Employer of Record in Denmark: 2026 Cost and Compliance Guide

Denmark's statutory employer on-costs are low. Instead of percentage-based social security, employers pay a set of fixed contributions per full-time employee: the ATP pension, the education contribution (AUB), Barsel.dk for parental leave, occupational injury insurance (AES) and a few smaller items, about DKK 8,200 a year in total in 2026.

Most salaried employees are covered by the Salaried Employees Act (funktionærloven), which sets notice periods of up to six months and severance after 12 and 17 years. There is no statutory minimum wage: pay is set by collective agreements or individually.

For EOR, the Danish rule to know is equal treatment of agency workers. This guide covers costs, that rule, the main employment rules, provider comparison and when to set up your own company. Figures link to official sources. We do not test or use the providers listed; see our methodology.

An Employer of Record in Denmark employs staff on behalf of foreign businesses: it signs the employment contract, registers the employee for tax and payroll, pays the fixed employer contributions through the joint collection system (Samlet Betaling), and handles holiday pay, notice and termination.

Where an EOR places a worker with you to work under your direction, the arrangement resembles agency work. Under Denmark's Act on Temporary Agency Workers (vikarloven), the agency must give the worker at least the terms they would have had if you had hired them directly, unless the agency follows a qualifying national collective agreement.

Ask each provider whether it treats your arrangement as agency work and, if so, how it meets the equal-treatment rule.

Denmark's Act on Temporary Agency Workers (lov om vikarers retsstilling ved udsendelse af et vikarbureau) requires an agency to ensure that, while placed with a user company, the worker has at least the terms that would have applied under law, collective agreements or other binding rules if the user company had hired them directly for the same work. That covers working hours, overtime, breaks, rest periods, night work, holidays, public holidays and pay.

The rule does not apply if the agency is covered by, or has joined, a collective agreement concluded by the most representative labour market parties in Denmark that applies nationwide and respects the general protection of agency workers.

The Act also bans clauses that stop the user company from hiring the worker directly after an assignment, although the agency may charge a reasonable fee for its services, and it bars successive assignments without objective reasons.

What to ask an EOR

Danish employment cost has four layers: gross salary, the fixed employer contributions paid per full-time employee, the holiday supplement for monthly-paid staff, and the EOR fee. Occupational pension contributions agreed in a collective agreement or contract aren't included.

Amounts below are 2026 rates for a full-time, monthly-paid employee. The AES rate depends on the employer's industry group; the default is finance and business services.

Annual cost at example salaries

What these figures include and exclude

• The fixed contributions are per full-time employee and don't rise with salary, so as a share of pay they fall as salaries rise.
• Occupational pension contributions agreed in a collective agreement or employment contract aren't included here.
• AES varies by industry group, from DKK 284 to over DKK 10,000 a year per full-time employee in 2026.
• The employee's ATP share and income tax are deducted from pay and are not employer costs.

Estimate your own cost

Enter a salary to see the estimated annual cost, including mandatory employer contributions and an EOR fee. Change the fee to match the quotes you receive. For worked examples at four salary levels, see cost to hire an employee in Denmark.

Danish employment law relies heavily on collective agreements, with statutes such as the Salaried Employees Act and the Holidays Act setting minimum rights. The Salaried Employees Act covers employees who work more than 8 hours a week on average under the employer's instructions in commercial and office work, technical or clinical support, or supervisory roles.

Minimum wage

Denmark has no statutory minimum wage. Pay is typically set in collective agreements, and an employer bound by one must pay the agreed rates.[7]

Paid holiday

Employees accrue 2.08 days of paid holiday for each month of employment, 25 days a year. The holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August.[4]

Holiday supplement

Monthly-paid employees with full pay on public holidays and sick days keep their salary during holiday and get a holiday supplement of 1% of salary.[4]

Notice periods

Under the Salaried Employees Act, the employer must give 1 month's notice in the first 6 months and 3 months' notice after that, to the end of a month, rising by 1 month for every 3 years of employment up to 6 months. Notice must be given in writing.[5]

Probation

If the employment is agreed as probationary and lasts no more than 3 months, the employer's notice is at least 14 days.[5]

Severance

A salaried employee dismissed after 12 or 17 years of continuous employment receives severance of 1 or 3 months' salary respectively.[5]

Unfair dismissal

If a salaried employee with at least 1 year's service is dismissed without reasonable grounds related to the employee or the business, the employer must pay compensation, up to 4 months' salary after 10 years and up to 6 months' after 15 years.[5]

Sickness

Illness counts as lawful absence for a salaried employee. A written contract can allow dismissal on 1 month's notice once the employee has received pay during sickness for a total of 120 days in 12 months.[5]

Agency work (EOR relevance)

An agency must ensure a placed worker has at least the terms on working hours, overtime, breaks, rest, night work, holidays, public holidays and pay that would have applied if the user company had hired them directly, unless the agency is covered by a qualifying national collective agreement.[6]

• Effective 1 January 2026

  Danish Barsel.dk contribution rises and AUB falls

  Net effect: about DKK 190 a year less per full-time employee (Barsel.dk +DKK 650, AUB −DKK 769, financing contribution −DKK 69, holiday fund fee −DKK 2).

