Minimum wage country profile for Denmark

Information for this page was compiled during December 2024 and January 2025. Most Member States had already transposed the EU minimum wage directive at this point, while others were still working towards it. Those that had not yet fully completed transposition or where the information was not yet publicly available include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain. These profiles will be updated consecutively as the information becomes available. Users are invited to contact our experts on minimum wage if they are aware of changes.

These profiles describe how minimum wages are regulated and set. They are available for all EU countries and Norway.
Benjamin Rom Viegand Hansen

This profile describes how minimum wages are regulated and set in Denmark. It can be read as background information for Eurofound’s annual review of minimum wage setting series.

In Denmark, there is no statutory minimum wage. Instead, minimum wages are set in collective agreements.

In Denmark, there are no extension mechanisms. The companies that do not want to be a member of an employer organisation can sign single-employer agreements with trade unions. These supplementary agreements (adoption agreements) are often standard single-employer agreements that the unions have ready for the occasion. In case of breach, the regulations are the same as mentioned above.

No national legislative measures are required to implement the EU Directive on Minimum Wages in Denmark. This was concluded in late November 2024 by the tripartite working group set up by the Ministry to assess the implementation of the directive. However, the Danish Ministry of Employment must still report on the collective bargaining coverage rates, the lowest wage rates in collective agreements, and the wage levels of workers not covered by collective agreements to the Commission, etc.

In January 2023, the Danish government sought to challenge the directive before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In November 2025, the Court annulled the parts of the directive that relate to statutory minimum wages. As Denmark does not have such a system, the annulled provisions have no effect on Denmark, and the remaining parts of the directive, including the reporting obligations, continue to apply.

Denmark has a fairly high coverage of workers by collective agreements. The exact coverage rate may be calculated in different ways and thus vary slightly. The numbers provided by the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) based on 2023 data from Statistics Denmark, The Danish Employers' Association for the Financial Sector, as well as Eurostat’s Structure of Earnings Survey, represent a widely used source. According to their calculations, Danish Employers found, and published in an article, that 82% of employees in Denmark are covered by collective agreements (100% percent in the public sector and 73% in the private sector). A 2025 study from Aalborg University, which draws on cross-sectional data from the national Tryghedsbarometer survey, finds that 69% of the active workforce report being covered by a collective agreement.

The Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (FH) published a report on collective bargaining coverage in 2022, in which the coverage rate was stated to be 84% overall, 78% in the private sector and 97% in the public sector. Not much data is to be found on collective bargaining coverage for low-paid workers per se, and it is often discussed in correlation with organisational coverage (i.e. employees that are members of a trade union). According to the report almost half a million workers – around 15% of the workforce – are employed on workplaces that have a low or medium collective bargaining coverage. Industries with low coverage are more likely to have short-term employment, part-time employment, foreign workforce, as well as a low level of trade union memberships. The report highlights four industries with low organisational density and where over half of the workforce is in the lowest wage quartile: hotel and restaurant, cleaning, agriculture, and retail. However, despite the low organisational density, only the first has a low collective bargaining coverage, while the other three have medium to high collective bargaining coverage. While the retail sector has a high collective bargaining coverage and a lower foreign workforce, it has – together with cleaning – the largest share of workers, 72%, in the lowest wage quartile. Thus, low organisational density (in terms of trade union membership numbers) affects bargaining power and eventually the working conditions and wage levels, irrespective of the collective bargaining coverage.

Regarding the lack of collective bargaining coverage and set minimum wages, the main groups of workers often mentioned are posted workers (mainly in construction) and digital platform workers (mainly cleaners and couriers). These are relatively new types of workers in the Danish context, and there have been various attempts during the last decade to ensure a better incorporation of these workers into the Danish system. However, the largest group not covered by collective agreements are highly skilled employees with a university degree. According to the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs (DM), a trade union for workers with a university degree, only one third of their members in the private sector are employed according to a collective agreement, and the majority is employed exclusively on individual contracts.

Most of the private Danish labour market falls within the scope of the two main labour market confederations, the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) and the Danish Trade Union Confederation (FH). However, it is their member organisations that do the actual negotiation of the sectoral collective agreements, while FH and DA (in particular) ensure coordination between negotiations of the different sectoral agreements.

