With the deepening of globalization, when enterprises expand their business in multiple countries, cross-border labor compliance has become one of the most complex and severe challenges. To help enterprises systematically address this issue, we have collaborated with top labor lawyers from over 50 major jurisdictions worldwide (all recommended by Chambers, Legal 500, or equivalent institutions) to jointly compile a Chinese-English labor & employment compliance guide exceeding 1 million words, and we will continuously update relevant key points.

This article publishes the key points of labor & employment compliance in Denmark.

01 Overview of the Labor Law System

1.Legal System

Denmark operates under a civil law system primarily based on codified laws and statutes.

2.Resources and Agencies

There are several statutes and regulations relating to employment law in Denmark. Thus, one general statute regulating Danish employment law cannot be identified. Several regulations apply to all employees.

Some of the main statutes that apply to all employees are:

• Act on Statements of Employment Particulars and on Certain Working Conditions

• Act on Holiday

• Act on Working Time

• Act on Parental Leave

• Act on Equal Treatment

• Act on Anti-Discrimination

• Act on Equal Pay

• Act on Restrictive Covenants

• Act on Collective Redundancies

• Act on Working Environment

• Act on Transfer of Undertakings of Employees

02 Employment Qualifications and Classification

1.Employment Age

According to the Danish Working Environment Act and the Executive Order on Young People’s Work issued pursuant to this Act, young individuals are allowed to work from the age of 13 under strict limitations on working hours and job types. From the age of 15, individuals can start engaging in more regular employment. However, stricter-than-normal restrictions will still apply, e.g., on working time.

2.Qualifications for Foreign Employers

A foreign employing entity with Danish employees residing and working from Denmark must register as an employer with the Danish Business Authority in order to be able to pay out salary and deduct tax as required under Danish law.

3.Classification of Employment

In Denmark, the predominant form of employment is direct employment, which includes both salaried employees and blue-collar workers. Salaried employees are governed by the Danish Salaried Employees Act, which provides statutory minimum standards for working conditions, including rules on termination, sick leave, and other employment rights. Whereas blue-collar workers are predominantly governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and in the lack hereof largely by freedom of contract, although general employment regulation will apply, e.g., the right to paid holiday.

4.Foreign Workers

Foreign workers may enter the Danish labour market either through direct employment by a local company or by being posted to Denmark by a foreign employer.

03 Recruitment and Employment Contracts

1.Background Examination

There is no general requirement for employers to give or take up references for a prospective employee. However, an employer who gives a reference has a duty of care to those who receive and act upon its contents and also to the person who is the subject of the reference.

2.Contract Types

（1）Standard employment

Typically, employment relationships in Denmark are permanent full-time employment.

（2）Fixed-term employment

Fixed-term is defined as employment where the term of the employment is fixed on the basis of objective criteria such as a specific date, the completion of a certain task, or the occurrence of a certain event. Fixed-term employment is regulated by The Danish Act on Fixed-Term Employment.

（3）Part-time employment

Part-time employment is regulated by the Danish Act on Part Time, which aims to ensure that part-time employees are not treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees by reason of their part-time status unless such treatment can be objectively justified.

（4）Agency workers

An agency worker is an employee who has entered into a contract of employment or service with a temporary work agency for the purpose of being assigned to an end-user client to perform work temporarily under the end-user client’s supervision. Such work is regulated by the Danish Act on Agency Workers.

3.Probationary Period

In Denmark, the rules on probationary periods depend on the type of employment, including whether the employee is a salaried employee and whether the employment is covered by a CBA.

Salaried employees are covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act. A probationary period may not exceed three months and must be agreed in writing pursuant to the Danish Act on Statements of Employment Particulars and on Certain Working Conditions.

Non-salaried employees are, e.g., blue-collar workers. For such workers there is a maximum probationary period of six months.

04 Working Standards

1.Remuneration

As there is no statutory minimum pay in Denmark, remuneration structures are typically based on either individual agreements or CBAs. Generally, employees receive a fixed monthly salary, often supplemented by bonuses, pension contributions, or other benefits. Salary is typically paid monthly and in arrears into the employee’s bank account. All employees in Denmark are subject to A-tax, which is the preliminary tax on income. Employers are responsible for withholding A-tax on behalf of the employee.

