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WORKING IN DENMARK

When are Denmark’s public holidays in 2023?

If you're using your time off to plan some of your holiday activities for 2023, then it's always a good idea to check the dates of the public holidays, and the days they fall on.

Published: 30 December 2022 15:13 CET
Christmas
In this article, we will go through all the public holidays in 2023 and note the days they fall on. Photo by Mariana B. / Unsplash

There are multiple benefits to planning your time off – and your holiday trips – ahead of time.

To start off, you’ll be able to book popular destinations that tend to get fully booked quite quickly (especially if you’re planning on travelling during peak season for tourists).

You’ll also be able to save a lot of money if your time off work involves paying for accommodation or transport – both hotel prices and aeroplane tickets are known to increase as one’s travel date draws near.

Last but not least, planning ahead will help reduce the stress that is usually related to last-minute preparations. So, overall, planning out your holiday time early and having a clear overview of public holidays in Denmark will pay off as early as April – when the Easter holiday season starts.

In this article, we will go through all the public holidays in 2023 and note the days they fall on so that you can plan out all your time off without any doubts.

New Year’s Day: January 1st (Sunday)

In Denmark, there is a host of customs and traditions associated with the celebration of the New Year. You can find out more about them here.

Now that the coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, expect the Danes to go all out when it comes to partying on New Year’s Eve – major cities in particular (like Copenhagen and Aarhus) will be crowded with partygoers once again.

With that in mind, January 1st will mostly be a day of rest, an opportunity for people to sleep in and recover from the celebrations.

Palm Sunday: April 2nd (Sunday)

On Palm Sunday, Christians in Denmark remember Jesus entering Jerusalem. According to scripture, Jesus was greeted by the people waving palm branches on this occasion.

Christians use this opportunity to prepare for Easter celebrations.

While some churches in Denmark will hold services to celebrate this holiday, others will organize processions with believers reenacting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

You’ll easily recognize this procession as many participants carry palm branches.

Maundy Thursday: April 6th (Thursday)

The Easter period in Denmark includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday. These are national holidays in Denmark when schools are closed, and most people do not work.

Maundy Thursday falls on the Thursday before Easter and marks the beginning of the three days of reflection in the run-up to Easter.

The holiday commemorates the Last Supper, and churches hold services to celebrate the occasion.

Generally speaking, Maundy Thursday is a time for Christians in Denmark to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice and start seriously preparing for Easter.

Good Friday: April 7th (Friday)

On Good Friday, which falls on the Friday before Easter, Christians in Denmark commemorate the death of Jesus and his crucifixion for the sins of humankind.

Expect churches to hold special services on the occasion that are likely to focus on the parts of the scripture that cover the story of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Easter: April 9th (Sunday)

As one of the most important Christian holidays, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.

It is a public holiday in Denmark, and churches mark the occasion with a number of services.

The Christian community in the country celebrates Easter through family gatherings and exchanging Easter gifts.

In Denmark, people often exchange chocolate eggs, Easter baskets, and other traditional gifts with friends and family to mark the special day.

Many Danish families also have big meals (often traditional ones) together.

Easter Monday: April 10th (Monday)

Also a public holiday, Easter Monday is celebrated after the Easter weekend – as a day of rest.

As is the case with Easter, people often tend to spend this day with families and friends.

On this day, the Danes that don’t take part in traditional Easter activities tend to opt for spending time outdoors – walks, hikes, and picnics are all popular options.

Some Danish towns also hold Easter events – usually parades or pop-up markets – to mark the occasion.

Great Prayer Day: May 5th (Friday)

The Great Prayer Day falls on the fourth Friday after Easter; it is a day of national prayer observed by the Christian community in Denmark.

The idea for Great Prayer Day came from Hans Bagger, a Roskilde bishop from 1675 to 1693. Within his first two years of service, he implemented three additional days for praying and fasting into a calendar already full of holy days.

When all of that time spent fasting and praying began to interfere with actually getting things done, some of the lesser days were rolled into one of Bagger’s three additions and Great Prayer Day was born. It was instituted into law by King Christian V in 1686.

The holiday gives everyone who works in Denmark an additional long spring weekend, which many young Danes use to attend their traditional confirmation ceremonies.

Ascension Day: May 18th (Thursday)

On Ascension Day, the Christian community in Denmark commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven. The day falls on the 40th day of Easter, and many churches in Denmark hold special services to mark the occasion.

These services often include reading the Ascension story from the Bible, and some congregations even organize processions, during which they reenact the ascension of Jesus.

Christians in Denmark take time to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus and pray

Whitsunday and Whitmonday: May 28th (Sunday) and May 29th (Monday)

Christian holidays Whitsunday (or Pentecost) and Whitmonday commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.
The Pentecost holiday falls on the 50th day of Easter.