In the private sector there are two pace-setting agreements with two different collective agreement payment schemes:

  1. The Industrial Agreement, between Danish Industry (DI) and the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees in Denmark (CO-Industri), sets the levels of those using the 'Minimum payment system'.

  2. The Transport and Logistics Agreement, between DI and the United Federation of Danish Workers (3F), sets the wage levels for those using the 'Standard payment system'.

These two agreements set the mark for the development in wage levels for most workers in the private sector, including low-paid workers. The public sector follows the mark set by wage setting in the private sector.

In Denmark, collective agreements in the private sector are renewed on an industry-by-industry basis, but they are negotiated during the same period (collective bargaining round) and are approved through a joint vote by trade union members in all industries.

The Industrial Agreement between DI and CO-industry is always the first agreement to be concluded in the collective bargaining rounds. It is the largest and lays the framework for the rest of the agreements. Further, it sets the wage levels for all those using the 'minimum payment system', which is around 60% of the private sector. In the 'minimum payment system', actual wage levels have to be negotiated at the company level and most workers will be paid much more than the agreement’s minimum rate. The other pace-setting agreement is the Transport and Logistics Agreement between DI and 3F, which covers around 20% of the private workforce. This agreement sets the wage levels in the 'standard payment system', in which the wage level set by the sectoral agreement is often the wage paid to workers. However, there is strong coordination in the negotiation of both types of collective agreements, implying that the relative increase in wages will be approximately the same across sectors and occupational groups covered by these agreements. Therefore, the relative outcomes of bargaining rounds will not differ much between different groups of workers and the system ensures that low-paid workers are not left behind in their wage development.

The duration of the collective agreement is agreed upon during the collective bargaining round and will last for two to four years depending on the economic situation. In the last two decades, three-year agreements have been the norm. The bargaining rounds take place in the first quarter of a year. In the private sector, local negotiations in companies can follow the conclusion of their relevant sector or company agreements.

Bargaining rounds for the public sector always follow one year after the private sector negotiations. Wage increase disparities are automatically adjusted according to formalised procedures, so that the public sector neither falls far behind nor overtakes wage levels in the private sector.

Across all sectors, Danish collective agreements contain wage provisions lower than the adult minimum rates for young workers (<18 years) and apprentices. For both groups the wage levels differ between sectors and industries, and in the private sector, a higher rate can be achieved with local negotiation.

In Denmark, one can start working at age 13; however, this is not very common, and most agreements only contain rates for youth workers in ages 15, 16 and 17. Most agreements contain youth rate supplements for time worked in early mornings and/or evenings and/or Sundays and public holidays. It is only legal to give age-based wages if the worker is covered by a collective agreement. Due to the Discrimination Actopens in new tab, wage negotiations in companies without a collective agreement cannot differentiate wages based on age. Rather, it is only legal to give a young person a lower wage than someone older due to less experience and competence; the salary for a young person under the age of 18 must be agreed in the same way as for an employee who has turned 18.

The wage levels of apprentices (ages 16-24) are similarly determined by the collective agreements, and they might differ slightly between industries. However, even if the company is not covered by an agreement, students and apprentices are always guaranteed the minimum wage and salary benefits stated in the main collective agreement in the certain industry by law. The levels are minimum rates that increase annually as students and apprentices gain more experience in the field. In 2025 the monthly minimum rate for the first year of an apprentice could be expected to be between DKK 9,500 and DKK 12,500 before tax (approx. €1,273 –€1,675). For some apprenticeships, the wages are higher if the apprentice has turned 21 before starting. Minimum rates for adult apprentices (25+) are higher with minimum rates equal to unskilled workers. All apprentice wage levels are minimum rates, and in the private sector, a higher level might be negotiated.

In Denmark there are three main wage systems in the private labour market, which provide different opportunities for employees to enter into local wage agreements with management. Around 60% of the private workforce are on the minimum payment/minimum wage system, around 20% are on the standard wage system, and the remaining are either on collective agreements without rates or on individual contracts.

