Denmark

Denmark, a notably advanced country with a high standard of living, ranks among the top spots in education, health care, civil liberties, democratic governance, and other areas. The country follows a mixed economy. An agriculture-focussed country earlier, Denmark now has over 75% of its GDP coming from the service sector. The 2022 GDP per capita of Denmark ranks in the 10th position. Major industries of Denmark include wind turbines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, machinery, tourism, transportation equipment, food processing, and construction.

Major economic hubs:

Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg

Skills in demand :

Construction Skills, Energy-Related Jobs, Electrical Engineers, Medical Consultants, Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacists, Software Developers.

Collective trade union agreements and individual employment contracts govern the working conditions in Denmark. Employees are generally of two categories: Salaried and non-salaried. The first category includes high-skilled jobs and is paid a monthly salary. The second category is comparatively low-skilled and is paid on an hourly basis. Read forward to gathering more information on the work-related aspects prevalent in Denmark.

Employee Contract

The employment contract can be written in any language understandable to the parties involved and has no statutory language requirement.

General Components of Salary Package in Denmark

Salaries are one way companies recognize and reward their employees for working hard. Salaries may include both monetary benefits like pay rates, bonuses or profit sharing agreements as well as non-monetary rewards such as health care plans with no deductibles that come straight out of your paycheck every month.

The general components of compensation in Denmark include the following:

Resident Tax Information

Denmark residents are taxed on income derived locally and worldwide income. If the resident is considered a tax resident in another country, then they will not be subject to Danish taxation. However non-residents or temporary residents are taxed on income earned from working within Denmark

The tax rate for residents of Denmark is as high at 52%, but if they're also subject to AM taxes, than those rates may reach up to 55%.

The state taxes rates are as follows:  

The local taxes rates are as follows:  

The share taxes rates are as follows:  

Social Security

The Danish Social Security Scheme and pay social security contributions. The ATP for each employee is set at DKK1,135/year ( translate: $157). Employers must also contribute towards this system which can range from 8-10 thousand dollars per year on average depending upon how much they're paying their employees' wages total up front bonus payments

Denmark has an excellent social insurance system that provides economic security for its citizens. The benefits include health care, maternity leave and family-based programs to help with everyday needs like sickness or unemployment; there's also a labor market supplement called ATP (Danish Labor Market Supplementary Pension)

Statutory Benefits

Statutory Benefits in Denmark are as follows:

Family Benefits:

This includes maternity, child benefits, and child care for the employee  

Pension Scheme:

This public pension scheme is to be paid to the financially most disadvantaged employees.  

This compromises both basic and means-tested pensions.

Statutory Leaves:

Employees are entitled to statutory leaves as laid down in the employment legislation of  

Denmark. The statutory leave includes:  

• Annual leaves  
• Public holidays  
• Sick Leaves  
• Parental Leaves  
• Maternity Leaves  
• Parental leaves

The statutory employee benefits must be clearly outlined in the employment contract.

Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits are the perks that employees get from their employers. These can include things like healthcare coverage, retirement funds and even vacations.

• Company Car
• Phone, Internet,  
• and Computer Bills
• Paid Holiday  
• Leaves
• Food and  
• Accommodation
• Gift Vouchers
• Health Insurances
• Bonuses
• Pension Schemes

Exempt Benefits

The Exempt Benefits in Denmark include the following:

• Insurance benefits
• Health Insurance Card8
• Parental Support Leaves
• Pension amounts

Long-term Incentives

Benefits provided by employers to employees that involve a time horizon of more than 12 months are Long-Term Incentives. Long-Term Incentives in Denmark are;

Medical Insurance

Insurances via Cards such as Health Insurance Card  

Blue European Health Insurance Card  

Special Health Insurance Card

Pension Plan

The Danish government requires that every employee participate in the Pension Plan Scheme, where they contribute 5% of their salary and employers contribute 10%.

Stock Options

The employee can be provided with stocks as a form of compensation, subject to the terms agreed upon by both parties in their contract.

Work-Life-Balance

The 35 days (5 weeks) of vacation leave per year are entitled to every employee as a way for them to schedule time with their life and maintain work.

Long-term incentives are commonly offered for over twelve months. Employers offer long

term incentives as a part of the strategic plan to attract talent.  

Commonly offered long-term incentives in Fiji include –

1. Employee stock options to key employees

2. Private insurance covers that include health insurance and life insurance

3. Dental covers

4. Performance-linked incentives

Termination Process

The Termination process in Denmark follows a fair procedure, as indicated by the Salaried Employees Act. Employees are protected from any unfair dismissal after 12 months of employment. Employers must have a justifiable reason for terminating an employee and give written notice about the decision. A collective trade union agreement often governs the dismissal of non-salaried employees. The notice period is usually shorter than in the case of salaried employees.

Notice Period

The notice period for employees during the probationary period is from 14 days to 30 days, while for permanent employees, it ranges from 14 days to 180 days.

Severance Pay

There is no statutory severance pay mentioned.

But, a salaried employee with more than a year of seniority and who is unfairly dismissed may be entitled to claim compensation. The compensation is decided considering the length of employment and the surrounding facts.

For those employees with seniority over 10 years, the severance pay can amount to 4 months' salary, while those with more than 15 years' seniority may be entitled to 6 months' salary.