In order to qualify for a VEU allowance and transport subsidies, you must meet a number of conditions. If the conditions are met and you are not paid a salary during the course, the VEU allowance will be paid to you. If you are paid a salary during the course, the allowance is paid to your employer.
First and foremost, the course must qualify for a VEU allowance.
1. You must participate in the course
You can get a VEU allowance for the hours that the school registers for your participation.
2. You must have a salary loss
The purpose of the VEU allowance is to compensate for the salary loss that you have while taking the course. If some of the study activities are outside of work hours, you will only have a salary loss for part of the education hours. You can get an allowance for those hours. If all of the education hours are at times where you normally are off work (for example, during weekends or during a public holiday) then you cannot get an allowance as you have no salary loss.
If your employer compensates you for the hours that are outside of work hours, however, then you can get a VEU allowance for all hours.
3. You must be in employment
You must work either as a salaried employee or be self-employed or a private entrepreneur in a company with a Danish CVR number subject to Danish law.
If you are employed in a flexijob or in a job rotation scheme without wage subsidisation, you are also considered to be in employment and you qualify for a VEU allowance.
If you have a part-time job and get supplemental unemployment benefits on the side, you can get a VEU allowance for up to 37 hours per week if you participate in full-time education. Your supplemental unemployment benefits will be deducted by the number of hours that you receive VEU allowance for.
You are not considered to be in employment if you are:
- in the midst of a guidance and upskilling process
- in a job training scheme (virksomhedspraktik)
- in a wage-subsidised job for those on a disability pension (skånejob)
If you are a foreign citizen or living abroad, for example, in Germany or Sweden, you can qualify for a VEU allowance as long as you work for a Danish company in Denmark. You cannot get a VEU allowance or transport subsidy while living in Greenland or the Faeroe Islands.
4. Employment 14 days before or after the course
In order to qualify for a VEU allowance, you must have been employed by the same employer for 14 days before, during or after the course. For example, 14 days before the course, 14 days after the course, or 7 days before and 7 days after.
There is no requirement for the number of hours worked per week.
5. Your study programme cannot be at a higher level than vocational training
A vocational training programme or the like is a study programme that does not require an upper secondary education to get into and which does not last more than approximately four years.
If you have a higher education diploma, you can get a VEU allowance if you have not used your education in the past five years. If it is less than five years since you completed your higher education, you do not qualify for a VEU allowance.
6. You are not receiving public benefits
You cannot get a VEU allowance at the same time as you are receiving public benefits such as welfare benefits.
7. The main rule is that you qualify if you are not covered by an education agreement
If you participate in a course that is part of your study programme, you cannot receive a VEU allowance. This is because your employer is obliged to pay your salary during the course. For example, if you are participating in a vocational training programme and have an education agreement.
If the course is not part of your study programme, however, you can qualify for a VEU allowance because your employer is not obliged to pay you salary while taking the course. In such cases, to qualify you still need to meet the other conditions for receiving a VEU allowance.
