- Date:
- 28 Nov 2014
The Danish Government has introduced a bill proposing a number of statutory amendments designed among other things to provide Danish employers with easier access to recruit foreign workers.
Before the summer holidays, the Danish Government reached agreement about a reform of the rules governing international recruitment. The reform is intended among other things to provide easier access to highly skilled foreign workers. In the course of implementing the agreement, the Government has now introduced its Bill to amend the Danish Aliens Act, the Danish Integration Act and the Danish Act on the Centralised Civil Register.
The Bill includes the following proposals:
- Introduction of a new fast-track scheme for recruitment abroad
- Abolishment of the corporate scheme
- Introduction of a pilot scheme for self-employed persons – "Start-Up Denmark"
- New options in the research field
- Streamlining of the green card scheme
- New rules for international graduates
- No residence permit during a legal industrial dispute
- Increased and more efficient regulatory control
Introduction of a new fast-track scheme for recruitment abroad
To ensure a smoother and faster process for international recruitment, a fast-track scheme will be introduced to provide Danish companies as well as Danish divisions of foreign companies access to recruit highly skilled foreign workers at short notice. To be eligible for the fast-track procedure, the companies must obtain the requisite certification, have at least 20 full-time employees and be covered by a collective bargaining agreement or issue a solemn declaration that the foreign workers will be employed on similar terms and conditions.
New options in the research field
In the field of research, the Bill proposes to provide foreign researchers with more flexible terms for gaining access to Denmark – including the option of working part-time in Denmark and part-time abroad.
Streamlining of the green card scheme
The current green card scheme involves a points system. In order to qualify for a residence permit, a foreign worker must achieve a minimum of 100 points. Points are awarded based on the worker's qualifications, more specifically his or her educational and professional background, language skills, adaptability and age.
To make it easier for foreign workers seeking jobs in shortage areas, the Bill proposes to change the points system to be more biased in favour of language skills and a number of specified educational backgrounds and to remove age as a factor altogether.
No residence permit during a legal industrial dispute
To accentuate the principle of neutrality to be observed by public authorities in connection with legal industrial disputes, it is proposed to deny residence and work permits for foreign workers if the job in question is affected by a legal industrial dispute.
Increased and more efficient regulatory control
The Bill proposes to introduce increased regulatory control with Danish employers of foreign workers in order to ensure compliance with a number of Danish rules, including those governing pay and working conditions. For one thing, more resources will be allocated to the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment and the Agency will be given access to the logs which Danish employers are required by the Danish tax authorities to maintain, in order to ease the Agency's burden of verifying the data reported by the employers.
Danish employers will also be subject to an extended reporting duty, including data on pay and working conditions, if so requested by the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment.
Effective date
If the Bill is enacted, it will come into force on 1 January 2015.
Norrbom Vinding will be monitoring the Bill on its passage through the Danish Parliament, and will report on new developments.
