A Danish termination letter (opsigelse) tells you how long you stay employed and paid. Check the notice, fritstilling and reason, register for unemployment on time and ask your employer for anything the letter leaves out.
- Find your leaving date (fratrædelsesdato) and compare the notice with your contract, collective agreement or funktionærloven.
- See whether you must work or are fritstillet (released with pay), and whether pay from a new job can be deducted.
- Note the reason: it matters for any compensation claim and for your a-kasse.
Then register as a jobseeker on Jobnet on your first day without a job, and email your employer about anything missing.
The Danish words in your letter
| In the letter | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Opsigelse | Dismissal with notice. You stay employed, with pay, until the leaving date. |
| Opsigelsesvarsel | The notice period, from the notice until your last day. |
| Fratrædelsesdato | Your last day of employment. Pay, pension and holiday earning run until then. |
| Fritstillet | Released from work for all or part of the notice, but still paid. Whether pay from a new job can be deducted (modregning) depends on your terms. |
| Bortvisning | Summary dismissal: the employer ends the employment at once, claiming a gross breach. If that is unjustified, you can claim compensation for the notice you should have had. |
| Begrundelse | The reason: your own circumstances or the company’s, such as restructuring. |
| Fratrædelsesaftale | A severance agreement. It binds you only if you accept it, so you can ask for time to have it checked. |
Your notice period under funktionærloven
The Salaried Employees Act (funktionærloven) covers you if you do office, sales, technical, clinical or supervisory work, on average more than 8 hours a week, under your employer’s instructions (§ 1). Your contract often states whether the Act applies.
| Employed for | Notice |
|---|---|
| Under 6 months | 1 month |
| 6 months to 3 years | 3 months |
| 3 to 6 years | 4 months |
| 6 to 9 years | 5 months |
| Over 9 years | 6 months |
The notice always ends on the last day of a month, and your employment and pay continue until then. The law adds one month for each third year of employment, up to six months. Close to a 3-, 6- or 9-year anniversary? Have the exact dates checked by your union or a lawyer. Time before a change of owner counts towards your seniority.
When the notice can be shorter or different
| Situation | Employer’s notice |
|---|---|
| Agreed trial period, employment no longer than 3 months | At least 14 days |
| Agreed purely temporary work of no more than 1 month | The 1-month rule does not apply |
| Written 120-day clause, after 120 sick days with pay within 12 months | 1 month to the end of a month, given right after the 120th sick day while you are still ill |
| Hourly work, or outside the Act | Your collective agreement (overenskomst) or contract. Periods vary, so read the actual text. |
Life in Denmark’s official termination guide sets out the same notice periods in English.
Worked example: a letter decoded
Daniel is fictional. Since 1 March 2022 he has worked 37 hours a week as a project coordinator at Fjordlys Software ApS, also fictional. He is 34. On Thursday 24 September 2026, his manager hands him this letter.
Excerpt from the letter
Opsigelse
Kære Daniel
Vi må desværre meddele dig, at din ansættelse som projektkoordinator opsiges med 4 måneders varsel til fratræden den 31. januar 2027.
Du fritstilles fra den 1. november 2026. Din løn og pension udbetales som hidtil frem til fratrædelsesdatoen. Din resterende ferie anses for afholdt i fritstillingsperioden.
Venlig hilsen
Mette Lund, HR-chef
In English: Your employment as project coordinator is terminated with 4 months’ notice, ending on 31 January 2027. You are released from work from 1 November 2026. Salary and pension are paid as usual until the leaving date. Your remaining holiday is treated as taken during the release period.
Daniel’s checks, step by step
- Covered by the Act? Office work, 37 hours a week, under instructions: yes, funktionærloven applies.
- Seniority: from 1 March 2022 to 24 September 2026 is 4 years and 6 months. On the leaving date it is just under 5 years. Both fall in the 3–6-year band.
- Notice: 3 months after the first 6 months, plus 1 month for the third year of employment = 4 months. The letter is right.
- Leaving date: the notice was given before the end of September, so it runs through October, November, December and January. Four months to the end of a month = 31 January 2027. Correct.
- What is missing: the letter gives no reason, does not say whether pay from a new job would be deducted, and does not say how many holiday days it counts as taken. Daniel asks for all three in writing.
- Money if the dismissal was not justified: with more than one year’s service, he could claim compensation under § 2 b. The cap is half his 4-month notice, 2 months’ pay, but because he is over 30 it can be up to 3 months’ pay. Severance under § 2 a starts only after 12 years.
- Unemployment: he is paid until 31 January, so his first day without a job is Monday 1 February 2027. That is the day to register on Jobnet if he has no new job by then.
Unemployment: register on your first day without a job
To receive unemployment benefits (dagpenge), you must be registered as a jobseeker from your first day of unemployment. Register on jobnet.dk with MitID, which registers you with your municipality, and contact your a-kasse to apply for dagpenge. Your CV must be approved no later than two weeks after you register, as borger.dk’s dagpenge page explains.
While you are fritstillet and still paid, you are employed. Your first day of unemployment is therefore normally the day after your leaving date. Dagpenge also require at least one year’s a-kasse membership and an income requirement, which your a-kasse checks. The English guide to unemployment benefits lists the conditions.
