Employees are entitled to an employment contract within the first seven days after they start work. It should state all relevant employment conditions, such as name and address of both employer and employee, remuneration, job description, date of commencement, notice period, duration of employment (if unlimited, this must be stated), working hours and location, and paid vacation. Further, it should communicate any information on collective agreements.
Employees who do not receive an employment contract addressing the mentioned employment conditions are entitled to tax-free compensation.
Employers can make small changes to the employment contract as long as they provide the employee with a short notice of 14 days. For significant changes such as salary, work description, working hours and location, the employer must give notice corresponding to the employee's notice period. Such changes are seen as a dismissal and a simultaneous new employment offer. What this means is that if the employee does not accept the new terms, they will be considered dismissed. This carries its own set of risks such as unjustified dismissal compensation. In case of any changes to an existing contract, the employee must be provided with an updated contract/an addendum to the contract no later than 7 days after the effective date of the changes.
The employer and employee can agree to make changes effective immediately or within the short notice period. This includes both insignificant and significant changes.
In a new act that came into force in July 2023, more employer obligations are now included. In the new act, the employer must provide the employee with information on all material terms and conditions of the employment relationship, including five new items. The five items relate to information for temporary agency workers, employees with an "unpredictable work pattern", the duration and conditions of any probationary period, the duration of paid absence (i.e. not only for holidays), any arrangements for overtime and payment thereof, a description of entitlement, if any, to training, and social security schemes.
Employees have the right to receive their payslip either online or a paper copy monthly with a breakdown of salary and all deductions.
It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that working conditions are safe and sound, and it's the responsibility of the employee to cooperate on those. Employers must:
The company's workplace assessment must also include home offices.
If a company has 10-34 employees, it must create a work environment organisation to collaborate on health and safety and have one or more health and safety representatives. One or more managers should also join the organisation.
If a company has more than 35 employees, the work environment organisation should be on two levels. Level one is in charge of the day to day tasks in regards to health and safety and consist of a health and safety representative elected by the employees and a manager. Level two handles more general tasks and consists of members (one representative and one manager) from level one.
Health and safety representatives are entitled and obliged to participate in the safety organisation's work and are protected against unfair dismissal in the same way as union representatives are.
Cooperation between employer and employee is crucial when work is performed from home because, unlike work offices, the employer does not have control over the working conditions.
The home office must be appropriate for the employee getting work done at the environment. They must have proper lighting and place the computer screen, as to avoid glare. Screens should be adjustable and be kept away from windows that create glare and direct sunlight.
For employees working on the computer, the following rules apply:
In Denmark, many employees are entitled to start and leave work earlier or later as long as they cover the regular daily hours. Most collective agreements will have their specific flextime regulations (usually not applicable to salaried employees).
The Danish Act on Equal Treatment to men and women and the Danish Act on Equal Pay to men and women requires that every business treats women and men equally at work, and pays them equally for work of equal value. Employers cannot favour one gender over the other for a job promotion nor pay one gender more than the other for the same job.
Danish laws prohibit direct and indirect discrimination based on:
Individuals are protected against discrimination during all stages of the employment process and are entitled to compensation.
Employees are protected from unfair dismissal for the following reasons:
Employees that are covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act, have superior protection against dismissal after 12 months of employment. For them, dismissal not considered reasonably justified by the conduct of the employee or company circumstances may entitle them to compensation.
Before dismissing an employee due to performance, the employer must give the employee a written warning and a chance to improve performance before proceeding with dismissal. This is to ensure documentation on the lack of performance and to minimise the risk of a potential claim.
Under the GDPR rules, employers are subject to restrictions when retrieving and disclosing employee data.
Employees are entitled to 25 paid days off per "holiday year" which starts on 1 September and ends on 31 August the following calendar year. If an employee is hired during that period, they are still entitled to 25 days off, however only the ones they have accrued are paid. The rest are unpaid, and in fact, the employer can deduct 4.8% of monthly salary for each day taken. The same rule applies for force majeure leave as a result of a relative's illness or accident. Unless otherwise agreed, the employer can deduct that same percentage for each day taken.
Collective redundancies happen when within 30 days, the employer dismisses:
In the case of mass redundancies, employers must give employees and their representative an appropriate notice. The employer has to first consult with employees to decrease the number of redundancies or avoid it altogether. They must provide information about the employees affected by the mass redundancies and consult with works councils.
If they fail to do so, trade unions can assist employees with making claims. If a claim is successful, the employer may have to pay a fine.
Employees are entitled to redundancy pay if they have been continuously employed with the same employer for at least 12 years. In such a case, the severance pay - which is payable in addition to the salary during the notice period - will amount to one month's payment. After 17 years of service, the amount is three months' pay.
To learn about all statutory benefits, as well as how leading employers top that, download our Denmark benefits benchmark infographic.
Employees have the right to join a trade union or association and they are protected against discrimination for being part of them. Trade unions can assist in case of disputes over pay and working conditions of their members. Employees are free to join whichever union they'd like, and employers are prohibited from demanding information on membership.
Under the Danish Information and Consultation of Employees Act, employees are entitled to discuss changes with the employer and the employer must consult with the employee representative, but the employer is not required to accommodate the employees’ wishes.
