What are the legal requirements?
Since 1 July 2023, you have the right to a written employment contract if you work more than 3 hours per week on average over a 4-week period. Some information must be provided within 7 days of your first working day; the remainder within 30 days.
What must the contract contain?
Identity: Full name and address of both you and your employer; start date (and end date if fixed-term); primary place of work; job title or description.
Pay and hours: Your salary and pay date; any additional compensation (pension, phone, car, etc.); normal weekly working hours (note: 37 hours is not statutory but is the standard); overtime arrangements.
Holiday: Your holiday entitlement with reference to ferieloven; any extra days beyond the statutory 5 weeks.
Notice: Your and your employer's notice periods; trial period conditions (max 3 months; 14 days' notice during trial).
Governing law: Whether the contract is covered by a collective agreement (overenskomst) or by funktionærloven; which laws and agreements apply.
Clauses: Any non-compete or non-solicitation clause must be explicitly stated.
Are you a funktionær?
You're a funktionær (salaried employee) if your work involves commerce, office, warehousing, technical, or clinical assistance functions, and you work more than 8 hours per week on average. This depends on the nature of your work, not your pay structure.
As a funktionær, you're protected by funktionærloven: paid sick leave from day one, defined notice periods (minimum 1 month for the first 5 months, rising to 3 months thereafter and increasing by 1 month every 3 years of employment, up to 6 months), and specific rights on dismissal.
What should you negotiate before signing?
Items not fixed by law that you can negotiate: salary; extra holiday days (feriefridage); pension contributions; remote work and flexible hours; training and education; enhanced parental pay; extended notice periods.
Never sign before all questions are answered. You're entitled to take time to review — asking to have a few days with the contract is standard practice.
Upload your employment contract to Elify for a plain-language analysis of what's standard, what's unusual, and what to question.