Education with unemployment benefits

Can you take single subjects in high school and get unemployment benefits?

You are allowed to take single courses at upper secondary school level if it is less than 20 hours per week. In order to receive unemployment benefits, it is important that you do not receive SU at the same time.

Examples of high school level programs:

• HF single subject
• HHX
• HTX
• STX

Public school and unemployment benefits

You can take programs at the 8th - 10th grade level if the program gives you access to further education in the same way as the upper secondary school leaving examination. There are no restrictions on the number of hours.

Examples of education programs at primary school level:

• Teaching 8th-10th grade, such as general adult education (avu).
• Preparatory adult education (FVU).
• Danish language training for adult foreigners and others.
• Education for dyslexics.

Night school and unemployment benefits

You can take an evening school course and receive unemployment benefits at the same time. This requires that the education you attend is hobby-based and offered in accordance with the Public Information Act. This means that the evening school education must not be qualifying, but that it must be a hobby-based education.

If you are looking for qualifications, look under the other headings on this page.

Examples of evening school training:

• Language training
• Creative courses
• Outdoor courses
• Cooking classes

You can also take courses that are equivalent to evening classes. This could be courses for union representatives or housing association courses for board members, for example. In these cases, the course may only last two weeks.

Training with unemployment benefits from your unemployment fund or trade union

You can, of course, follow the courses offered by the unemployment fund or your trade union and receive unemployment benefits at the same time. Here, the framework for the hour rules is slightly different. The first two weeks of training can be 37 hours. After that, it must be less than 20 hours.

Open education and unemployment benefits

When it comes to open education, you must have completed at least 18 months of vocational training. You can only participate in open education while receiving unemployment benefits for the first six months of the benefit period.

Opportunities and hour rules

If you choose open education, please note that you can only receive unemployment benefits at the same time if the course is not part of a new education. For example, if you have an MA. in English and German, you cannot take a French course and make it a new minor subject.

Teaching may not exceed six hours per week or the equivalent of 1/3 student full-time equivalent. This also applies if classes are held on weekends.

Read more about open education on the Education Guide.

Job oriented training and unemployment benefits

You can participate in courses or training for up to 6 weeks. You can contact the educational institutions to find out what they offer. During the 6 weeks you will receive unemployment benefits. Read more about job-oriented training.

If you want further training, you can go to the job center and have "My plan" drawn up. There are special rules for when you are entitled to offers and what offers the job center can provide.

Activation, options and rates if you are under 25 years old

If you are under 25 years old, you have several options to get an education and receive unemployment benefits under special rules.

Reading, writing and math tests

If you don't have a secondary education, you can get literacy or numeracy courses. Simply ask your job center for a literacy or numeracy test. If you are under 25 years old, you are entitled to the test after one month of unemployment at the latest.

After a total of 13 weeks of unemployment, you have the right and obligation to start an offer of at least 6 months' duration. 

High school courses

Within the first 6 months of combined unemployment, you can participate in folk high school and day college courses. During the course you are entitled to 50% of the highest unemployment benefit rate. You must be available for work according to the general rules.

Please note that if you turn 25 during the course, you will lose your entitlement to benefits from that point onwards, regardless of whether you have been attending for six months.

If you are unemployed, have not completed an education and have not had a job

During unemployment, you will receive unemployment benefits at your individual unemployment benefit rate for the first 26 weeks. If you participate in programs that consist of guidance or clarification courses of up to 2 weeks, you will also receive unemployment benefits. If you have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks in total and are participating in activation - this can be specially designed projects and ordinary training courses or internships - you will receive unemployment benefits during activation at a rate corresponding to 50% of the highest unemployment benefit rate.

If you are unemployed, have not completed an education but have had a job

If you are fully insured, have worked as an employee and have reported at least 3,848 paid hours in the income register within 3 years, you can choose work experience or employment with wage subsidies instead of education. If you have worked as a part-time insured employee, you must have had at least 2,565 paid hours reported in the income register.

If you meet the aforementioned requirements for reported payroll hours, you will receive benefits at the following rates:

• During unemployment, you receive unemployment benefits at your individual unemployment benefit rate for the first 26 weeks.
• If you participate in offers that consist of guidance or clarification courses of up to 2 weeks, you will also receive unemployment benefits.
• If you have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks in total, you will receive unemployment benefits at your individual unemployment benefit rate, but if you participate in activation, you will receive unemployment benefits during activation at a rate corresponding to 50% of the highest unemployment benefit rate.

If you are unemployed and have completed an education

If you have completed an education that entitles you to join an unemployment insurance fund as a graduate, you will receive unemployment benefits at your individual unemployment benefit rate during unemployment for the first 26 weeks.

If you have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks in total, you will receive unemployment benefits at your individual unemployment benefit rate. If you participate in activation, you will receive unemployment benefits during activation at a rate corresponding to 82% of the highest unemployment benefit rate. Read more about your unemployment benefit rate.

If you have an education that qualifies you for admission as a graduate in an unemployment fund, after 13 weeks of unemployment, you have the right and obligation to receive offers of education, internships or employment with wage subsidies after a total of 3 months of unemployment. Throughout your unemployment period, you are obliged to accept the Jobcenter's offers. However, this does not apply if you have regular employment for at least 20 hours a week.

Unemployment benefits and activation

If you receive offers in connection with specially organized projects or training courses, including internships and training courses or work experience, you will receive unemployment benefit during activation. The benefit corresponds to your calculated unemployment benefit rate. If you participate in a guidance or clarification program of up to two weeks, you will receive unemployment benefit. You cannot receive SU at the same time as unemployment benefit during activation. Deductions for work and income are made according to the same rules that apply to supplementary unemployment benefit. You can receive unemployment benefit during activation during holiday closures at your place of study.