Termination

If you are included in the Act on Salaried Employees (funktionærloven), your terms of notice will follow those that are stated in the Act. These are the same terms of notice that are stated in the collective agreements for public employees.

Trial period

You will typically begin your employment with a trial period of up to three months. In the trial period, the requirement to give notice from your employer’s side will be shortened to 14 days, unless something else is agreed upon. A trial period of three months means that a resignation notice should fall within the three months and therefore that a potential resignation should occur at the latest after 2 ½ months.

If the 14 days extend past the 3 months, you have the right to 1 month’s termination notice.

Remember that the trial period should be agreed upon in the employment contract or in an addendum to the contract in order for you or your employer to consider it applicable. This will typically be accompanied by a shortened period to give notice. This period will appear in your contract.

The termination should be reasonably justified by either you or your employer’s situation. It will always require a professional evaluation to determine if it is a reasonable justification.
If it is not a reasonable justification, your termination could be improper. In that case, you may be entitled to compensation from the company.

Compensation for improper dismissal

DM can advise you on to what degree your termination is improper. We can also help you with demanding compensation from your employer.

In order to demand compensation, you as a private employee must have been employed by the company for a minimum of one year. If you are publicly employed, the requirement is a minimum of eight months in regions/municipalities and a minimum of 5 months in the state.

If your employer is included in the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven), you are entitled to a hearing before the planned termination can be enforced. Contact your union representative or DM, who can guide you on the process.

The goal of the hearing is to ensure that there is an appropriate and valid reason for dismissing you. The hearing takes place between you and your employer, where you have the opportunity to make your own remarks on the basis of the termination.

If you are suspended, it means that you should not come to work, but you should still be available to the company. You typically will receive your salary during a suspension, and you should continue to follow any rules on loyalty and confidentiality.

Read about the loyalty clause (in Danish)

You employer should have a specific reason for why you should be available. You cannot be suspended if your employer does not actually have a real need for your work in the termination period. In such a situation, you should be released.

Contact DM to get advice on rules and rights.

If you are released during your termination period, it means that you should neither come to work nor be available to the company. If you are released, it is important that you get a written agreement on the release and your terms. Contact DM, if you are in doubt of your rights.

In the release period, you get your normal salary, and you should continue to comply with the rules on loyalty and confidentiality.

Read about the loyalty clause (in Danish)

While you are released, you should apply for jobs. If you get a new job during the release period, you can, for a period of time, receive a salary both from your old and your new employer.

Your release can have an impact on your holidays, depending on the length of your termination notice.

Read more about holidays and termination (in Danish)

If you are included in the Act on Salaried Employees, or you are publicly employed, you are entitled to compensation if you are terminated after 12 or 17 years, respectively.

If you have been employed uninterrupted at the same workplace for 12 years, you are entitled to compensation equal to one month’s salary. If you have been employed for 17 years, you are entitled to three month’s salary.

If you have the right to a state pension or an old-age pension when you are dismissed, the right to compensation ends (as a starting point). If you are employed in the state, however, the right does not end, and you will still be entitled to compensation.

It is very typical to enter into an agreement in connection with a termination. In a termination agreement, you can negotiate better terms for your termination period than you were originally entitled to. The agreement is an agreement between you and your employer, and replaces the normal terms of dismissal.

You should always contact DM, before you sign a termination agreement. DM can advise you on how you should negotiate better terms in the agreement. Contact us at 38 15 66 00 or at dm@dm.dk.

The 120 sick days rule gives your employer the possibility to terminate you with a shortened notice period of one month. This will be the case when you have been sick for 120 days in a period of 12 months.

It is a requirement that the rule is explicitly referred to in your employment contract, before your employer can make use of it.

Contact DM immediately if you have been terminated because of this rule.

If you need guidance on unemployment benefits, contact your unemployment benefits fund (a-kasse).

If you have been offered a new position in a different company that you want to begin before your termination period expires, you yourself must contra resign or terminate the position (In Danish: kontraopsige) with your own notice terms, which usually is 1 month and will allow you to shorten the resignation period.

Contact DM if you have gotten a new job and have plans to resign your position after a termination. DM can advise you on your resignation and employment contract.

As a civil servant, your termination notice is typically three months from the end of the current month. If you are in a trial period, your notice for the first six months of the trial period will be shortened to 14 days.

Read more about termination for civil servants (in Danish)