Danish Salaried Employees Act - Learn about rules and rights

Danish Salaried Employees Act

Danish Salaried Employees Act clarifies a number of terms and conditions for employees who are employed as civil servants in the workplace.

In this article, we will answer key questions that can make you more knowledgeable about the following elements:

What the Danish Salaried Employees Act entails:

• Notice of termination under the Danish Salaried Employees Act
• Which regulations apply in relation to maternity and sickness, for example  the Danish Salaried Employees Act

What is the Danish Salaried Employees Act?

The Danish Salaried Employees Act defines a number of rules within pay during sickness, maternity, notice of termination and holiday. If an employee is a salaried employee and thus covered by the Salaried Employees' Act, there will be rules that cannot be changed despite a written or oral agreement with the employee.

The rules included in the Danish Salaried Employees Act can be regarded as protective rules for the employee and involve:

• Termination: The employer must follow guidelines regarding a notice of termination
• Illness: The employee is entitled to full pay during the period in which they are on sick leave
• Maternity leave: The employee is entitled to half pay in the period 4 weeks before, to 14 weeks after the birth
• Holiday Entitlement: The employee has the right to holiday with pay. In addition, the employee is also entitled to 1% holiday allowance

The Act covers persons engaged in office work, buying and selling, or certain forms of warehouse dispatch. Furthermore, the Civil Service Act only applies if the employee works on average more than 8 hours each week, and performs the work described in the contract.

Employees who have acquired a certain technique or clinical knowledge will also be covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act. These can be, for example, dental hygienists and clinic assistants. In contrast, domestic helpers and teachers are often not covered by the legislation.

You have now acquired an overall knowledge of the Danish Salaried Employees Act. In the next section, we will take a closer look at the Danish Salaried Employees Act's notice of termination.

What is the Danish Salaried Employees Act's notice of termination?

As previously mentioned, the Danish Salaried Employees Act guarantees the employee a set notice of termination if the employee is dismissed. The following table clarifies which termination notices apply in relation to the employment period:

For the notice of termination, the following applies:

• To the end of a month, plus the number of months stated above

It is important that you are aware that the employee's notice period is included when the employment period is calculated. An example of this is:

• John has been employed by Company X for 2 years and 9 months, but is being made redundant. This means that with his notice of termination of three months, John will have a total employment period in Company X of 3 years. John therefore has 4 months' notice of termination

A factual justification can, for example, be circumstances linked to the employee or the company. It may involve downsizing, workplace restructuring, collaboration complications, violation of important guidelines or theft.

Thus, it is not possible to dismiss an employee if it is due to pregnancy, age, sexual orientation or religious and political beliefs. 

What does the Danish Salaried Employees Act say regarding maternity and sickness?

A white collar worker is entitled to maternity leave, but it is not the Civil Service Act that spells out which guidelines apply in this area, it is the Maternity Act. According to §1, the purpose of the Maternity Act is to ensure parents' right to absence in connection with pregnancy, birth and adoption. The legislation also ensures that parents with a connection to the labour market are awarded parental allowance during absence.

In addition, the Danish Salaried Employees Act ensures pay during illness. A civil servant is entitled to salary from the first sick day until the last. The salary is equivalent to the salary that the employee is paid under normal conditions. This therefore includes basic salary, pension and commission.

The Danish Salaried Employees Act also gives salaried employees the right to paid holiday. However, the rules for holidays are not described in the Civil Service Act, but rather in the Holidays Act. This law ensures, among other things, that employees are entitled to at least 25 days of holiday per holiday year, which corresponds to 5 full weeks.

What are the rules for overtime according to the Danish Salaried Employees Act?

The Danish Salaried Employees Act has no provisions regarding payment of overtime. This is typically an element that is negotiated in the employment process, and thus clarified in the individual employment contract.

It is also crucial that the employer draws up employment contracts that are in accordance with the rules in the Danish Salaried Employees Act if you employ a civil servant. If the contract does not comply with the guidelines of the Danish Salaried Employees Act, it may be considered invalid and lead to fines for the employer.

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