Severance agreement

Unemployment benefit entitlement in senior and severance agreements

Special unemployment benefit rules apply if you receive availability pay, waiting pay, supplementary benefit or are on a severance agreement.

Severance agreement for civil servants

If you have been employed as a civil servant, there are several types of severance agreements depending on how you left your job.

Unemployment benefit entitlement for on-call pay

If you are a civil servant and you are dismissed because your position is downsized, you are entitled to availability pay. While receiving on-call pay, you must be available to your workplace and ready to take up another suitable position at short notice. Availability pay can be used to fulfill the employment requirement, unless your employer has waived the right to dispose of your labor during this period. In that case, you will be entitled to unemployment benefits when the on-call pay ends, but the hours will not count towards the employment requirement.

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must also:

• Have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for at least 12 months.
• Meet the income requirement of DKK 273,504 (2025) within the last three years (up to DKK 22,792 per month).
• Be available for the labor market.
• Be registered as a job seeker in the job center.
• Be actively looking for work.

Read more about quarantine and valid reasons.

Unemployment benefit entitlement with waiting money

If your position is downsized and you are terminated, you are entitled to either availability pay or waiting pay depending on your employment date. If you were hired before July 1, 1969, you are entitled to waiting pay. If you were hired after July 1, 1969, you are entitled to availability pay. In order to receive supplementary unemployment benefit, your employer must waive the right to dispose of your labor during the waiting pay period. This means that you are not subject to the time limit for payment of supplementary unemployment benefit, which is 30 weeks within 104 weeks. However, the hours cannot be counted towards the employment requirement.

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must also:

• Be available for the labor market.
• Be registered as a job seeker in the job center.
• Verify your job seeker status every 7 days.
• Be actively looking for work.

Unemployment benefit entitlement with supplementary benefit

Another severance scheme is the supplementary allowance, which is given to civil servants who are dismissed. This benefit is paid by the authority responsible for pension payments.

Supplementary benefit is paid once a year and entails a deduction at the time of payment. Receiving supplementary benefit does not prevent the right to unemployment benefit, but cannot be counted towards the employment requirement.

To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must:

• Be available for the labor market.
• Be registered as a job seeker in the job center.
• Verify your job seeker status every 7 days.
• Be actively looking for work.

Deductions in early retirement and unemployment benefits for civil servants

If you are a civil servant and receive severance pay through a voluntary severance scheme, deductions will be made from your unemployment benefit or early retirement. This is because you are terminating your position with a shorter notice than the availability period of up to three years stipulated in the Civil Servants Act.

Deductions for employees other than civil servants

If you receive severance pay as a non-civil servant, deductions will also be made from your unemployment benefit. For example, if your employer dismisses you and agrees to pay you a termination payment. The decisive factor for whether the payment results in a deduction is whether the employer has complied with the notice period. If the notice period has been complied with, the payment will not result in a deduction. If the notice period has not been complied with, the payment will result in a deduction for the part of the notice period that the compensation covers.

The provision applies to both collective and individual agreements. It includes agreements on severance arrangements for larger groups of employees as well as individual agreements between an employee and employer. If you resign yourself, you are also covered by the rule, and your employer's notice period will determine whether the income will be deducted.

Income that does not result in deductions

No deductions are made for non-work income, including:

• Pension due to loss of earning or working capacity: This includes disability pension taken out as part of an employment relationship, as well as pension for health-related incapacity for work (invalidity pension) for civil servants. Deductions are also not made for privately subscribed schemes. However, it is assumed that Min A-kasse assesses that you are still available for the labor market, even if you have been granted an invalidity pension.
• Accidental injury pension as a result of injury in the service: If you as a civil servant are awarded an accidental injury pension following an injury in the service, no deduction is made for the part of the pension that is an increase based on the work injury. My unemployment insurance fund will assess whether the award of pension creates doubt as to whether you are otherwise fully available for work.

Read more about unemployment benefits.