Guide: Remote working in Denmark or for a Danish employer

You do ‘remote work’ when you work somewhere other than your actual workplace – for example from home. Although the Nordic countries form a single contiguous region, there are a number of matters of which you should be aware if you are performing remote work for an employer in another country. You should be aware that the rules in the country where you do the work may be different from those in the country in which your employer is based, and that in some cases the rules may be complicated.

You should secure a written agreement with your employer for the remote work to be carried out in another country.

You should also have an agreement with your employer about working hours, performance monitoring, sick leave practice and data security. You should also obtain clarification on where you are socially insured, and how any additional costs that result from remote working will be distributed. There are many different forms of employment, so the need for such agreements may vary.

Your employer may impose restrictions on where you can perform remote work, and how much remote work you can do. It is worth remembering that not all employers allow remote working from abroad, even if they allow it within the country. This may be due to higher costs, an unclear division of responsibilities, or the employer's inability to meet the legal requirements.

A complicated tax situation can arise if you perform remote work abroad. The tax rules vary from country to country, and it is important that you know where you should pay tax on your income. You should therefore always contact the tax authorities in both countries if you are doing remote work abroad.

As a general rule, you are liable for tax in the country where you actually carry out your work. However, if you alternate between working in two different countries, there are several factors that may affect where you pay taxes.

Denmark and Sweden have entered into the ‘Oresund Agreement’, which amongst other things means that special taxation rules apply to remote working between Denmark and Sweden.

You can read more about the Oresund Agreement at Øresunddirekt, and you can find further information about taxation in the Nordic region at Nordic eTax, which is a collaboration between the tax authorities in the Nordic countries.

If you perform work on a wholly or partly remote basis for an employer based abroad, you should be aware of which country's social security system you are covered by. This determines which rules apply to your unemployment insurance, pension, family benefits and more, and where your employer must pay social security contributions.

As a general rule, you are covered by social insurance in the country in which you actually work. If you work exclusively in Denmark, you will usually be covered by social security in Denmark. Your employer in another country must therefore pay social security contributions to Denmark.

If you alternately work in the country where you live and at your place of work in another country within the EU/EEA area or in Switzerland, you will as a rule be covered by the social security system in your country of residence if more than 25% of your work is performed there. There are, however, exceptions:

• If you work in the public sector, you are socially insured in the country to which the administration belongs. If you work in the public sector in one country and in the private sector in another, you are socially insured in the country in which you are a public employee.
• Between Denmark and Sweden you can work up to 50% at home and remain covered by social security in your country of work, unless you work for different employers.

You should contact the social security authorities in both countries to find out what applies in your situation.

As a rule, Danish occupational injury insurance applies only to work carried out in Denmark.

However, occupational injury insurance is part of social security, and if you are employed for work in Denmark, but in some periods work at home in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland, the same rules will apply as described above in the section ‘Social security’.

If you are employed for work in Denmark, but perform remote work in a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland, and with which Denmark has not entered into conventions, you will not be covered by Danish occupational injury insurance during the remote work. In this situation, you or your employer should contact the social security authorities in your home country to clarify whether you can or should be socially insured there during your remote work, or possibly take out private insurance that covers occupational injury or illness in your home country.

In Denmark, the health and safety legislation also applies to home working. Your employer is responsible for ensuring a healthy and safe working environment when you work at home. Amongst other things, your employer is responsible for ensuring that remote work in the form of screen work is carried out in a responsible manner with regard to safety and health. Special requirements apply to the workplace, screen and fixtures if the screen work exceeds a certain extent. The rules on the psychological working environment laid down in the Executive Order on the Psychological Work Environment also apply to work done at home.

The rules of the Danish Working Environment Act only apply to work performed in Denmark. If you work remotely in another country, your employer must comply with that country’s occupational health and safety regulations for remote work.