Denmark - living and working conditions
1. How to find a job
Job-seekers in Denmark should contact a job centre and report themselves unemployed on their first day of unemployment. Job-seekers with an E 303 form are also required to report to the job centre in order to be registered, and the job centre will then handle the payment of unemployment benefits.
Job-seekers may – free of charge and without necessarily being registered – apply for the jobs advertised in the local job centre.
The national job database jobnet.dk contains, in addition to current jobs, an overview of the Danish job centre.
The staff at the individual job centres can also help with practical advice – often in English. Facilities are available for writing CVs and making contact with an employer.
On 1 January 2007, the former system of the Danish Employment Service was replaced by job centres, with the national employment service being merged with the departments of employment of the 91 new municipalities into 91 new job centres.
From 2007, it is therefore important that citizens of other EU/EEA countries contact the nearest job centre when they come to Denmark to search for a job.
As of 2007, all job centres must be able to serve citizens and enterprises from the EU/EEA. To assist the centres, however, a special EURES department will be established in Aarhus.
EURES is the acronym for European Employment Services.
EURES serves the following four main groups:
1. Danish employers seeking to recruit in other EU States.
2. Citizens from other EU States seeking employment in Denmark.
3. Companies from other EU States seeking to recruit in Denmark.
4. Citizens from Denmark seeking employment in other EU States.
2. Registration procedures and residence permits
Used cars registered in another EU country may be brought into Denmark on a duty and tax free basis provided that the car is more than six months old and has travelled more than 6,000 kilometres under its own power; duty and tax is payable on cars brought in from countries outside the EU.
Remember to register your vehicle and bring along the registration papers from your home country.
Make sure to have it MOT tested.
Make sure that it is insured.
Drive your car to the national motor vehicle inspectorate, Statens Bilinspektion.
Contact the regional tax and customs office.
Contact the local police station.
If you live in Denmark, you need to have a Danish EU driving licence. If you have a driving licence from an EEA country (EU countries and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), however, you can have your driving licence commuted into a Danish driving licence without taking a driving test.
Information on driving licences is available from the police or the Road Safety and Transport Agency (Færdselsstyrelsen).
3. Overview of Working Conditions in Europe
Quality of work and employment - a vital issue, with a strong economic and humanitarian impact
Good working conditions are important for the well-being of European workers. They
- contribute to the physical and psychological welfare of Europeans, and
- contribute to the economic performance of the EU.
From a humanitarian point of view, the quality of working environment has a strong influence on the overall work and life satisfaction of European workers.
From an economic point of view, high-quality job conditions are a driving force of economic growth and a foundation for the competitive position of the European Union. A high level of work satisfaction is an important factor for achieving high productivity of the EU economy.
It is therefore a core issue for the European Union to promote the creation and maintenance of a sustainable and pleasant working environment – one that promotes health and well-being of European employees and creates a good balance between work and non-work time.
Improving working conditions in Europe: an important objective for the European Union.
Ensuring favourable working conditions for European citizens is a priority for the EU. The European Union is therefore working together with national governments to ensure a pleasant and secure workplace environment. Support to Member States is provided through:
- the exchange of experience between different countries and common actions
- the establishment of the minimum requirements on working conditions and health and safety at work, to be applied all over the European Union
Criteria for quality of work and employment
In order to achieve sustainable working conditions, it is important to determine the main characteristics of a favourable working environment and thus the criteria for the quality of working conditions.
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) in Dublin, is an EU agency that provides information, advice and expertise on, as the name implies, living and working conditions. This agency has established several criteria for job and employment quality, which include:
- health and well-being at the workplace – this is a vital criteria, since good working conditions suppose the prevention of health problems at the work place, decreasing the exposure to risk and improving work organisation
- reconciliation of working and non-working life – citizens should be given the chance to find a balance between the time spent at work and at leisure
- skills development – a quality job is one that gives possibilities for training, improvement and career opportunities
The work of Eurofound shall contribute to the planning and design of better living and working conditions in Europe.
Health and safety at work
The European Commission has undertaken a wide scope of activities to promote a healthy working environment in the EU Member States. Amongst others, it developed a Community Strategy for Health and Safety at Work for the period 2002-2006. This strategy was set up with the help of national authorities, social partners and NGOs. It focuses on the promotion of international cooperation and the necessity of a strong culture of prevention. A new strategy for the period 2007-2012 is underway.
