Employer of Record Denmark
Hire in Denmark before you have any Danish company. We take the employer role: we issue the contract and written terms, run payroll in DKK, withhold income tax and the 8% labour market contribution, and pay ATP and the other employer levies. Choosing the person and directing the work stays with you.
Request costsClient portal
How do you hire in Denmark quickly and get it right?
The portal holds every contract, payslip and payroll figure for your Danish staff, and a named person checks each step. Software keeps the record; people answer the questions Danish rules raise.
- Follow each new hire from signed offer to written terms and the first payslip
- Approve each month’s pay run before it is reported
- Log holiday, sick days and pay changes as they happen
- Keep daily working-time records for the five years the law asks
Why employers use us
Which employer tasks move from you to us?
We become the legal employer for each person you take on in Denmark, so you need no Danish company, CVR number or employer registration. Danish payroll also works differently: there is no percentage-based employer social charge, only fixed levies such as ATP, AUB and Barsel.dk, about 1.2% of gross pay in our 2026 example.
Behind that sit the filings. We report pay, A-skat, AM-bidrag and ATP to the income register through eIndkomst every month, settle the quarterly Samlet Betaling invoice and run holiday pay under the Holiday Act. When someone leaves, untaken holiday is settled as 12.5% holiday allowance through FerieKonto.
Employment costs
How much does a Danish employee really cost?
All figures use the 2026 rates published on virk.dk and by the Ministry of Taxation, which apply to pay from 1 January 2026.
Employer levies on salary
Denmark has no percentage-of-salary employer social security contribution. The employer pays small fixed amounts for each full-time employee instead. In 2026 that means ATP at DKK 198 a month (the employer’s two-thirds of DKK 297), the Employers’ Education Contribution (Arbejdsgivernes Uddannelsesbidrag, AUB) at DKK 705.25 a quarter, Barsel.dk at DKK 550 a quarter, a financing contribution of DKK 82 a quarter and an AES rate set by branch code. With fixed sums there is no ceiling to watch: on DKK 666,600 of pay they come to DKK 8,202.
Deductions from pay
The employee’s share is withheld every pay period and reported to Skattestyrelsen through eIndkomst.
- Labour market contribution (arbejdsmarkedsbidrag, AM-bidrag): 8% of all pay with no ceiling, taken before income tax is worked out. The employee also pays DKK 99 a month towards ATP.
- Income tax withheld at source (A-skat): calculated from the employee’s electronic tax card, which gives a withholding rate and a monthly allowance. The rate combines municipal tax (23.39% in Copenhagen for 2026) and the 12.01% bottom tax. With no tax card, the employer must withhold 55%.
Worked example
DKK 660,000 a year in Copenhagen
Employer total
DKK 674,802
Base pay plus the 1% holiday supplement (DKK 666,600 gross) and DKK 8,202 of statutory employer levies.
Net pay
DKK 430,150
Left after AM-bidrag, ATP and income tax: DKK 35,519 in a standard month.
Assumptions: a salaried employee (funktionær) on DKK 55,000 a month, employed for all of 2026, living in Copenhagen (municipal tax 23.39%), single, no children, aged 25 to 60, outside the national church, fully taxable in Denmark, no collective agreement or occupational pension, AES group 71. Work-injury insurance and our fee are excluded. Approximate.
Each month we pay salaries, report them through eIndkomst and pay A-skat and AM-bidrag into the tax account. For small and medium employers the 2026 deadline falls around the 10th of the following month. ATP, AUB, Barsel.dk and AES come on a quarterly Samlet Betaling invoice. You get one invoice from us bringing pay, levies and our fee together.
Before day one, then monthly
What do the first weeks of a Danish hire look like?
One part is done once, before the first day. The rest repeats with every pay run.
Before day one we set the new employee up for payroll and ATP reporting and check for a tax card. The Written Terms of Employment Act (Ansættelsesbevisloven) gives the employer 7 calendar days from the first working day to set out pay, hours and probation in writing; notice, paid leave and similar terms may follow within one month.
Each contract follows the Salaried Employees Act (Funktionærloven), which sets notice, sick pay and severance and cannot be varied to the employee’s detriment. Probation can last up to 3 months, during which the employer gives 14 days’ notice. A non-compete clause is valid only for a particularly trusted position, with written reasons and compensation of at least 40% of monthly pay.
