Employment Law & Working Conditions
Protection of employees under Danish law — collective agreements, working hours, the working environment, holiday, dismissal and dispute resolution.
Covered in this guide:
Your work in Denmark rests on the so-called flexicurity model — there is no statutory minimum wage, but collective agreements (overenskomster) at sector level cover around 80% of employees. Ferieloven (the Holiday Act) gives you 25 days of paid holiday a year, accrued monthly. Salaried employees (funktionærer) have enhanced notice periods and protection against unfair dismissal under funktionærloven (the Salaried Employees Act). The working environment is governed by arbejdsmiljøloven (the Working Environment Act), enforced by Arbejdstilsynet. Collective-agreement disputes are heard by Arbejdsretten (the Labour Court); individual cases are heard by the ordinary courts.
Key Laws
Arbejdsmiljøloven
LBK nr 2062 af 16/11/2021
The employer's health-and-safety duties, supervision and the safety organisation
Ferieloven
LBK nr 152 af 20/02/2024 (oprindelig lov 60/2018, reformeret 2020)
25 days of paid holiday, concurrent holiday and holiday pay
Funktionærloven
LBK nr 1002 af 24/08/2017
Notice period, severance pay, sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal
Ligebehandlingsloven
LBK nr 645 af 08/06/2011
Prohibition of gender discrimination, equal pay, pregnancy and maternity protection
Forskelsbehandlingsloven
LBK nr 399 af 05/04/2024
Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, etc.
Minimum Pay and Collective Agreements
Denmark has no statutory minimum wage. Instead, the pay level is set through collective agreements (overenskomster) negotiated between trade unions and employer organisations.Around 80% of Danish...
Working Hours and Rest Periods
Danish working-time rules implement the EU Working Time Directive and are supplemented by collective agreements:A maximum average of 48 hours per week calculated over a 4-month reference period...
Holiday and Days Off
The Holiday Act guarantees every employee in Denmark generous paid holiday:5 weeks (25 days) of paid holiday per year.Holiday is accrued and taken under a concurrent model — you accrue 2.08 days per...
The Working Environment and Safety
The Working Environment Act places the primary duty on the employer to ensure a healthy and safe working environment:Workplace assessment (APV): Every employer must prepare and document a workplace...
Dismissal and Unfair Dismissal
Protection against dismissal in Denmark comes from legislation (for salaried employees) and collective agreements (for hourly-paid workers):Salaried employees: The employer must give notice depending...
Equal Treatment and Discrimination
Danish law prohibits discrimination in employment on a wide range of grounds:The Anti-Discrimination Act (Forskelsbehandlingsloven) prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, colour, religion,...
Parental Leave
Barselsloven (LBK nr 235 af 12/02/2021) gives parents the right to parental leave and parental-leave benefit. If you are in work and have worked at least 160 hours in the last four months, you are...
Unemployment Insurance (a-kasse)
Denmark's unemployment insurance is voluntary but widespread and is based on membership of an unemployment insurance fund (a-kasse):You must be a member of an a-kasse and have been a member for at...
Holiday Pay (Feriepenge) — How to Get Your Holiday Pay
Ferieloven (the Holiday Act) — Consolidated Act No. 230 of 2020 — entitles every employee to holiday and a holiday-pay accrual of 12.5% of gross salary. The 2020 reform replaced the old staggered...
The Salaried Employees Act — Protection of Salaried Employees
Funktionærloven (the Salaried Employees Act) — Consolidated Act No. 1002 of 2017 — is one of Denmark's most widely used employment laws. It covers salaried employees (funktionærer), defined broadly...