See every country in the employment law changes tracker.

These EOR providers publish Denmark pages and starting prices that apply across their country coverage. Prices are their own published starting rates in USD, from our pricing tracker.

In Denmark, ask whether the provider treats your arrangement as agency work, how it meets the equal-treatment rule, and whether a pension scheme is included.

Compare providers for Denmark

• RemoFirst vs PlayrollIn Denmark: US$199 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).
• Deel vs RemoteIn Denmark: US$599 vs US$599 a month (published starting prices).
• Remote vs RemoFirstIn Denmark: US$599 vs US$199 a month (published starting prices).
• Globalization Partners vs PlayrollIn Denmark: US$599 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).

For each provider's products, pricing model and fit signals, see the EOR provider directory.

The usual alternatives are a private limited company (ApS) or a registered branch of your foreign company. Employing directly removes the agency-work question: your own entity employs and directs the work.

Running costs include accounting, payroll, tax filings and annual reports.

For a step-by-step version of this calculation, see EOR vs local entity: a break-even framework.

1. 1

   Define the role and salaryDay 0

   Agree the gross monthly salary, pension, and whether a collective agreement applies.

2. 2

   Check the legal basis1–2 days

   Ask the provider whether the arrangement is agency work and how equal treatment with your terms is met.

3. 3

   Compare itemised quotes1–3 days

   Request Danish quotes covering the fee, the fixed contributions, holiday supplement, pension and offboarding. Use the estimator to sanity-check totals.

4. 4

   Sign the commercial agreement

   Review the legal basis, notice and severance under the Salaried Employees Act, any fee for hiring the employee directly, IP assignment and data protection (GDPR).

5. 5

   Contract1–2 weeks

   The provider issues a written employment contract before work starts.

6. 6

   Ongoing administrationMonthly

   Monthly payroll, quarterly Samlet Betaling contributions, holiday accounting and the holiday supplement.

Rates and rules on this page are based on the following official sources. Numbers in brackets in the tables above link to these entries.

1. 1
   Satser for Samlet Betaling 2017–2026

   Virk (Danish Business Authority)

   2026 rates per full-time employee per quarter: AUB DKK 705.25, ATP DKK 891, Barsel.dk DKK 550, financing contribution DKK 82, Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler DKK 5, AFU DKK 0.

2. 2
   ATP Contribution Rates 2026 for the Private Sector

   ATP Livslang Pension (lifeindenmark.borger.dk)

   Monthly-paid full-time employees: DKK 297 a month, employee DKK 99 (1/3), employer DKK 198 (2/3).

3. 3
   AES-satser 2026

   Virk / Arbejdsmarkedets Erhvervssikring

   AES contribution and occupational injury levy per full-time employee per year by industry group; group 71 (finance and business services) DKK 457.

4. 4
   Ferieloven (LBK nr 152 af 20/02/2024)

   Retsinformation

   Accrual of 2.08 days a month (§ 5); salary during holiday and 1% holiday supplement for monthly-paid employees (§§ 16–18).

5. 5
   Funktionærloven (LBK nr 1002 af 24/08/2017)

   Retsinformation

   Scope (§ 1), notice (§ 2), severance after 12 and 17 years (§ 2 a), unfair dismissal compensation (§ 2 b) and sickness (§ 5).

6. 6
   Lov om vikarers retsstilling ved udsendelse af et vikarbureau (LOV nr 595 af 12/06/2013)

   Retsinformation

   Equal treatment of agency workers and the collective agreement exemption (§ 3); no clauses blocking direct hire (§ 4).

7. 7
   Regler for virksomheder, der udfører arbejde i Danmark

   Beskæftigelsesministeriet

   There is no statutory minimum wage in Denmark; pay is typically agreed in collective agreements.

Denmark has very low statutory employer costs: about DKK 8,200 a year in fixed contributions per full-time employee plus a 1% holiday supplement, roughly 2.4% on a DKK 600,000 salary. Any pension under a collective agreement or contract comes on top.

The structural point is equal treatment. Where an EOR places a worker under your direction, the agency-work rules can require it to match your own terms unless it follows a national collective agreement. For a long-term team, plan to employ through your own entity.

Compare an EOR against your own company with our EOR vs local entity guide. For neighbouring markets, see Sweden and Germany.