About
ERI DisclaimerDenmark - Compensation & Benefit Legislation
CAPITAL
Copenhagen
CLIMATE
Temperate, humid and overcast. Mild, windy winters and cool summers.
LANGUAGES
Danish (Official), Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect) and German (small minority).
Note: English is the predominant second language.
LEGAL SYSTEM
Civil law system. Judicial review of legislative acts. Denmark accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.
CURRENCY
Denmark Kroner (1 USD = 8.5505 DKK as of March 1, 2002)
DENMARK - COST-OF-LIVING
ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.
DENMARK - EMBASSY/CONSULATES
U. S. Embassy at Copenhagen
Dag Hammarskjölds Allé 24
2100 Copenhagen
PSC 73 APO AE 09716
Copenhagen, Denmark
Telephone: [45] (35) 55-31-44
Fax: [45] (35) 43-02-23
Embassy of Denmark at Washington D.C.
3200 Whitehaven Street
Washington D.C. 20008
Telephone: (202) 234-4300
Fax: (202) 328-1470
E-mail: wasamb@um.dk
DENMARK - HOLIDAYS
New Year's Day
Maundy Thursday
Easter
Easter Monday
Store Bededag (No equivalent in English language)
Workers' Day (May 1st)
Ascension
Whit Sunday
Whit Monday
Constitution Day (June 5th)
Christmas
DENMARK - LEAVE
Annual Leave: Mandatory (minimum) 5 weeks of paid vacation per year.
Maternity Leave: 18 weeks – 100% paid (paid for by social security). An additional 10 weeks (paid) may be taken by either parent.
DENMARK - MINIMUM AGE
The minimum age for full-time employment is 15 years. The law sets a minimum of 13 years of age for any type of work.
(Section 6.d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment, Denmark - Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)
DENMARK - MINIMUM REMUNERATION
No national minimum wage is mandated legally, but national labor agreements effectively set a wage floor. The lowest wage paid is approximately $10 (85 kroner) per hour, which is sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Denmark - Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)
DENMARK - REMUNERATION
ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.
DENMARK - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law states that all workers, including military personnel and the police, may form or join unions of their choosing. Approximately 80 percent of wage earners belong to unions that are independent of the Government and political parties.
More than 50 percent of wage earners are in unions that are affiliated with the Confederation of Danish Labor (LO). The LO has traditionally had a close relationship with the Social Democrat Party. There are also 3 other umbrella labor organizations to which 41 unions are affiliated. There are also several independent unions, which are not affiliated with any labor federations or umbrella organizations.
All unions except those representing civil servants or the military have the right to strike. Workers often exercise their right to strike. In 2000, 124,000 workdays were lost due to strikes.
Unions may affiliate freely with international organizations, and they do so actively.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The right to organize is protected by law. Workers and employers acknowledge each other's right to organize. Collective bargaining is protected by law and is widespread in practice. In the private sector, salaries, benefits, and working conditions are agreed upon in biennial or triennial negotiations between the various employers' associations and their union counterparts. If the negotiations fail, a national conciliation board mediates, and management and labor vote on its proposal. If the proposal is rejected, the Government may impose a legislated solution on the parties (usually based upon the mediators' proposal). The agreements are used as guidelines throughout the public as well as the private sector. In the public sector, collective bargaining is conducted between the employees' unions and a government group led by the Finance Ministry.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against union members and organizers, and there are mechanisms to resolve disputes. Employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for union activities.
Labor relations in Greenland are conducted in the same manner as in Denmark. Greenland's courts are the first recourse in disputes, but Danish mediation services or the Danish Labor Court also may be used.
There is no umbrella labor organization in the Faroes, but individual unions engage in periodic collective bargaining with employers. Disputes are settled by mediation.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, women are trafficked for the purpose of forced prostitution (see Section 6.f.).
The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and there were no reports that such practices occurred.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
The minimum age for full-time employment is 15 years. The law sets a minimum of 13 years of age for any type of work. The law is enforced by the Danish Working Environment Service (DWES), an autonomous arm of the Ministry of Labor. Export industries do not use child labor. The Government ratified the International Labor Organization's Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor in August 2000.
The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and such practices are not known to occur (see Section 6.c.).
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
No national minimum wage is mandated legally, but national labor agreements effectively set a wage floor. The lowest wage paid is approximately $10 (85 kroner) per hour, which is sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The law provides for 5 weeks of paid vacation per year. Workers normally work a 37-hour workweek, which is established by contract, not by law. The law requires at least 11 hours between the end of one work period and the start of the next.
The law also prescribes conditions of work, including safety and health; the duties of employers, supervisors, and employees; work performance; rest periods and days off; and medical examinations. The DWES ensures compliance with labor legislation. Workers may remove themselves from hazardous situations or weapons production without jeopardizing their employment rights, and legal protections cover workers who file complaints about unsafe or unhealthy conditions.
Similar conditions of work are found in Greenland and the Faroes, except that the workweek is 40 hours. As in Denmark, the workweek is established by contract, not by law.
f. Trafficking in Persons
The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, but other laws have been used to prosecute traffickers; however, trafficking in women to the country for the purpose of prostitution is a problem.
DENMARK - SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security Office of International Programs:
http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html
DENMARK - STANDARD WORKWEEK
Workers normally work a 37-hour workweek, which is established by contract, not by law. The law requires at least 11 hours between the end of one work period and the start of the next.
(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Denmark - Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)