with the applicable rules and regulations at the company where you are employed. You should therefore be aware that you need to report sick leave to the relevant person in the company and to your supervisor. Please also contact your contact person responsible for sick leave, with Cc to the PhD partner responsible for Industrial PhD students/PhD students employed in a company (See contact persons at GSTS) in connection with notification of sick leave for a minimum of thirty consecutive days altogether. This is important with regard to any extension of study period due to illness. Interviews in connection with sick leave are held in accordance with company guidelines.
If you are ill for more than twenty days, you should report your sick leave via e-mail to either your contact person responsible for sick leave (find your contact person here), with a Cc to your main supervisor and Department.
The e-mail should include information about the first day of your sick leave, whether you are on full-time or part-time sick leave, and – if possible – how long you expect to be on sick leave.
If you are on part-time sick leave, it is important that you remember to send a report each month of the number of working hours per week to your contact person responsible for sick leave and the Department secretary.
You will be invited to an interview by your company no later than four weeks after the first day of sick leave, and the interview should be held before the end of the fifth week of sick leave. During the interview, a certificate of fitness for work (PDF file in Danish only) is drawn up, and the following points should be dealt with in this connection:
Your main supervisor often holds the interview in connection with sick leave. However, your contact person responsible for sick leave can hold the interview or assist at the meeting, and you can also request a companion or observer to attend if you wish. Follow-up meetings will be held at suitable intervals.
Please note that once your doctor has certified the certificate of fitness for work (PDF file in Danish only) you are responsible for sending it to the Graduate School as soon as possible after your interview, as the Graduate School needs to use it in connection with drawing up a case report.
When you are well again, you must report this by sending an e-mail including the final date of illness to your contact person responsible for sick leave, with a Cc to your main supervisor and Department. After an individual and specific evaluation we will subsequently prepare and send a letter to you regarding an extension of study period and containing a new completion date and possibly a new date for the qualifying examination.
All PhD students at Aarhus University are entitled to psychological help for up to five hours. Please note, however, that Aarhus University has a contract with Dansk Krisekorps. This means that you are referred to Dansk Krisekorps and are unable to personally choose another psychologist. To get a referral, you should contact the PhD partner responsible for sick leave. Dansk Krisekorps will then contact you within 24 hours to identify the problem.
Dansk Krisekorps can provide psychological counselling in connection with stress, working relationships or similar matters that have an influence on your work.
Please note that it might be necessary to apply for an extension of your work and residence permit if you take long-term sick leave and are granted an extension of study period. You should therefore check the expiry date of your work and residence permit, and contact the Graduate School if you need help in applying for an extension of your work and residence permit.
Please be aware that it might be your company that will be responsible for applying for the work and residence permit.