2.Statutory Benefits and Social Security

In Denmark, the employer is obliged to pay statutory contributions to social security. One such contribution is to the Labour Market Supplementary Pension Scheme (ATP) which is a statutory pension fund that provides supplementary retirement benefits. Contributions are shared between the employer and the employee.

3.Working Hours

Working time regulations in Denmark are primarily based on the EU Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC), implemented through national legislation and often supplemented by CBAs.

4.Rest and Leave

Rest and leave are regulated by a combination of national legislation, EU directives, and CBAs.

The Danish Act on Working Environment regulates daily and weekly minimum rest periods. Under the Act, employees are entitled to: i) 11 consecutive hours of rest within every 24-hour period; ii) a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours, which must be connected to a daily rest period, resulting in a total of 35 consecutive hours off; and iii) breaks during the workday, which are not counted as working time unless otherwise agreed.

05 Occupational Health and Special Protection

1.Occupational Health and Security

Occupational health and safety in Denmark are regulated by the Danish Act on Working Environment. In Denmark, the employer has a general obligation to ensure a healthy and safe working environment - both physically and mentally. To ensure this duty, employers are, inter alia, required to conduct a regular workplace risk assessment (“APV”), ensuring that facilities and equipment meet safety standards, and providing employees with appropriate training and information on occupational risks.

2.Special Protection

Certain special protection rules apply to pregnant and nursing employees.

06 Personal Information and Privacy

1.General Rules

Under the DPA and the GDPR, employers in Denmark must process personal data of employees and candidates lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

2.Transnational Transfer

The data may be transferred within the EU and EEA without taking specific measures into account in relation to the transfer. Transfers to countries outside the EU and EEA are prohibited, unless the country in question ensures an adequate level of protection for the data or the transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards. Derogations may apply in specific cases, e.g., if the employee consents to the transfer or if the data transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract with the individual in question.

07 Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment

1.General Rules

With regard to the labour market, the Danish Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination in the Labour Market etc. regulates a large number of discrimination actions.

2.Protective Characters

The protective characteristics are:

• Race

• Colour

• Religion or faith

• Political conviction

• Sexual orientation

• Gender identity, gender expression or gender characteristics

• Age

• Disability

• National, social or ethnic origin

• Gender

08 Internal Policies

1.Applicability

In Denmark, it is both common and recommendable for employers to regulate certain aspects of the employment relations in internal policies such as an Employer Handbook covering working hours, sickness, parental leave, remote work, including specifically working from home. Further, policies such as an IT Policy, Whistleblowing policy, Data Protection, Diversity & Inclusion etc. should be implemented.

2.Validity

Internal policies do not require formal acceptance to be valid. However, the policies must comply with applicable law, including also CBAs.

3.Whistleblowing

Employees who decide to make disclosures about wrongdoing or malpractice within their employer’s business may be protected by the Danish Whistleblower Act and/or general employment law. The Danish Whistleblower Act requires all employers with 50 or more employees to establish internal whistleblower schemes.

09 Transactions

1.Employment Relationship

The transfer of a business, provided it is not by way of a share sale, may be governed by the Danish Transfer of Undertakings Act. Under the Act, the transferor’s rights and liabilities in relation to the transferor’s employees are assigned to the transferee. Therefore, the main rule is that the employment contracts will carry on after the transfer. Generally, the transferee is not entitled to dismiss employees because of the transfer. However, such dismissal may be permitted, if they are carried out for economic, technical, or organizational reasons.

2.Compensation

Employees are not entitled to compensation on the mere grounds of M&A or asset transfer.

10 Termination of Employment

1.Termination Grounds

Under Danish law, there is no general statutory protection against unfair dismissal applicable to all employees. However, if the employee is covered by a CBA or the Danish Act on Salaried Employees, the dismissal must be justified in either the employee’s conduct or the employer’s circumstances. In such instances, the dismissal is subject to a fairness test.

2.Termination Procedure

Provided a summary dismissal is not justified, the notice of termination must be given and complied with. The Danish Act on Salaried Employees does not set out a specific procedure or consultation requirements that must be followed in the event of an ‘individual’ redundancy. However, if a CBA applies, most of them do specify the procedure to be followed.

