1. EMPLOYMENT AT AARHUS UNIVERSITY
Personnel Officer Margit Troelsen, tel , ;
Personnel Office, AU HR
I am happy to be here today to give you an overview of the Danish employment regulations. My name is Margit Troelsen and I employed at the Personal Office, AU HR.

2. COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
Collective agreements (agreements between the various organisations and the Ministry of Finance)
Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations
Contain the conditions for employment, i.e. rules on salary, pension, working hours, notice of dismissal, holiday, sickness, maternity/paternity leave etc.
Employments at the University are regulated by collective agreements. Employment of researchers and most of the PhD students are regulated by the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations. This agreement contains the conditons for employment, i.e. rules on salary, pension, working hours, notice of dismissal, hoiiday, sickness, maternity/paternity leave etc.

3. LABOUR MARKET LEGISLATION
Holiday Act (e.g. right to holiday)
Salaried Employees Act (e.g. notice of dismissal)
Fixed Term Employment Act (e.g. renewal of multiple consecutive fixed-term posts held by employees involved in teaching and research activity may not take place more than twice)
Maternity/Paternity Leave Act (right to maternity/paternity leave)
Besides the collective agreement which regulate the employment at the University we have a national legislation: the Danish Holiday Act, Salaried Employees Act, Fixed Term Employment and also concerning maternity/paternity leave.
Holiday Act contains rules concerning the right to holiday
Salaried Employees Act contains rules concerning notice of dismissal
Fixed Term Employment Act says that if you are involved in teaching and research you can only have three consecutive fixed term posts.

4. JOB STRUCTURE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF AT UNIVERSITIES
Positions below the level of assistant professor (PhD Fellow, Research Assistant, Assistant Lecturer, Part-time Lecturer)
Positions at the level of assistant professor (Assistant Professor, Researcher, PostDoc)
Positions at the level of associate professor (Associate Professor, Senior Researcher)
Positions at the level of professor (Professor, Professor with Special Responsibilites)
Special positions
Job Structure contains rules at what level you are employed.
Assistant Professor is a futher-education post. PostDoc is normally working with research, but there may also be a certain amount of teaching
PhD Fellow is a fixed-term education position with the aim of achieving a PhD degree after typically three years of employment.

5. WORKING HOURS 37 hours a week full time position
Employeés such as researchers who themselves plan their work or whose working time cannot be checked are not entitled to overtime pay
Normally half an hour paid lunch break is included in the working hours

6. PAY AND PENSION - PAY NEW PAY SYSTEM
Basic pay (salary grade 4 to 8 – professors salary grades 37/38)
Job structure allowances
Qualifications-related allowances
Functions-related allowances
One-off payments
In Denmark we have what we call ”a new pay system.” In this system the salary consists of a basic pay. In addition to this we have pay supplements which can be stated in the job structure. Or based on qualifications or functions or a lump sum.

7. PAY AND PENSION - PAY
Job structure allowances – i.e. post doc allowance, associate professor’s allowance
Qualifications-related allowances are used to reward the employee on the basis of his/her professional and personal qualifications, the quality of the performance of the task, the balance in relation to corresponding positions elsewhere in the labour market or for the purpose of recruitment and retention
Functions-related allowances are used to reward the employee who is in charge of special functions in his/her position. It is linked to particular task which the employee performs
One-off payments will typically be relevant if it is a matter of remuneration following a particular effort
I will later give you an example of allowances.

8. PAY AND PENSION - PENSION
Compulsory labour market pension scheme under the collective agreements
For PhD Fellows17.1 per cent of 85 per cent of salary and pensionable allowances
For PostDocs and Professors 17.1 per cent of salary and pensionable allowances
Fixed pension funds related to type of master degree
If you have a degree in law or economics the pension fund is The Pension Fund for Danish Lawyers and Economists
If you belong to the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs you will be paying to the Pension Fund for Danish M.A.'s, M.Sc.'s and Ph.D.'s.

9. PAY AND PENSION – PENSION
Normally tied up till the age of 60
If foreign citizen, pay-out is possible, but government charge (tax) of 60 per cent and administration fee to the pension fund. Written notification to the pension fund with details of Danish bank account and documentation that the employee is a citizen of a foreign country
If fixed-term employment up to 6 months – possible to choose a group life insurance instead of pension
Group life insurance is a collective insurance without savings – a so-called risk-assurance – where the insurance is paid out if you die during the coverage period. It also provides coverage for so-called critical illness.

