Civic duties

Time off to perform civic duties

Civic duties consist of state-required services that citizens are under an obligation to perform.

Employees at Aarhus University are entitled to leave to perform civic duties, such as serving as a mayor, lay judge/juror, Member of the Danish Parliament, Member of the European Parliament, local councillor or polling official. Leave is granted with or without pay depending on whether the service is paid or unpaid and the rules may be different for different staff groups.

Paid or unpaid leave in connection with civic duties

If you need to perform unpaid civic duties, you will be granted paid leave from the university for a specified number of working hours – which must not exceed six working weeks per calendar year (based on your average weekly hours).

Civic duties such as serving as lay judges or jury members are regarded as unpaid civic duties. In these cases, you are granted paid leave because the daily allowances you receive from your civic duties are not regarded as remuneration.

If the civic duties are paid, you are granted unpaid leave from the university. In these cases, your salary will be deducted by the number of hours that you have not worked at the university. Civic duties are regarded as paid if you receive remuneration for them or if it is possible to be compensated for your loss of earnings.

Agreements regarding leave in connection with civic duties should be discussed with your immediate supervisor.