Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q1 2018 Global Guide Quarterly updates

New Holiday Act Ratified

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Tina Reissmann, Partner – Labora Legal

The new Holiday Act is now ratified in Denmark. The Act will become effective as of September 1, 2020. The transitional arrangement for the Act will start one year prior to that (September 1, 2019). The new Holiday Act will, among other things, change the Danish holiday system, so employees will get paid holiday during five weeks from the first year of employment, rather than now, when they have to accrue this right during the previous calendar year.

Grief Leave for Fathers, Second Mothers and Adopters

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Tina Reissmann, Partner – Labora Legal

New bill which changes the rules on grief leave has been ratified in Denmark. It became effective as of February 1, 2018. This means that the rules for grief leave now also apply to fathers and second mothers, as well as adopters.

Dismissal During Fertility Treatment Deemed Discrimination

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Tina Reissmann, Partner – Labora Legal

The Danish Eastern High Court ruled that it was discrimination, when an employee was dismissed during fertility treatment. This judgement shows that employees who are not yet pregnant, but “only” in fertility treatment are protected by relevant legislation. The employee was compensated with six months’ pay.

Act Protecting Trade Secrets Proposed in Denmark

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Author: Tina Reissmann, Partner – Labora Legal

The Act is based on a EU-directive, which aims to streamline and strengthen the effort on trade secrets within the EU. The Act will gather the Danish regulation on trade secrets in one bill. Some of the key changes compared to the regulation today are a definition of a trade secret, new rules dealing with paying damages, as well as regulating areas of whistleblowing. The new Act is expected to become effective as of June 2018.

Obligation to Do In–Service Training

Important Action by Regulatory Agency

Author: Tina Reissmann, Partner – Labora Legal

The Danish Labour Court has ruled that it is within the collective agreement in question to force employees to continue their in-service training. The case dealt with public employee porters who refused to do in-service training. The employer sent out a warning of dismissal if the employees did not go through the training; however, the porters still refused and were therefore dismissed. The court stated that this was a legitimate dismissal due to the violation of the collective agreement.