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Employ in Denmark with ease.

Remote makes employment in Denmark easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

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Facts & Stats

Denmark (Danish: Danmark), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. Denmark is considered to be one of the most economically and socially developed countries in the world. The country ranks as having the world's highest social mobility, a high level of income equality, the lowest perceived level of corruption in the world, the eleventh-highest HDI in the world, one of the world's highest per capita incomes, and one of the world's highest personal income tax rates.

  • Capital city

    Copenhagen

  • Currency

    Danish krone
    (kr., DKK)

  • Languages spoken

    Danish

  • Population size

    5,824,857 (Q2 2020 est.)

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$$$ (7 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    25%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    1.49% (2018 est.)

Grow your team in Denmark with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Denmark? Companies hiring in Denmark must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Denmark on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Denmark team. You can also pay contractors now in Denmark with Remote.

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Risks
of misclassification

Denmark, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.

Employing in Denmark

Employment law in Denmark is governed by statutory legislation and collective labour labour agreements. Denmark has a long tradition of allowing the conditions of employment and pay to be decided on through collective bargaining agreements. This means that there are just a few pieces of legislation that applies to all employers and employees, such as the Danish Salaried Employees Act (Funktionærloven and the Holiday Act (Lov om Ferie).

Almost all employment contracts in Denmark are governed by collective agreements. Danish employment law and collective agreements provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing people will be an important investment and commitment.

Temporary agencies are popular options for more flexible workforce arrangements. For these and many other reasons, the following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services are recommended when employing in Denmark.

Public holidays

Below are national public holidays applicable for all regions in this country. Remote customers have access to a detailed list of regional public holidays within the Remote platform. Sign up now to access all public holiday information.

Minimum Wage

There is no statutory minimum wage in Denmark, but national collective bargaining agreements negotiated between workers' unions and employer associations effectively set minimum wages. The average effective hourly minimum salary across all private and public sectors is approximately 110 DKK.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Denmark fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

Competitive benefits package in Denmark

Remote supports our clients by offering competitive benefits packages that will help you attract and retain the best talent across the globe! Our benefits specialists have done the research on norms and requirements in each local market and have crafted packages that will allow your employees to thrive, no matter what country they live in. 

Our benefits packages in Denmark are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance
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Local market insights

  • In Denmark, 90%* of employers offer supplemental health insurance to their workforce. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
  • Although the country has a robust public health system, supplemental health insurance provides employees with access to a wider range of options for providers and specialists, as well as significantly shorter wait times. Our plans also offer global coverage (excluding the US) to protect your employees when they are traveling outside their home country.
  • Approximately 90%* of employers in Denmark also offer an occupational pension plan. (*based on 3rd-party market research from our partners)
  • The typical pension contribution in the market is 12% per employee per year. The percentage is calculated from the employee’s yearly base salary only.

Our core benefits (which often include things like healthcare) are required in most countries where we hire. Because Remote is the employer of record, it’s important for us to offer the same core benefits to all employees in a country to ensure fair equity and non-discriminatory hiring practices, which protects your business and ours. Note that we do not add a markup on any benefits premiums or administration costs.

If you'd like specific information about our benefits packages in Denmark, start onboarding your first employee with Remote today.

For more insight into fair equity and benefits best practices, download our Global Benefits Guide and share with the rest of your hiring team.

Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Denmark

Taxes in Denmark

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Denmark.

  • Employer

    • 2,791 DKK - Employer's Reimbursement System (AUB)

    • 2,272 DKK - Danish Labour Market Supplementary Pension Scheme (ATP)

    • 1,176 DKK - Occupational injury insurance (Arbejdsskadeforsikring)

    • 1,150 DKK - Maternity/paternity leave fund (Barselsfond)

    • 592 DKK - Financing for ATP contributions for the unemployed (FIB)

    • 299 DKK - Labour Market Insurance (AES)

    • 12 DKK - Securing payment for foreign workers in Denmark (AFU)

  • Employee

    • 1,136 DKK - Danish Labour Market Supplementary Pension Scheme (ATP)

    • 8% - All income from employment or self-employment (arbejdsmarkedsbidrag, also known as bruttoskat)

    • 0% - Up to 46,200 (still subject to bruttoskat)

    • 12.14% - 46,201 - 513,399

    • 15% - Above 513,399

    • 24.954% - All income, average municipal tax

Types of leave

Statutory leave

All full-time workers are entitled to 5 weeks days paid holiday leave a year under the Holiday Act (Lov om ferie). Holidays accrue from the previous calendar year and can be taken in the holiday year which runs from 1 May to 30 April in the following year.

Sick leave

According to the Danish Salaried Employees Act, an employee is entitled to full pay when they are ill, regardless of the tenure of the employee or the period of the employee's illness. Employers need to apply for sick pay for the employee if they are sick for more than 30 days, and this application must take place no later than five weeks after the first sick day.

Pregnancy and maternity leave

Expecting mothers are entitled to 4 weeks of pregnancy leave (before the due date) and at least 14 weeks maternity leave after childbirth. During the period of maternity leave, the mother receives 50% of their salary. However, employer and employee can agree to full pay entitlement.

Paternal leave

Fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave before the birth and 14 weeks after. There is no statutory right to salary, but the father may receive leave benefits from Danish authorities.

Other leave

  • Adoption leave: adoptive parents are entitled to 4 weeks of leave prior to receiving the child if the adoptive parents have to reside outside of Denmark to adopt. If the child is adopted in Denmark and it is necessary to reside where the place child is situation, one week's leave before adoption. In all cases of adoption, one of the adoptive parents are entitled to adoption leve of 14 weeks and the other with to leave with statutory benefits for 2 weeks. The remaining 12 weeks can be split between the adoptive parents.
  • Parental leave: parents are entitled to 32 weeks leave with a possibility to extend to a maximum of 46 weeks. Leave pay is due for 32 weeks given relevant conditions are met.
  • Accident, illness and family bereavement leave: meant for circumstances such as family sickness, accidents or bereavement. This type of leave is unpaid.
  • Care leave (omsorgsdage): intended to allow employees to take care of a sick child. Not statutory required, but is common.

Employment termination

Termination process

Termination of the employment relationship always have to be with written notice with proof that the notice has been received. Employees have been employed for at least one year at the time of the termination are protected against dismissal without just cause. Generally, collective bargaining agreements have the same protection, but after 9 months. Just causes include, but are not limited to:

  • Change in employer's financial situation and reduction of staff;
  • Restructuring of the company;
  • Problems related to co-operation or trust in the employee;
  • Employee's unfitness for the job; or
  • Contract breach by the employee, for example in the case of serious misconduct or theft.

Notice period

The statutory notice period for an employer depends on the duration of employment:

  • Less than 6 months: 1 month
  • Between 6 months and 3 years: 3 months
  • Between 3 and 6 years: 4 months
  • Between 6 and 9 years: 5 months
  • More than 9 years: 6 months

Probation periods

For salaried employees, probationary periods of up to three months are allowed.
During these three months it is possible to agree that both parties can terminate the employment with 14 days’ notice.

For non-salaried employees, there is no minimum or maximum probationary period (unless agreed in a collective agreement).

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