Hire in Denmark
Kingdom of Denmark, 5.9 million population, $67,800 GDP per capita. Everything you need to know about employment law, tax, compliance and hiring in Denmark.
Capital
Copenhagen
Currency
Danish Krone (DKK)
Languages
Danish
Time zones
UTC+1 (CET) / UTC+2 (CEST)
Hiring overview
- Typical time to hire
- 1-3 weeks for contractor, 3-5 weeks for full-time
- Entity requirement
- Danish ApS (Anpartsselskab) or A/S. Registration at Erhvervsstyrelsen.
- EOR available
- Yes, from $399/employee/month through a Corpshore entity
- Contractor of record
- Yes, from $39/worker/month
Employment law
- Standard workweek
- 37 hours (by collective agreement; no statutory maximum)
- Maximum weekly hours
- 48 hours
- Minimum annual leave
- 25 days (5 weeks; Holiday Act 2020 changed accrual to concurrent)
- Public holidays
- 10 per year
- Maternity leave
- 4 weeks before + 14 weeks after birth. Plus 32 weeks shared parental leave.
- Paternity leave
- 2 weeks at birth + share of 32-week parental pool. EU directive adds 9 reserved weeks (2024).
- Notice period
- Employee: 1 month. Employer: 1-6 months depending on tenure (Funktionaerloven for white-collar).
- Severance
- White-collar (funktionaerer): 1-3 months after 12-17 years. Blue-collar: per collective agreement. Flexicurity model means low job protection but strong safety net.
- Probation
- 3 months
- Overtime rules
- No statutory overtime premium. Governed by collective agreements (typically 50-100% premium).
Tax overview
- Income tax range
- ~37-52% combined (municipal + state + labour market contribution)
- Corporate tax
- 22%
- Social contributions
- Employer: minimal direct (ATP ~DKK 2,270/year). Employee: labour market contribution (AM-bidrag) 8% + ATP.
- VAT / GST
- 25% (one of the highest globally; very few exceptions)
- Tax year
- Calendar year
- Treaty network
- Over 75 tax treaties
Compliance landscape
- Worker classification
- Danish flexicurity model: easy to hire and fire, strong unemployment benefits. Contractor vs. employee determined by SKAT (tax authority) based on multiple factors.
- Data protection
- GDPR + Databeskyttelsesloven. Datatilsynet enforces.
- Right to work
- EU nationals: free movement. Non-EU: work and residence permit required. Positive List and Pay Limit schemes for skilled workers.
- Non-compete
- Regulated by Ansaettelsesklausulloven (2015). Maximum 12 months. Must be compensated (40-60% of salary). Cannot be combined with non-solicitation to exceed 12 months.
- Collective bargaining
- The Danish Model: nearly everything regulated by collective agreement, not legislation. Coverage ~80%. DA (employer) and LO (union) negotiate centrally.
Payment rails
SEPA for eurozone transfers, domestic via Nets. MobilePay (bank-to-bank mobile) is ubiquitous. Denmark is one of the most cashless societies.
Key considerations for hiring
- Flexicurity model: easy to hire and fire (relative to EU peers) but generous unemployment benefits
- Danish taxes are among the highest globally; total tax wedge approaches 55%
- Copenhagen is a major European hub for pharma/biotech (Novo Nordisk, Lundbeck), cleantech and design
- Strong English proficiency makes Denmark attractive for international teams
Business and cultural context: Denmark
Business culture
Flat hierarchies, consensus-driven, direct and informal. First names universally. Hygge culture values comfort and collegiality. Meetings are efficient and outcome-focused.
Key industries
Talent pool strengths
Historical context
Denmark's flexicurity model (coined in the 1990s) combines one of Europe's most flexible labour markets (ease of hiring and firing) with the world's most generous unemployment benefits (up to 90% of previous salary for 2 years) and active labour market policies. This golden triangle has delivered consistently low unemployment and high labour force participation.
Ready to hire in Denmark?
Use our EOR service from $399/month and we handle employment law, payroll, tax and compliance in Denmark for you.