3.Termination Protection

Danish employment law provides special protection against dismissal for specific employee groups, particularly for employees in vulnerable situations or holding special roles. Such include:

• Pregnant employees, employees on pregnancy, maternity/paternity, or parental leave

• Employee-elected board members

• Safety representatives

• Employees who are union representatives

4.Severance and Compensation

Under the Danish Act on Salaried Employees, salaried employees with a seniority of 12 years or more are entitled to statutory severance pay, regardless of the fairness of the dis-missal. Although, the rule does not apply in relation to justified summary dismissals.

5.Wrongful Termination

Under the Danish Salaried Employees Act, employees with at least one year of service may bring a claim for unfair dismissal. While the Act does not provide a statutory right to rein-statement, compensation may be awarded if the dismissal is found to be unjustified. Compensation is determined based on the employee’s age, length of service, and the circumstances of the dismissal (up to 6 months). For employees covered by a CBA, protection against unfair dismissal is governed by the CBA.

6.Mass termination and Layoffs

Collective redundancies are governed by the Danish Act on Collective Redundancies. The procedures under the Act apply if:

•  The employees are being dismissed for reasons other than those related to the individual employees; and

•  The number of affected employees over a period of 30 days exceed.

11 Confidentiality, Non-Compete, and Non-Solicitation

1.Confidentiality

In Denmark, employees owe a duty of loyalty and confidentiality during the employment. Post-employment, the employee is not subject to a duty of loyalty. However, the Danish Act on Trade Secrets applies. The Act regulates confidentiality requirements. Confidential information is not defined in the Act, but the information must be secret, have commercial value, and be subject to non-disclosure measures.

2.Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation

In Denmark, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses are legally permissible. Such clauses are regulated by the Danish Act on Restrictive Covenants.

12 Work Representation and Trade Unions

1.Work Representation

Employers with more than 35 employees must inform and consult employee representatives about all employer-related matters of significant importance to the employees. Such obligation follows from either i) a CBA or ii) the Danish Act on Information and Consultation where the employer is not party to any CBA.

2.Trade Unions

Trade unions play a central role in Danish labour relations, with a large part of the market being organized. Unions operate at both the sectoral and company level, and their representatives are responsible for negotiating pay, working conditions, and resolving workplace issues. If an employer is bound by a CBA on grounds of membership of an association, the CBA applies to all employees covered by the CBA.

13 Dispute Resolution

1.Procedures & Enforcement

Labour disputes in Denmark are resolved through civil court proceedings, the Labour Court, or industrial arbitration. In some cases—primarily with regard to senior employees and/or executives—the disputes are subject to arbitration.

CBAs usually contain resolution procedures on collective disputes. Typically, the parties must first try to reach a settlement in joint meetings or mediation meetings. If unsuccessful, the dispute continues in industrial arbitration or at the Labour Court, depending on the kind of dispute.

2.Waiver & Enforcement

In Denmark, severance agreements are subject to freedom of contract. Therefore, the agreements may contain waivers for statutory and contractual rights. However, the employee can only waive statutory rights if the severance agreement places the employee in a better position overall than the position, the employee would have been in had no severance agreement been entered into.

14 Others

1.Latest Development & Trends

Denmark is preparing to implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive by 7 June 2026, introducing significant obligations for employers aimed at promoting equal pay for equal work and reducing gender-based wage disparities. The directive applies to both public and private employers and covers employees and job applicants.

The Danish workplace culture is characterized by a more informal, autonomous and collaborative way of working. Often workplaces have a flat organizational structure, and employees have a high degree of independence, expected to perform their duties with a high level of expertise and responsibility.

* To avoid ambiguity, this article should not be regarded as legal advice.

Authors

Marianne Granhøj is a leading expert in Danish employment and labor law and heads the Employment Law & Investigations practice group at Kromann Reumert. With over 25 years of experience, she advises clients about all aspects of labour and employment law, including regulatory matters, executive contracts, incentive structures, collective agreements. 

Markus Emil Klokholm is an assistant associate in the labour and employment team at Kromann Reumert where he advises Danish and international clients on employment and la-bour law. Markus provides guidance on a broad range of labour and employment law matters, including the formation and termination of employment contracts, remuneration regulations in the financial sector, and the recruitment of foreign employees. 

Translator

Jin Dongjie, Master of Laws, associate at Anli Partners. Area of expertise: Labor Law, ESG Compliance, Dispute Resolution.