The option of job sharing, already contained in many collective agreements, has been increasingly used in Denmark.

Job sharing schemes allow for a temporary reduction of the contractual working hours without any change in the employment contract. The employees are paid only for the days of work.

Since during the periods of reduced working hours employees who are members of an unemployment insurance fund receive additional unemployment benefits, the measure proved useful in avoiding dismissals.

Job sharing means that working hours are reduced as follows:

• the work week is reduced by at least 2 full days per week;
• 1 week of full-time work is followed by 1 week of unemployment;  
• 2 weeks of full-time work are followed by 1 week of unemployment; or
• 2 weeks of full-time work followed by 2 weeks of unemployment.

The job-sharing scheme must be defined by a collective agreement. In its absence, a collective agreement can be finalised to cover all employees of the company, the department or production unit.  If just one of the employees of the company, company department or production unit concerned does not want to join such an agreement, the job sharing cannot be established.

The government made the scheme more flexible by means of the Executive Order N.192 on 12 March 2020 and by:

• reducing the notification to the local jobcentre from one week to the same day of the start of the scheme;
• giving the employer the possibility to change the job sharing cycle (i.e. passing from one week to two weeks scheme, or others)

The employer is not allowed to dismiss employees during the operation of a job sharing scheme.

Statistics show an increased use of the scheme: “in February 2020, the number of employees encompassed by jobsharing was 264. After the partial closure of the labour market 12 March, the number in the same month increased to 5,788 employees. In April the number increased further to 8,244 and in May - the last month of statistics - the number was 7,475, that is a small decrease in relation to the previous month”

The changes established by the Executive Order were followed by specific sectoral/local agreements.

For instance, a bipartite agreement was finalised for the sector between the Danish Industry (Employers) and CO (Industrial Employees) to adjust the Industry Agreement to the new rules and make them immediately operational in line with the needs of the sector.

The Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) commented this change in regulation as a “small change but highly relevant in these difficult times”.