Rules concerning health information for a new job

An upcoming employer is generally not entitled to ask about your health and you are not obligated to disclose anything about your health – unless you have an illness that affects whether you can perform the work you are being hired for. If this is the case, you must yourself, or if your employer asks, disclose that you suffer from an illness or have symptoms of an illness that could affect your ability to work in the job.

The obligation to disclose illness applies:

• if your ability to perform the job could be affected by an illness and/or symptoms of an illness that is current at the time of employment.
• if there is an imminent risk that the illness and/or the symptoms of the illness could affect your ability to work in the job.
• even if the illness or symptoms are considered a disability that would otherwise be covered by the Danish Discrimination Act.

If, for example, you have been on sick leave for stress right before a change in jobs, you as a job applicant must disclose the sick leave for stress if there is an imminent risk that the illness could affect whether you can perform the job. This will always depend on a specific assessment of whether you must disclose a previous period of sick leave for stress to a new employer, but if you are on sick leave for stress at the time of application, as a rule you should generally disclose the situation to your upcoming manager.

You can state this in your application, in your CV or say it in a job interview. It is up to you, but you need to disclose it before you are hired. 

If you do not disclose your illness

If you do not inform your upcoming employer of an illness or symptoms of an illness that could affect your ability to perform the job, your employer could cancel your employment immediately upon discovering it.

Your employer could also avoid paying salary during the illness if you go on sick leave due to an illness that you did not disclose before employment.