The Community policy on health and safety at work aims at a long-lasting improvement of well-being of EU workers. It takes into account the physical, moral and social dimensions of working conditions, as well as the new challenges brought up by the enlargement of the European Union towards countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The introduction of EU standards for health and safety at the workplace, has contributed a lot to the improvement of the situation of workers in these countries.
Improving working conditions by setting minimum requirements common to all EU countries
Improving living and working conditions in the EU Member States depends largely on the establishment of common labour standards. EU labour laws and regulations have set the minimum requirements for a sustainable working environment and are now applied in all Member States. The improvement of these standards has strengthened workers’ rights and is one of the main achievements of the EU’s social policy.
4. Recognition of diplomas and qualifications
The importance of transparency and mutual recognition of diplomas as a crucial complement to the free movement of workers
The possibility of obtaining recognition of one’s qualifications and competences can play a vital role in the decision to take up work in another EU country. It is therefore necessary to develop a European system that will guarantee the mutual acceptance of professional competences in different Member States. Only such a system will ensure that a lack of recognition of professional qualifications will become an obstacle to workers’ mobility within the EU.
Main principles for the recognition of professional qualifications in the EU
As a basic principle, any EU citizen should be able to freely practice their profession in any Member State. Unfortunately the practical implementation of this principle is often hindered by national requirements for access to certain professions in the host country.
For the purpose of overcoming these differences, the EU has set up a system for the recognition of professional qualifications. Within the terms of this system, a distinction is made between regulated professions (professions for which certain qualifications are legally required) and professions that are not legally regulated in the host Member State.
Steps towards a transparency of qualifications in Europe
The European Union has taken important steps towards the objective of achieving transparency of qualifications in Europe:
- An increased co-operation in vocational education and training, with the intention to combine all instruments for transparency of certificates and diplomas, in one single, user-friendly tool. This includes, for example, the European CV or Europass Trainings.
- The development of concrete actions in the field of recognition and quality in vocational education and training.
Going beyond the differences in education and training systems throughout the EU
Education and training systems in the EU Member States still show substantial differences. The last enlargements of the EU, with different educational traditions, have further increased this diversity. This calls for a need to set up common rules to guarantee recognition of competences.
In order to overcome this diversity of national qualification standards, educational methods and training structures, the European Commission has put forward a series of instruments, aimed at ensuring better transparency and recognition of qualifications both for academic and professional purposes.
1. The European Qualifications Framework - The European Qualifications Framework is a key priority for the European Commission in the process of recognition of professional competences. The main objective of the framework is to create links between the different national qualification systems and guarantee a smooth transfer and recognition of diplomas.
2. The National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARICs) - A network of National Academic Recognition Information Centres was established in 1984 at the initiative of the European Commission. The NARICs provide advice on the academic recognition of periods of study abroad. Located in all EU Member States as well as in the countries of the European Economic Area, NARICs play a vital role the process of recognition of qualifications in the EU.
3. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) - The European Credit Transfer System aims at facilitating the recognition of periods of study abroad. Introduced in 1989, it functions by describing an education programme and attaching credits to its components. It is a key complement to the highly acclaimed student mobility programme Erasmus.
4. Europass - Europass is an instrument for ensuring the transparency of professional skills. It is composed of five standardised documents
1. a CV (Curriculum Vitae),
2. a language passport,
3. certificate supplements,
4. diploma supplements, and
5. a Europass-Mobility document.
The Europass system makes skills and qualifications clearly and easily understood in the different parts of Europe. In every country of the European Union and the European Economic Area, national Europass centres have been established as the primary contact points for people seeking for information about the Europass system.
5. Employment contracts
An employment contract must describe salary conditions, workplace, working hours, annual leave and notice period.
There are no legislative requirements as to the duration of an employment contract. It may remain in force until notice is given by one of the parties – either the employer or the employee.
Fixed-term employment may not exceed three months. During this term, the employer can dismiss the employee at two weeks ’ notice.
During the three-month statutory period for temporary employment, the employer and the employee may agree on a notice period of, for example, one week or one day.
If you are employed in an enterprise, the conditions of employment must not be inferior to those set out in the collective agreement for the relevant sector.
6. Working time
There is no legislative provision on what constitutes normal working hours, and they are therefore determined through the collective agreements. Normally, however, they are fixed at 37 hours a week.