Every month we calculate pay from the tax card’s withholding rate (trækprocent) and allowance, deduct AM-bidrag and the employee’s ATP share, and report the run to the income register (indkomstregisteret) through eIndkomst. Holiday builds up at 2.08 days a month, and salaried staff receive the 1% holiday supplement with their May and August pay. Daily working time goes into a recording system, a duty for employers since 1 July 2024.
EU/EEA and Swiss citizens need no work permit; they register for an EU residence document and a CPR number. Others need a SIRI permit. Denmark does not take part in the EU Blue Card, and the usual route is the Pay Limit Scheme (beløbsordningen), with a 2026 minimum of DKK 552,000 a year.
A Pay Limit permit is tied to the employer and needs salary paid into a Danish bank account in the employee’s name, so the contract and payroll must match the application.
We take on office and remote roles in software, sales, finance and similar fields. Pay floors in Denmark are not set by statute; they come from collective agreements (overenskomster). An employer bound by one must apply it to everyone in its scope, union member or not, so we check this before an offer goes out.
Getting started
Why is this quicker than forming an ApS?
An ApS needs capital, registering, a bank account and employer set-up before anyone is paid. With us nothing waits on a company; the first step is the employment contract.
Role brief
Salary, start date, hours and the Danish municipality the person will live in.
We cost the hire
You see the full employer cost in DKK, built from 2026 levies and the employee’s tax position.
Contract and ansættelsesbevis
Drafted to Funktionærloven and issued inside the 7-day limit for written terms.
Tax card and CPR
A newcomer gets a CPR or personal tax number, so a tax card can be issued.
eIndkomst enrolment
The employee joins our eIndkomst reporting and ATP before the first pay date.
First payslip
Gross pay, A-skat, AM-bidrag and ATP shown line by line.
One contact for your Danish team
Who answers when a question about a Danish employee comes up?
One account manager who knows your people, their contracts and their pay history. Holiday, sickness or notice questions go to the same person every time.
Our peopleYour own company or us?
Own ApS or employer of record: which fits your Danish plans?
There are two ways to employ in Denmark: register your own private limited company (anpartsselskab, ApS) and become the employer, or let us act as the legal employer while you direct the work.
Setting up and running your own ApS
An ApS needs at least DKK 20,000 of share capital, paid in DKK or EUR, and registration with the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) on virk.dk within 2 weeks of the founding decision. Registering online costs DKK 670.
The capital stays in the company, but that is only the start. You then register as an employer for A-skat and AM-bidrag, set up eIndkomst reporting, buy work-injury insurance and get MitID Erhverv and a business bank account. Adviser, bank and accounting fees come on top.
- Monthly eIndkomst reports and payments
- Quarterly Samlet Betaling invoices for ATP, AUB and Barsel.dk
- Corporate tax at 22% and an annual report
- A written workplace assessment (APV) for the business
- Registering for 25% VAT past DKK 50,000 in sales
Our employer of record route
We hold the employment: the contract, tax card checks, eIndkomst reports, the Samlet Betaling levies and holiday accounting all sit with us. You keep day-to-day management, and if the team grows you can move people onto your own company’s payroll later.
- No CVR number or bank account
- Contract and written terms ready to sign
- Payroll, A-skat and AM-bidrag run monthly
- Holiday, sickness and leave tracked
- One invoice and one named contact
ApS or EOR: how to decide
EOR fits if
you are testing the Danish market, hiring a handful of people, or want someone working before any company exists. It also suits a candidate who might otherwise invoice you as a contractor: the tax authority judges employee status on the whole relationship, and hiring through us makes it a salaried job from the start.
An ApS fits if
you plan a larger permanent team, need a Danish company for sales contracts or VAT, or want SIRI Fast-Track certification, which needs at least 10 full-time permanent employees. On fees alone an ApS is cheap to open; the real cost is the time and the monthly filing work that follows.
Still weighing it up? Share the job title and pay you have in mind; we will lay out both routes side by side, with the yearly employer cost of each and the steps involved.
Statutory entitlements
What must an employer in Denmark give every employee?
The minimums come from the Holiday Act (Ferieloven), Funktionærloven, the Sickness Benefit Act and the Parental Leave Act (Barselsloven). Health and safety is enforced by the Danish Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet).
