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CHRISTMAS

Could Danish companies cancel Christmas parties?

Large Danish companies are considering cancellation or applying restrictions to their Christmas parties, or julefrokoster, due to the current soaring infection numbers across the country.

High Covid-19 infection numbers in Denmark are causing companies to reconsider Christmas party plans.
High Covid-19 infection numbers in Denmark are causing companies to reconsider Christmas party plans.Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash

The annual work Christmas dinner, or julefrokost in Danish, is a staple of the country’s festive traditions and famous for often being a rowdy occasion at which normally-reserved colleagues allow themselves to let off steam.

Last year saw the festive occasions cancelled en masse as the country was hit hard by a second wave of coronavirus infections prior to the arrival of a vaccination programme against Covid-19.

No restrictions are currently in place preventing companies from having Christmas parties of any attendance, although a valid Covid-19 health pass or coronapas is required for organised events over a certain size.

Some companies in Denmark are reported to be considering asking staff to produce a valid coronapas, after the law was recently updated to reimplement a provision allowing this.

Shipping giant Maersk meanwhile says it plans to demand staff document vaccination in order to work on site.

READ ALSO: Maersk to require office staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19

A surge of infections in Denmark in recent weeks is now prompting some companies to consider applying restrictions to their Christmas parties or even cancelling them completely, media Finans reports.

Thursday saw Denmark register over 4,000 new cases of Covid-19 for the first time in 2021. 362 are currently admitted to hospital nationally. That is some way short of the peak in late 2020 and January this year, when the number of hospitalised patients exceeded 900.

However, that was at a time before a significant proportion of the population was vaccinated against Covid-19.

75.5 percent of the Danish population is currently vaccinated against the virus while 77.2 percent have had at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the latest official data.

Danfoss has cancelled large Christmas parties for its staff. Grundfos is to demand a valid coronapas while fashion firm DK Company wants all party attendees to take a Covid-19 test before its seasonal events, Finans writes.

“Our focus is to ensure the safety and health of our staff, we therefore closely follow the recommendations and guidance of authorities. Since large gatherings like Christmas parties can present a risk for spreading infections, we’ve decided to cancel the large Christmas parties,” Danfoss head of press Mikkel Thrane told Finans.

Other companies told the media they still plan to go ahead with Christmas parties.

Grundfos told Finans in a written comment that it was closely following developments and that its annual festivities would only take place if this was “considered medically advisable”. The company has yet to cancel planned events but staff will be asked to produce a valid coronapas.

Horesta, an interest organisation for the hospitality industry, said that it had so far received “fortunately only a few” cancellations from companies wishing to scrap Christmas parties.

“There are however many questions about how a big Christmas party can be held safely and advisably. We are fortunately experts on this but corona is creating a certain hesitancy just now,” the organisation’s political director Kristian Nørgaard told Finans.

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WORK PERMITS

EXPLAINED: How to apply for a work permit in Denmark as an intern

Want to intern at the elite restaurant Noma, at the architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, as a vet or as a nurse? Here's what you need to know.

EXPLAINED: How to apply for a work permit in Denmark as an intern

Denmark has a special scheme for foreigners offered work in the country as interns, with different rules for those employed in architecture, healthcare, farming or veterinary jobs, or other sectors such as the natural sciences, technical fields, the pharmaceutical sector, or culture.

As an intern, you can get a permit to work in Denmark and a residency permit without having to earn any salary whatsoever, let alone secure the generous pay levels required to qualify for the Pay Limit Scheme. 

But you do have to meet the conditions put in place, to prevent unscrupulous employers using the internship permit to bring low cost labour to the country. 

You can find an English language guide to internships on the website of the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (Siri). 

READ ALSO: Danish work permit agency changes practice for hotel and restaurant interns

Who is eligible to get a work permit as an intern? 

You need to be between the ages of 18 and 35 (or 18 and 30 for some sectors), and you normally need to be studying a relevant subject in your home country or current country of residence .

In some cases you can already have recently graduated and in some cases you can be studying a subject not related to the internship, but if this is the case you need to show that you have passed a semester’s worth of courses in a relevant subject. 

If your internship is unpaid, you normally need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself over the period.

If your internship is paid, your salary must be at least 6,820 kroner per month, which has to be stated in the standard contract, and paid into a Danish bank account in a bank operating legally in Denmark.

Be aware that opening a Danish bank account can be difficult, with applicants normally needing to have a Danish address and CPR personal number. If you are having trouble you can apply for a basic payments account.

What qualifications do I need to show or paperwork do I need to provide? 

The rules are different depending on which sector you intend to carry out your internship in. 

Agricultural, horticulture, forestry or veterinary 

If you plan to intern in the agricultural, horticulture, forestry or veterinary sectors, you need to show that you have passed a language test in English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or German at the A2 level or higher, in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages scale.

This is a very basic level, described in the CEFR as enough to communicate “very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment”. 

For English language tests offered by IELTS, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) accepts test scores from 3.0, and for English tests from TOEFL, scores at Studieprøven level (C1 CEFR level). You will need to send the results certificate along with your application. 

To qualify for an internship in these sectors you also need to be studying a relevant subject in your home country, or the country where you have residency, and the internship also needs to be timed to coincide with where you are in the course, for instance as a practical element following more theoretical ones. 

“We compare the content of your educational programme with the job tasks which you will be carrying out during the internship,” Siri writes in its guide to internships. 

You cannot be more than 30 years old for an internship in these sectors. 

Interns in these sectors do not need to provide proof that they can support themselves. 

Healthcare 

There are no language requirements for an internship in the healthcare sector, and for medical interns there is no upper age limit (although an age limit of 35 applies for other healthcare interns). 

The internship must be related to the educational programme you are studying in your home or another country, and you need to submit an authorised translation of the list of courses you have studied, along with your application. 

You can receive an internship in healthcare even if your studies have recently been completed, but you must show that the internship is a continuation of your studies and relevant to the future role you intend to take on. 

If you have completed your studies, you should include documentation of any work experience you have had since completing your studies. 

If your internship is unpaid, you need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself over the period, which you can document with a bank statement or a copy of a scholarship certificate. It is not enough for someone else, such as a parent, to say they will support you. 

Architecture 

To be eligible for a work permit in the architecture sector, you cannot have completed your education and cannot be more than 35 years old. 

The internship must be related to the educational programme you are studying in your home or another country, and you need to submit an authorised translation of the list of courses you have studied, along with your application. 

If your internship is unpaid, you also need to show that you have at least 6,820 kroner a month to support yourself, which you can document with a bank statement or a copy of a scholarship certificate. It is not enough for someone else, such as a parent, to say they will support you. 

Which employers are eligible to take interns?

Employers need to be approved to take interns, either through a prior praktikpladsgodkendelse, or “place of internship approval”, or through sending detailed documentation to Siri on what the internship will consist of, including details of who will be supervising the intern, and prior experience the firm has with taking on interns or trainees. 

All public hospitals in Denmark are approved as places of internship.

If you are planning on interning at a Danish architecture firm, the firm must use the standard “Internship Agreement and Guidelines” issued by DANSKE ARK, the Danish association of Architectural Firms, and the Danish Union of Architects and Designers.

Architecture firms do not need to receive a separate praktikpladsgodkendelse but when filling in the standard contract, need to state the number of fully-trained architects and number of interns working at the firm. 

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