New employment contract? Pay attention to this

11. Nov 2024

5 min

When you sign an employment contract, it is important to take a close look at the contract before signing and thereby accepting the job.

Content matters, and if you are not aware of the conditions of the contract, you may suffer the consequences later in your job.

"It really makes sense to have your employment contract reviewed by Finansforbundet's legal consultants before you sign it as we often discover conditions which are unfavourable to the members, or even conditions that are invalid," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe, Chief Legal Adviser at Finansforbundet.

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Finansforbundet's legal department often discovers conditions which are unfavourable to the employees, explains Mette Hjøllund Schousboe, Chief Legal Adviser.

Knowing the basics

She explains that, by law, there is a minimum list of conditions that must be included in an employment contract. They include practical elements such as the date of commencement and the working hours. And they are rarely an issue.

"Employers know how to handle the basics," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.

She emphasises that many of these elements are, moreover, implemented in Finansforbundet's collective agreement and will therefore automatically apply to you if you are employed under a collective agreement.

"When employers extend notice periods, they sometimes fail to do so in a legally valid manner. That’s an issue we frequently point out."

- Mette Hjøllund Schousboe, Chief Legal Adviser at Finansforbundet.

Invalid notice

Reviewing many employment contracts for members, the employees of Finansforbundet's legal department often experience problems when it comes to notice periods, for example.

"When employers extend notice periods, they sometimes fail to do so in a legally valid manner. That’s an issue we fr

She explains that, throughout the employment, employees may resign at one month's notice whereas for the employer, the notice period will increase.

"Employers may introduce invalid extensions if, for example, they state that the notice period is now six months for both of us. That's invalid," she emphasises.

She also points out how some employers may stumble with respect to the holiday notice period in an attempt to avoid paying holiday allowance to employees who have left the company.

"If an employer states that ‘if you are dismissed, dear employee, we may give you a month's or a week's notice to take all your holiday,’ that is incorrect. That’s not allowed.” It’s contrary to the Danish Holiday Act," the chief legal adviser says.

Resolving any doubts

It is generally a good idea to resolve any doubts. For example, if an agreement has been entered into about providing the employee with special training.

"In that case, some employers write that you are obligated to pay back the cost of the programme if you quit. Depending on the type of training, you may make such an agreement, but if it's a programme you need to do the job, you can't," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.
She also recommends that you find out what agreements apply if, for example, your job entails extensive travelling.

"It's a good idea to clarify whether travel time constitutes working hours or not. There are no rules in that area," she explains.

It would also be a good idea to include bonus expectations.

"If you expect to receive bonus as part of the job, the employment contract must include a section on the bonus scheme and how you’re covered. If this is not in the contract, you're in a really bad position if, at the end of the year, you disagree on whether a bonus should be paid or not," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.

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"If the contract just refers to staff manuals and policies, it's important to get a copy of these.”

- Mette Hjøllund Schousboe, Chief Legal Adviser at Finansforbundet.

Get a copy of everything

She emphasises the importance of taking note of whether the employment contract refers to other documents.

"If the contract just refers to staff manuals and policies, it's important to get a copy of these so you know what the terms are," she says.

Mette Hjøllund Schousboe points out that you should consider whether something is so important to you that it should be included in the contract despite being stated in the staff manual.

"Because when it's not directly mentioned in the contract, any changes cannot be disputed," she explains.

Employed on an individual contract? Then you need to pay extra attention

You should be particularly careful if you are employed on an individual contract and negotiate your own terms, Mette Hjøllund Schousboe explains. Because contract employees are not covered by all the provisions of the collective agreement.

"It’s especially relevant to those employed on a contract basis because they can't rely on the collective agreement. Therefore, if something’s crucial to you, I recommend that you have it included in the contract," she says.

This could, for example, be maternity/paternity rights, or how many days you are allowed to stay home when your children are sick.
"This is sometimes difficult, because it's not a popular issue to raise – that you want your rights in connection with children’s illness included. But it's really important to get it done if you think it's something you might need," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.

The same applies to the right to severance pay. Under the Danish Salaried Employees Act, you are only entitled to severance pay. Therefore, it must be stated directly in the employment contract if you are entitled to additional compensation.

"If you’ve previously been covered by the collective agreement’s rules on additional severance pay and pension contributions, we recommend that you make sure you keep this right when you become a contract employee," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.

Many of those employed on a contract basis are subject to a non-competition or a non-solicitation clause as part of their employment.
"We make a point of explaining to members who are introduced to non-competition or non-solicitation clauses what these imply, and how onerous the acceptance of such clauses may become in relation to landing a future job," says Mette Hjøllund Schousboe and continues:

"We recommend that they attempt to have the clause removed or reduce its duration. Sometimes we even discover clauses that are invalid because they don’t comply with employment law."