Proposed is a light emitting module (1), comprising a semiconductor light emitting device (10) and a thermal switch (20). The thermal switch (20) is arranged to protect the device (10) from over heating. At elevated temperatures the junction of the device (10) may reach a critical level causing catastrophic breakdown of the device. According to the invention, the thermal switch is arranged to shunt the semiconductor light emitting device. This is especially advantageous as the thermal protection offered by the switch (20) correlates directly to the (junction) temperature of the device (10).