An employer must always have a substantial reason for firing an employee
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An employer must always have a substantial reason for firing an employee; such as unfitness, cooperative problems or a situation in the company which requires dismissal (for instance work shortage, restructure or cost-savings).
If an employer is not satisfied with efforts of their employee, it is normal for the employer to provide one or several warnings, so that the employee has the opportunity to correct the situation that the employer is dissatisfied with.
The termination notice period applicable to both the employee and the employer must be stated in the employment contract. If the employment is covered by a collective agreement, then the termination notice for both parties typically follows the provisions therein.
If the employee is employed as per the Act on Salaried Employees (funktionærloven), then there are specific regulations that apply in conjunction with terminating their employment. Pursuant to the Act on Salaried Employees, the employee has to give their notice 1 month before their resignation. For employers, other regulations apply depending on how long the employee has been employed.
The employer’s notice period is stipulated as per the Act on Salaried Employees according to the following scheme:
Duration of employment |
Notice periods |
| 0–6 months | 1 month |
| 6 months – 3 years | 3 months |
| 3–6 years | 4 months |
| 6–9 years | 5 months |
| 9+ years | 6 months |
| Agreed probationary period of max. 3 months | 14 days |
| Agreed temporary assignment of max. 1 month | No notice |
The notice period of a salaried employee is based on a 1-month period. But no notice is required from the employee during the agreed probationary period of max. 3 months or if the parties have agreed to a temporary employment of max. 1 month.
It is not necessary for a termination to occur in writing in order to be legally binding. However, it is recommended that the employee requests a written termination for the sake of having evidence. If the employee resigns, this should also occur in writing.
In case of redundancies, an employer is obligated to negotiate with the employees or the employee representatives and to inform the relevant Regional Labour Market Council of the dismissals.
The rules on redundancies apply if one of the following scenarios occurs within a 30-day period:
In this case, the dismissals can come into effect no earlier than 30 days after the Regional Labour Market Council has been informed. If more than 50% of the employees in a work place with more than 100 employees are dismissed, the dismissals can come into effect no earlier than 8 weeks after the notification of the Regional Labour Market Council, unless otherwise is stated in the collective agreement. For employees with no or short notice periods, this effectively means that their notice periods are extended.
