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WORKING IN DENMARK

Twice as many people work from home in Denmark since pandemic

The number of people working from home in Denmark has doubled since the coronavirus pandemic, according to research from the Danish Chamber of Commerce.

Published: 16 July 2022 18:07 CEST

Twice as many people work from home in Denmark since pandemic

The number of people working from home in Denmark has doubled since the start of the pandemic. Photo by Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish Chamber of Commerce said that in an average company, 16 percent of working hours were now completed at home, as opposed to 8 percent before the pandemic.

“I think that both managers and employees have found that it works. It provides flexibility for employees – both in terms of transport time, work-life balance, and the way we work if we want to immerse ourselves in a task,” Pernille Taarup, chief consultant within HR and management at the Danish Chamber of Commerce, said.

“Corona forced many of us to stay at home. And it turned out that productivity was just as high at home as when you were at work, and that employees were happy to work at home part of the time”, Taarup added.

The survey was sent to members of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, which represents 18,000 member companies and more than 100 industry associations.

The results showed that two out of three companies offer a work from home option to employees. On average, employees choose to work from home twice a week.

According to the analysis, working from home is more widespread in larger companies than in small ones, especially in the IT and telecommunications and consulting industries.

In the IT and telecommunications industry, 43 percent of working hours are completed at home. In the consulting industry, it is 24 percent.

Most of the companies that do not offer working from home options, explain that it is because the tasks can only be carried out physically in the company building.

According to Taarup, it is difficult to predict whether the number of people working from home will increase even more.

“Many companies are in the process of finding out what works for them and what the balance should be”, she said.

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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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