Rules concerning flex jobs
Who can get a flex job? Can I get a flexible job arrangement if I am seriously ill?
And what kind of salary can I expect for a flex job? Get help to clarify your situation and possibilities.
If your working capacity is significantly and permanently reduced due to illness, you may be referred to a flex job. A flex job can allow you to maintain your contact with the job market, even if you are injured or seriously ill. This requires that the municipality approves it and that you conclude an agreement with the job centre and your employer.
Approval of a flex job agreement provides you with the following options:
- If you are under 40 years old, you can be can be granted a flex job for five years at a time.
- If you are over 40 years old, you may - after the first temporary flex job of five years - be granted a permanent flex job if the municipality considers that it is still not suitable for you to have a job under normal conditions.
Which conditions must I fulfil to get a flex job?
In order to get a flex job, it is a condition that your working capacity is significantly and permanently limited and that you cannot obtain or hold down employment under normal conditions on the job market.
It is also a condition that - before you can be approved for referral to a flex job - you have tried out all of the relevant offers mentioned in the Active Employment Measures Act and that you have tried out other measures to obtain or hold down regular employment.
If you wish to have a flex job at your former place of work, it is also a condition that you have been employed for at least 12 months under special terms.
Can I get a flex job at my former place of work?
You can get a flexible job arrangement at your current place of work if the following three prerequisites are met:
- You have been employed for at least 12 months prior to any accident or injury occurring.
- You have been employed under special safeguarding terms for at least 12 months prior to being granted a flex job.
- You conclude a written agreement with your employer that you will be employed under the social chapters of the collective agreement or employed on special terms prior to the commencement of your 12-month period. The agreement must state the functions that you have difficulty in performing or cannot perform, as well as the specific consideration for safeguarding you have both agreed upon.
- Your employer shall document that you have both made a genuine attempt to create a permanent, unsubsidised job for you.
What kind of agreement must I conclude in order to get a flex job at my former place of work?
You should conclude a written agreement if you are absent from work and no date has been set for when you will be fully fit to return to work again. Both you and your employer must have accepted the content of the agreement, and it is important that the company involves the professional representative.
The agreement may be in the form of a separate document or as a supplement to your employment agreement. It depends on whether you conclude an agreement that significantly changes the terms of employment or if only minor changes are present.
There are no firm rules in terms of the minimum that should be stated in the contact. But you should ensure that it states the measures agreed by you and the company in order to ensure that you can work again, as well as the safeguarding requirements that you will need. This may include agreements on how you:
- can be relocated
- can get work tasks, such as customer contact changed
- can get your hours reduced
- can obtain greater flexibility in terms of starting times
- or obtain permission to work from home.
The agreement shall document the development of your case. It is therefore important that you write down all of the measures on a constant basis. It is also a good idea to save minutes of meetings, e-mails, etc., so that you can document what has been done in order for you to be able to continue in your job without support.
You will only receive a salary for the work you perform.
The job centre must assess your working capacity when you start your flex job - this applies to both the number of hours and how much of the work you are able to perform. Your salary and other terms and conditions of employment will be determined on the basis of the job centre’s assessment and the collective agreement.
In addition to your salary, you will receive a flexible salary allowance from the municipality - this may amount to no more than 98% of the maximum unemployment payment, which is currently DKK 18,701 per month.
The salary and allowance may not exceed the salary you would receive if you were employed in the same position under normal conditions.
Many pension schemes provide you with the option of being paid out for, e.g. occupational disability if you are ill for a longer period.
It may therefore be a good idea to find out if you can get some of your pension scheme paid out. You can do this by concluding an employment agreement under special terms or if your employer establishes a flex job for you.
This can contribute to keeping you in the job until it is possible to establish a flex job, as well as place you in a better economic situation.
You should always contact your job centre to inquire about the consequences before entering into a termination-of-service scheme.
You will be subject to the same sanctions as unemployment benefit recipients if you receive an unemployment benefit, are terminated or resign yourself. This means, among other things, that you will be placed in quarantine for three weeks if you have resigned yourself, and that you must actively seek a new flex job and participate in contact interviews with the job centre every three months.
As an unemployed flex jobber, you may be given the option of six weeks job-oriented training, subject to certain conditions.
On 1 January 2013, new rules were introduced for flex jobs. Your options remain unchanged if you started in a flex job after this date.
But if you started before 01/01/ 2013, you will be subject to the previous agreement. But if you change to another flex job, you will be paid according to the rules currently in force. In the case of changes to your previous flex job, your future salary will therefore depend on the changes involved.
It will not be considered a new flex job if:
- Only your safeguarding requirements or number of hours are changed.
- Only your job description is changed, e.g. because you are promoted but continue with the same work tasks.
- You change your place of work because your new work tasks are moved to another place.
But it will not be considered a new flex job if you:
- Leave your current flex job because your contract is terminated or you are made redundant.
- Change flex job from one employee to another.
- Change to a new area of employment for the same employer and your work tasks, salary and terms of employment change simultaneously. In which case, you should involve your union representative or local union.
Contact Legal Department
32 96 46 00You should involve your union representative or local union if you have any questions regarding the progress of your illness or if you need to conclude a written agreement with your employer regarding special consideration for safeguarding.
You may also contact the social workers. They can provide you with concrete answers and assistance in relation to, e.g. public authorities and appeals. You can get a personal interview where a lay representative may accompany you.
All inquiries are treated anonymously in relation to the employers.
You are welcome to contact us at raadgivning@finansforbundet.dk.
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