Member Article

The Danish government has presented its legislative programme for the parliamentary year 2016/2017. The programme contains a number of upcoming proposals for amendments within the area of employment and labour law, including e.g. proposals for amendments of the Danish Holiday Act, the Danish Childbirth Act and the Danish Public Servants Act.

Proposal for amendments of the Active Social Policy Act and the Childbirth Act

An unintentional amendment of the Childbirth Act from 2012 resulted in the elimination from the Childbirth Act of the rule that provides that an employer who do not observe the time-limit for reporting pregnant-related sickness absence with "Udbetaling Danmark" (the Danish authority responsible for the collection, disbursement and control of a number of public benefits) will lose the right to reimbursement. The bill is aimed at correcting this state of the law by once again depriving the employerof the right to reimbursement if the time-limits under the act are not observed. Moreover, the amendment of the Active Social Policy Act is intended to specify the act's provisions on the cash benefits ceiling and the 225-hour rule.

Proposal for amendments of the Working Environment Act and the Workers' Compensation Act

The bill is aimed at adjusting the working environment measures of the two sides of the industry, which, among other things, implies that the present branch work environment councils are replaced by trade associations for health and safety and that the cross-industry measures are strengthened.

Proposal for implementation of directive on seafarers' rights

The bill entails the amendment of several different acts that currently regulate seafarers' rights. The bill will implement an EU directive from October 2015 and will entail that many of the special rules which currently apply to seafarers will be abolished or amended.

Proposal for amendments of the Childbirth Act and the Act on Maternity Equalization in the Private Labour Market

The bill entails a number of simplifications of the rules under the Childbirth Act. Furthermore, the bill will allow for digitalisation in relation to the employment requirement and the rules for calculation of the right to childbirth benefits according to the same principle as applies under the sickness benefits system.

Proposal for amendment of the Holiday Act

The bill prepares the ground for a more extensive revision of the Holiday Act, which will be based on an upcoming report from the Holiday Act Committee. The bill is intended to ensure that Denmark will fulfil its international obligations in the area.

Proposal for amendments of the Public Servants Act and the Public Service Pensions Act

The bill is introduced in view of the decision of the European Court of Justice in the Toftgaard case from September 2013, where the ECJ found that the rule under the Public Servants Act that provides that a civil servant cannot receive redundancy pay after having reached the age of 65 is not consistent with EU law. The bill is aimed at putting an end to this conflicting rule. Moreover, the bill includes an amendment of the rules on early retirement for certain groups of civil servants in the police and the prison service.

Proposal for amendments of the Road Haulage Act and the Bus Service Act

The purpose of the bill is, among other things, to contribute to the development of healthy competition conditions with a requirement that the holder of a license to operate road haulage or bus services must comply with the provisions on salary and working conditions for drivers which are found in collective agreements. Furthermore, the rules on the Agreement Board and the Road Transport Council will be adjusted.

Proposal for amendments of the Act on Employers' Training Contributions, the Vocational Training Act, etc.

The bill is intended to strengthen the financial incentives for employers to create more apprenticeships. It is proposed that this is done by implementing special bonus schemes as well as an apprenticeship-dependent AUB-contribution (i.e. employers' training contribution).

We follow the process closely

Plesner follows the introduction of the bills closely and will provide updates as they are being introduced in the Danish Parliament.

The government's full legislative programme can be found here (in Danish): http://www.stm.dk/publikationer/SkriftligDel16/Lovprogram%202016-2017_web.pdf