Registering late can cost you dagpenge for the days before you registered. The rules allow some exceptions, and your a-kasse decides them. The reason for the dismissal matters too: if the a-kasse finds that it was mainly your own fault, you get a three-week waiting period (karantæne) under § 63 of the Unemployment Insurance Act. That is one more reason to get the reason in writing. Letters from the jobcenter follow once you are registered; our jobcenter letter guide explains them.
Was the dismissal fair? Compensation and severance
If you have worked for the company for at least one year, a dismissal must be reasonably justified by your circumstances or the company’s, such as restructuring. If it is not, the employer must pay compensation (godtgørelse) under § 2 b:
- up to half your notice period in pay, or up to 3 months’ pay if you were 30 or older when you were dismissed
- up to 4 months’ pay after 10 years, and up to 6 months’ pay after 15 years.
The amount depends on your length of service and the circumstances, and it is not automatic. Your union or an employment lawyer assesses the reason and raises the claim with your employer. Contact them soon after you receive the letter, while emails and dates are fresh. If a collective agreement covers you, ask your union which procedure applies.
Severance pay (fratrædelsesgodtgørelse) is separate: after 12 or 17 years of uninterrupted employment in the same company, you receive 1 or 3 months’ pay when you leave (§ 2 a). An unjustified summary dismissal gives the same rights, plus compensation for the notice you should have had. Hourly workers and others outside funktionærloven: your collective agreement or contract sets the rules, so ask your union which apply.
Holiday and your final pay
If your notice is three months or less, your employer cannot make you take your main holiday (hovedferie) during it, unless the notice is extended by those days or you want to keep the holiday. If you are fritstillet, holiday can count as taken during the release, but only if the required advance notice and the holiday itself fit inside the release period. That notice is three months for main holiday and one month for other days, under §§ 9 and 11 of the Holiday Act (ferieloven).
Earned paid holiday that you have not taken when you leave is paid out as 12.5% holiday pay (feriegodtgørelse). Our English feriepenge guide explains how to claim it. When your final payslip arrives, check salary, pension, holiday pay and any bonus against your contract; the payslip guide shows how.
Email your employer about what is missing
Ask by email so you have the answers in writing. Daniel’s email covers the gaps in his letter; change the facts to match yours.
Daniel’s email in English
Subject: Questions about my termination letter of 24 September 2026
Dear Mette,
Thank you for the termination letter I received on 24 September 2026. Before I speak to my union and my a-kasse, could you please confirm the following in writing?
- The reason for my dismissal, as provided for in section 2(7) of the Salaried Employees Act.
- That my 4-month notice is based on my start date of 1 March 2022.
- Whether you would deduct pay from a new job if I start working elsewhere before 31 January 2027.
- How many holiday days you count as taken during my release from 1 November 2026, and how any remaining holiday will be settled.
I would appreciate your reply by email.
Kind regards,
Daniel Reyes
The same email in Danish
Emne: Spørgsmål til min opsigelse af 24. september 2026
Kære Mette
Tak for opsigelsesbrevet, som jeg modtog den 24. september 2026. Før jeg taler med min fagforening og min a-kasse, vil du så bekræfte følgende skriftligt?
- Årsagen til min opsigelse, jf. funktionærlovens § 2, stk. 7.
- At mit opsigelsesvarsel på 4 måneder er beregnet ud fra min ansættelsesdato den 1. marts 2022.
- Om I vil modregne løn fra et nyt job, hvis jeg begynder et andet sted før den 31. januar 2027.
- Hvor mange feriedage I anser for afholdt i min fritstilling fra den 1. november 2026, og hvordan eventuel resterende ferie bliver afregnet.
Jeg ser frem til dit svar på mail.
Venlig hilsen
Daniel Reyes
If the answer to the first question points to your own conduct, show it to your union and your a-kasse before you reply. For other messages to your employer, the Danish email guide helps you adapt the wording.
Understand the letter, then write the email
SkrivSikkert helps you read, understand and write Danish. On the web platform or in the Chrome extension, you can have the letter’s wording explained in plain English and turn your notes into a clear email to your employer. Many functions are free without login.
Try freeFrequently asked questions
How long is the notice period in Denmark?
Under funktionærloven, the employer’s notice is 1 month in the first 6 months, then 3 months, rising by 1 month for each third year of employment to a maximum of 6 months, always to the end of a month. Hourly workers and others outside the Act follow their collective agreement or contract.
What does fritstillet mean?
You are released from work for all or part of your notice period but still paid until the leaving date. Ask your employer in writing whether pay from a new job would be deducted and how many holiday days count as taken during the release.
When should I register as unemployed?
On your first day without a job, which is normally the day after your leaving date. Register as a jobseeker on jobnet.dk and contact your a-kasse to apply for dagpenge. Late registration can cost you dagpenge for the days before you registered.
Can I challenge my dismissal?
If you have worked for the company for at least one year and the dismissal is not reasonably justified by your circumstances or the company’s, you can claim compensation under § 2 b of funktionærloven. Ask your union or an employment lawyer to assess the reason soon after you receive the letter.
Do I get severance pay in Denmark?
Under funktionærloven, you receive 1 month’s pay after 12 years and 3 months’ pay after 17 years of uninterrupted employment in the same company. Unfair-dismissal compensation is a separate claim that depends on the reason for the dismissal.