However, for shiftwork and permanent nightwork, working hours are often even lower. Maximum working hours are 48 hours, including overtime, calculated over a period of four months (fixed by the EU).
As a rule, the working week is organised over five days. The employee must be allowed a rest period of eleven consecutive hours within every 24-hour working period. For each seven-day work period, the employee must have a 24-hour period off following immediately after a daily rest period. This rule and the eleven-hour rule, however, do not apply to all sectors – e.g. agriculture and shift work.
Despite the absence of general legislation governing working hours, the Danish Working Environment Act sets out guidelines for the duration of daily working hours.
For children under the age of 15, daily working hours may not exceed two hours on school days and eight hours on non-school days. The total working hours per week may not exceed twelve hours.
Overtime is governed by collective agreements.
Overtime pay is fixed at 150-200%. Some collective agreements allow employees to choose between receiving payment or being allocated time off in lieu of payment.
The definition of overtime depends on what is set out in the collective agreement. Some collective agreements stipulate that only hours worked in excess of the normal working week can be considered overtime, while others stipulate that overtime includes all hours worked in excess of the normal working day.
There is no legislation prohibiting or limiting night work, apart from the provision stipulating that an employee who has worked normal working hours has the right to a rest period of at least eleven hours before the next working day
The only restriction prohibiting night work applies to those under 18 years of age, who must have a daily rest period of twelve consecutive hours between 8 pm and 6 am.
Work on Sundays is not prohibited. The only rule is that an employee must be allowed one day of rest for every seven days. The legislation stipulates that each seven-day period must include a weekly rest period of 24 hours. The weekly rest period is generally a Sunday, but not necessarily so.
7. Incomes and taxation
People resident in Denmark or who have worked in Denmark for more than six months must pay national income tax to the State and usually two municipal income taxes; income tax to the municipality and income tax to the county.
On the jobindeks.dk site, under the heading ’Tjek din løn’, in Danish, you can find the typical average wage for a long series of specialist groups.
Like the other Scandinavian countries, Denmark also has a high taxation burden.
This should be seen in light of the fact that there is a very highly developed level of welfare in Denmark.
The taxes go to pay for schools and kindergartens, nursing homes, free education, free medical assistance and hospitals and similar services, which, in other countries, are paid for through social security schemes.
Personal income mainly consists of earned income and similar (income taxed at source (A-indkomst)) and income from own business (income not taxed at source (B-indkomst)). Capital income includes income from real property and securities trading, dividends, interest and certain capital income taxed as ordinary income. The maximum income tax burden in the form of national and municipal income taxes may not exceed 59%.
Personal allowances are not deducted from the income, but the taxable value of the allowances is deducted from the total tax.
There are 30 tax centres in Denmark which people can contact for help and advice.
Since 2002, there has been a tax freeze in Denmark, which means that no taxes or duties may rise.
According to a Job Card Scheme (Jobkort-ordning), which was introduced in Denmark in 2002, people working in certain professions within, for example, the health, technological and scientific sectors – instead of paying ordinary tax – only have to pay 25% income tax during their first three years of employment.
Social security contributions are included in the national income tax and are not charged separately.
All employees and self-employed people must pay a labour market contribution of 8%.
8. The social security system in this counrtry
Denmark has a high level of social security. This is partly financed through taxes.
Participation in most branches of the Danish social security system is compulsory.
Therefore, you do not need to make a formal application, except as regards unemployment insurance, which is optional. Therefore, it is very important that you remember to join an unemployment fund – shortened to a-kasse in Danish – when you have obtained a job in Denmark.
In as far as sickness, childbirth, conditions for children and the elderly, and pensions are concerned, Denmark is a safe country to live in.
Foreigners who come to Denmark are covered by Danish social security once they start working.
As mentioned under ‘E-forms’, there are areas in relation to which you must have documentation with you to avoid waiting periods.
This applies, for example, to health insurance and unemployment insurance.
Social security benefits in Denmark apply both to employees and the self-employed and include the following:
Health insurance, medical assistance, free hospitalisation, sickness benefits, rehabilitation, maternity and paternity leave, rehabilitation allowance, national old-age pension, voluntary early-retirement pay, survivor’s pension, family benefits, industrial injury insurance, unemployment insurance and cash benefits.
In each of these areas, however, there are certain conditions which must be met.
Source: EURES