Paid holiday
Earned at 2.08 days a month and taken in the same holiday year, 1 September to 31 August (concurrent holiday, samtidighedsferie). Salaried staff add a 1% supplement. At least 3 weeks in a row fall between 1 May and 30 September.
Public holidays
Denmark has 10 public holidays (søgnehelligdage) in 2026, and 7 fall on a weekday. Salaried employees keep full pay. Constitution Day, 24 December and 31 December are not on the statutory list.
Sick pay
Salaried employees keep full salary when ill. The employer carries the first 30 calendar days of absence (arbejdsgiverperiode). From day 31 the municipality pays sickness benefit (sygedagpenge), at most DKK 5,085 a week in 2026, and an employer still paying salary gets it back as a refund. There are no waiting days, and the employee must report sick within 2 hours of the start of work. If the contract includes the 120-day rule, someone paid through 120 days of sickness in 12 months can be dismissed with 1 month’s notice.
Maternity leave
A mother has 4 weeks before the due date and 10 weeks after, 2 of them compulsory. The father or co-mother has 2 weeks within the first 10. Salaried mothers get at least half pay until 14 weeks after the birth.
Parental benefit
Up to 52 weeks of parental benefit (barselsdagpenge) per child for two parents, with 9 weeks earmarked for each. After week 10 every parent has 32 weeks of leave.
Care leave
Care leave (omsorgsorlov) gives 5 working days a year to look after a child, parent, spouse or household member who is seriously ill. It is unpaid by law. Urgent family illness also gives a right to force majeure absence, and dismissal for using either is prohibited.
How we keep track of it all
Holiday earned and taken, sick days, the 30-day employer period and benefit refunds sit in each employee’s record. We pay the holiday supplement in May and August, settle untaken holiday when someone leaves, and plan parental leave pay and the Barsel.dk refund with you before it starts.
Our services
Services for employers
Four parts of employing in Denmark that we carry for you, from contract signature to final settlement. Each one follows Danish rules and 2026 rates, and all of it sits under one monthly fee from €599 per employee.
All services ›Hire before you have a Danish company
EOR Denmark acts as the legal employer, so you can hire before registering an ApS and a CVR number, or instead of doing so.
Payroll, A-skat and AM-bidrag
Monthly pay worked out from each tax card, eIndkomst reporting, tax paid to Skattestyrelsen on time and the quarterly Samlet Betaling levies settled.
HR and Danish employment rules
Contracts under Funktionærloven, probation, notice, sick leave and the 120-day rule, with clear answers when a manager abroad needs to know what Danish law expects.
Holiday, pension and benefits
Holiday pay and the 1% supplement, ATP, and any pension or benefit you add, each given the right payroll and tax treatment.
A guide for employers
Your guide toholiday pay|in Denmark
Our Employing in Denmark guide covers the Holiday Act, tax cards and AM-bidrag, notice under Funktionærloven, parental leave and the Pay Limit Scheme, with 2026 figures and the statute behind each rule.
Open the Danish employer guide ›Our approach
What makes working with EOR Denmark different?
This service is built for Denmark only. We know why a September holiday year matters, when the 120-day rule can be used and how a tax card changes net pay, and we explain each one in plain English before it shows up on a payslip.
About usCommon questions
Yes. We act as the legal employer, so you can hire without registering an ApS, a CVR number or an employer account with Skattestyrelsen. You direct the work; the contract and payroll sit with us.
Once the contract is signed and the person has the right to work in Denmark. EU/EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit. Others need a SIRI permit first, and we cannot promise how long that takes. The employee also needs a tax card, which Skattestyrelsen issues after CPR registration or an application for a personal tax number.
Not the state. Denmark has no statutory national minimum wage. Pay floors are set in collective agreements between unions and employer organisations, renewed every 2 or 3 years. For a work permit, SIRI also checks that pay and terms match Danish standards for the field.
We bill from €599 per employee per month, depending on the role and the scope of work. Salary and the statutory employer levies come on top. In our 2026 Copenhagen example the levies were DKK 8,202 a year on DKK 666,600 of gross pay, about 1.2%, so the total employer cost was DKK 674,802 before our fee.
Have someone in mind for Denmark?
Say who you plan to employ and which municipality they will live in. We reply with the employer cost and the steps to day one.
Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense or a smaller town: the employer duties are the same; only the municipal tax rate changes.
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