Many churches in Denmark will mark the occasion by holding special services, often including readings of the Pentecost story from the Bible. Some congregations may also hold processions and reenact the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Overall, Christians in Denmark use Whitsunday as a time to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and reflect on its role in their lives.

The Pentecost holidays allow for a long weekend, which Danes often use to spend some time outdoors.

Christmas Day: December 25th (Monday)

Christmas is celebrated with a number of traditions and customs in Denmark. The celebration of Christmas Eve is particularly important – in fact, it’s more important than Christmas Day itself (as is also the case in Norway).

Many Danish families will gather for a special dinner on Christmas Eve, after which children will get to open their gifts.

Carol singing is also a popular Christmas tradition in Denmark; people often sing them in churches and in the streets.

Expect to see a number of cultural and community events to mark the Christmas holidays, as well as Christmas markets and street decorations in most cities and towns.

Boxing Day: December 26th (Tuesday)

Boxing Day – also known as St. Stephen’s Day – is not a big deal in Denmark.

Some people will exchange gifts and spend time with families on this day. Others may attend church services to mark the occasion.

Note: This year could be the last time we see Great Prayer Day (Store Bededag) on the above list.

The new government wants to abolish one of Denmark’s annual public holidays – most likely to be Great Prayer Day – in a measure it says will enable more spending on defence.

The change would likely take effect in 2024.

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WORKING IN DENMARK

How will Denmark’s new rules on recording working hours affect you?

From July this year, all people working in Denmark will have to document any deviations from their agreed working hours. Here's how it's going to work.

Published: 13 May 2024 13:13 CEST
Updated: 13 May 2024 15:14 CEST
How will Denmark's new rules on recording working hours affect you?

On January 23rd, Denmark’s parliament voted through a law that, among other things, requires all Danish employers to introduce a working hours registration system that makes it possible to measure the daily working hours of each individual employee. 

The requirement, which comes into force on July 1st, implements a 2019 judgement of the EU Court, which stated that all member states needed to bring in laws requiring employers to record how many hours per week each employee is working.

The bill is built on an agreement reached on June 30th last year between the Confederation of Danish Employers, the Danish Trade Union Confederation, and Denmark’s white collar union, the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. 

Will everyone working in Denmark now need to keep a detailed record of the hours they put in each day? 

No. Workers will only need to register any deviations from the working hours they have already agreed or been scheduled. So long as they stick to their scheduled hours, they never need to open the app, website, or other time registration system their organisation has set up. 

If they have to come in early for an interview, however, or do a bit of preparation for a meeting the next day in the evening, they will be expected to log those extra hours. 

Similarly, if they pop out for a dentist’s appointment, or to get a haircut, those reductions in working hours should all be noted down. 

What do employers need to do? 

All employers need to set up and maintain a detailed record of the actual hours worked by their employees, but the law gives them a lot of flexibility over how to do this, insisting only that the record be “objective, reliable and accessible”. 

They could do it in the old-fashioned way using a shared Excel spreadsheet, or, as most probably will, use an app such as Timetastic from the UK, ConnectTeam from the US, or Denmark’s zTime or Timelog.

To make it easier for their employees, employers can fill their scheduled hours into the time registration system in advance, so that workers only need to make a log of any deviations.  

Under the law, employers are required to keep these records for five years.

Employees empowered to set their own schedule — so called self-organisers — are exempt from the law, but as the law states that such people should be able to reorganise their own working time “in its entirety” and that this power should be enshrined in their contracts, this is only expected to apply to the most senior tier of executives. 

Who will be able to see my working hours? 

Each employee should only have access to their own data, which is covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and should not be able to see a detailed record of hours worked by their colleagues. 

Managers, however, will have access to the working hours records made by their subordinates. 

Will the legislation put limits on how many hours I can work? 

Yes, but in theory those hours already are limited for almost all employees by collective bargaining agreements. 

The new rule is intended to make sure that employees do not work more than 48 hours per week on average over a period of four months, the minimum standard under EU law, known as the 48-hour rule.

People in certain professions can, however, work longer than the 48-hours if they are covered by a so-called “opt-out”. 

Won’t it just be an additional hassle? 

The Danish Business Authority, the government agency which is supposed to support businesses in Denmark, estimates that keeping the time registration system up to date will only take between one to three minutes of employees’ time. 

In addition, it estimates that as much as 80 percent of employees in the country already keep a record of their time. 

Henrik Baagøe Fredelykke, a union official at Lego, said in an article on the website of the HK union, that he believed that the records could serve as an “eye-opener” about unrecorded overtime. 

What was crucial, he said, was that the system was used primarily to ensure that there was no systemic deviation from working hours and not to police employees. 

“It must not be used for monitoring by the management, who can come and say ‘whoa, why didn’t you work 7.4 hours yesterday?’,” Fredelykke said.

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