The employment contract

The contract must specify if you are covered by a non-solicitation clause or a non-competition clause.

Such clauses are of no advantage to you – not even if their validity is subject to you being compensated. You should therefore try to make your employer remove the clause or limit its scope as far as possible.

Read more about clauses

If you suffer from a disease affecting your ability to do the job in question, you are required to disclose it before starting the new job.

Read more here

The contract must specify the expected amount of travel involved in the job and how your travelling expenses and any overtime are paid.

If you are allowed to undertake special functions or hold second jobs, it should be specified in the employment contract. The procedure for authorising second jobs must appear from the contract.

The scope of confidentiality must be specified.

Normally, the contract will specify that you are not permitted to disclose or use knowledge about the company that you gain during the term of employment.

It must appear from the contract if you have negotiated time off with or without pay for course activity/supplementary training, including if your employer will pay the expenses.

Free car, free phone, agreement on home-based teleworking, health insurance or other items should appear from the contract. You will be taxed according to the rules in force.

You should pay attention to the number of days you are allowed to stay at home with full pay – and whether it concerns the first sick day(s) or any time during the child’s period of illness.
Under Danish law, you are generally not allowed any absence – neither with nor without pay – when your child is ill.

Read your rights here if you are covered by the standard collective agreement

The contract must specify if you have the right to full pay during maternity/paternity leave and for how long.

The Danish Salaried Employee Act grants:

• the mother the right to days off with half pay for four weeks prior to the time of expected birth and for 14 weeks after birth.
• the father the right to days off on leave benefits for two weeks in connection with birth. The father has no right to pay.

Maternity/paternity rules for financial sector employees

The contract must specify if you have the right to paid sick leave if you are not covered by the Danish Salaried Employee Act.

If you are covered by the Danish Salaried Employee Act, you have the right to paid sick leave.

The following 11 mandatory items are standard in an employment contract and must always be stated:

• Employer: The name, address and workplace information of your employer.
• Job description: What your job entails – i.e. title, position or description of the job.
• Start and end dates: When you start the job, including also an end date if you are on a temporary contract.
• Holidays, special holidays and dependants’ leave days: You have the right to five weeks’ holiday a year. The contract must state if you are also entitled to special holidays (the 6th week of holiday) and dependants’ leave days.
• Holiday supplement: Your holiday supplement percentage rate. The Danish Holiday Act entitles you to a holiday supplement equivalent to 1 per cent of the pay you have earned in the last holiday year. The contract must state if you are entitled to a higher holiday supplement.
• Termination and qualifying period: The notices of termination applicable to you and your employer must be indicated, alternatively by way of a reference to the rules in force. It must be indicated if you are employed subject to a qualifying period.
• Salary: Your salary, time of payment and when you will have the opportunity to renegotiate the salary.
• Pension: Your right to pension and the pension contributions paid by you and your employer, respectively.
• Working hours: Most often, the weekly working hours are 37 hours, excluding lunch. It can be agreed that lunch should be included in the working hours.
• Overtime: Whether your employer compensates overtime with pay based on a certain rate or if you have the right to time off in lieu.
• Collective agreement or other agreements: It must appear from the contract if the employment relationship is covered by a collective agreement or other agreements.