10. PAY AND PENSION – EXAMPLE PHD FELLOW
Salary grade 4 present level (1 April 2011) – 23, DKK
PhD Fellow’s allowance (non-pensionable) – 1, DKK
Pension contribution 17.1 per cent of 85 per cent of the salary – 3, DKK
Total salary including pension contribution – 28, DKK
Some of you may PhD student under the 4+4 scheme. If you are 4+4 PhD student Part A, or research year student at health there are other rules for the your scholarship.

11. PAY AND PENSION – EXAMPLE POSTDOC/ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Salary grade 8 present level (1 April 2011) – 28, DKK
Assistant Professor’s/PostDoc’s allowance (pensionable) – 4, DKK
Pension contribution 17.1 per cent – 5, DKK
Total salary including pension contribution – 38, DKK
Salary grade depends on whether you have had previous work after your Master’s degree. If you only have 3 years work the salary grade is 27,303.58

12. PAY AND PENSION – EXAMPLE PROFESSOR
Salary grade 37 present level (1 April 2011) – 43, DKK
Pension contribution 17.1 per cent – 7, DKK
Total salary including pension contribution – 50, DKK

13. TAXATION
Ordinary income taxation on salary and allowances (may vary, but up to 50 per cent on average)
26 per cent tax scheme for key employees and researchers recruited abroad (minimum level of assistant professor) for a period of maximum 60 month. The 60 months may be distributed over several periods
26 per cent tax scheme – your institute/department should apply for the scheme to the Salaries Office which will apply to SKAT (tax department)

14. HOLIDAY
5 weeks’ ordinary holiday (with pay if employed in the full calender year prior to the holiday year)
Pay = salary + a special holiday allowance that is calculated as 1½ per cent of the taxable income in the previous calender year
After consultations with the employee the employer decides when the ordinary holiday is to be taken
Documentation that you are leaving Denmark – e.g. documentation from the National Registry Office that you are giving up your address in Denmark and are leaving to go abroad
When you have been employed a whole calendar year you have a right to paid holiday, that is 5 weeks holiday and 1 week special holiday. If you are employed from 1 July 2011 and until 31 December 2013, you will have the right to 5 weeks of holiday from 1 May 2012 – but with only 2½ weeks’ full pay – also only ½ week’s special holiday. From 1 May 2012 you will have the right to full pay during all five weeks of holiday and also 1 week of special holiday with pay.
We assume that you have taken all 5 weeks of holiday and the 1 week special holiday before leaving Denmark on 1 January However, you will still have the right to 5 weeks of holiday and 1 week special holiday earned during the calender year If you stay in Denmark it will be made available to you in the form of holiday with pay from 1 May 2011, but if you leave Denmark before you can take the holiday, it will be paid to you on departure.

15. HOLIDAY
1 week’s special holiday (if employed in the full calender year prior to the holiday year)
Can be converted into cash payment and the taking is subject to agreement, but the employer may decide that the days must be taken (notice)
Holiday year (1 May – 30 April)
Calender year (1 January – 31 December)
All holidays not taken but earned will be paid to the employee when leaving Denmark

16. MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE
Mother: 6 weeks before expected childbirth and 26 weeks after childbirth with full pay
Father: 2 weeks after the childbirth and an additional 6 weeks with full pay
Childcare days: 2 childcare days per child per calender year until the child has reached the age of 7
Sickness: Normally full pay during sickness
Really the parents have the right to be on leave for 54 weeks in total between them.
The above-mentioned periods are with full pay (40 weeks in total). The rest – 12 weeks are with maternity/paternity benefits from the municipality, It equals around 15,000 DKK a month before taxes.
During all periods of maternity/paternity leave full pension contributions will be paid by the university – also during periods on maternity/paternity benefits from the municipality

17. MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE
Options: partial resumption of work during leave, deferment of leave, extention of leave
If PhD Fellow or Assistant Professor (fixed term further-education posts), the employment period will be prolonged with the period of maternity/paternity leave taken during the employment period
Right to paid leave on the first two sickness days of a child
You can work part time during leave, you can postpone some weeks of leave and you have the possibility to extend the leave. The rules concerning maternity/paternity leave are flexible but also rather complicated. Therefore it will be a good idea to contact the administration center at the Faculty in order to be guided through the possibilities.

18. SELF DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEW
A discussion of the employee’s working situation, his/her performance or tasks in the past year as well as current and future tasks
Offer must be given annually
A discussion of employee development initiatives and career wishes of the employee
Individual development targets that have to be followed up on currently are set during the Self Development Interview