The minimum payment system

  • Under this system, the collective agreement stipulates a minimum wage rate applicable for the period as well as an obligation to enter into an agreement on personal pay. It is common also to include a right to annual wage negotiations. The total salary for each individual employee is thus negotiated locally at the workplace, based on an employee’s skills, experience, training and performance, as well as job requirements, including any inconvenience associated with the work.

  • Within this wage system, there is also the variant 'minimum wage rates', where, for example, a number of basic rates have been set, based on job type or education. In addition, various salary supplements can be negotiated locally. These two minimum rate systems are often referred to together.

The standard wage system

  • This is the most centralized pay system. Here, the wage is set by central collective agreements at sectoral level, and there is limited opportunity to negotiate fixed wages locally. The pay rates set out in the agreement are the standard rates and employees meeting the same criteria get equal pay. The rates include: fixed hourly/monthly pay rates; supplements for staggered working hours during daytime; supplements for evening/night/weekend work; supplements for overtime – sometimes rates such as work-related supplements; seniority supplements; qualification supplements.

Collective agreements without wage rates

  • Here, wage rates are not negotiated during the central collective bargaining negotiations. Instead, most collective agreements contain provisions which state that the salary must reflect individual traits, such as qualifications, effort, responsibility, education, and competences. Salary is divided into basic salary, bonus and allowances for e.g. qualifications, functions, responsibility, flexibility and availability.

In the public sector, everyone is covered by the local wage system, which is a seniority-based pay system with decentralized non-seniority-based supplements. The purpose of local pay is to provide the opportunity to pay employees in relation to their competence development, functions and personal qualifications, as well as to adapt the pay to local conditions. The local wage consists of five parts, of which only the first has to be centrally determined:

  1. Basic salary (or base salary): this is the scale step one is placed on when newly employed or trained. The base salary has a number of seniority steps, which are calculated based on a date of experience in current or previous relevant employment.

  2. Functional pay (or functional allowance): a pay provided for special functions that are beyond the position employed in. E.g. union representative or a temporary special task. Functional pay can be agreed locally or centrally.

  3. Qualification salary (or qualification allowance): a supplement which is linked to personal qualifications. It can include both how work is carried out and/or used to recruit or retain the workforce. The qualification supplement can be agreed locally at institution level - but can also be agreed centrally in an agreement concluded between the management and the local trade union.

  4. Performance pay: pay that can be given to individual employees or to a group of employees. It is based on the achievement of a specific target. Performance pay is negotiated locally. This may also be a one-off payment. Performance pay is often used for managers.

  5. One-off remuneration: a remuneration for a special effort.

In Denmark, certain amounts can be deducted from a worker's income prior to the calculation of taxes. These include trade union fees; interest expenses; transport to/from work in excess of a total 24 km; double housing or board and lodging for temporary workers; work travel expenses if not paid by the employee.

In permanent jobs a worker must pay tax on free board and lodging provided by the employer. There are fixed standard rates for free board and lodging at the place of employment for helpers in agriculture etc., domestic help, kitchen and serving staff, private nurses and hospital staff. There are also special rates for personnel in the military. The rates are decided by the Tax Council and the newest order entered into force on 1 January 2025. If a cash benefit has been paid instead of free boarding and lodging, it must be treated as wages.

An employer may choose to pay a tax-free travel allowance for food, accommodation, and petty acquisitions in connection with work-related travel. The employee must be away for at least 24 hours. Travel allowances are tax-free and are paid according to standard rates. This is also called subsistence allowance (in Danish called 'diæter').

In Denmark there are no regular reports on minimum wage setting.

Publication
Forthcoming

August 2026

Minimum wages in 2026: Annual review
This report will present the latest developments around national and collectively agreed minima and quantify the amount of minimum wage earners across EU27 countries and the material situation they find themselves in.
Read more about Minimum wages in 2026: Annual review
Publication

30 January 2026

Real growth in minimum wages in 2026, amid both progress and pullback on Member States’ ambitions
Most EU Member States changed the level of their national minimum wage from 1 January 2026 and, as in the previous year, the general picture is one of substantial increases – significantly exceeding price increases.
Read more about Real growth in minimum wages in 2026, amid both progress and pullback on Member States’ ambitions
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