Danish government says employers must pay wages on scrapped holiday
Should the government go through with plans to scrap a public holiday from 2024, employers will be expected to pay staff for the additional day of work, employment minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said on Thursday.
Employers will bear sole responsibility for paying extra wages due as a result of the government scrapping a public holiday, the minister said.
“It will be a working day like all other days of the year and those wages will naturally be paid by the employer,” she said.
The new left-right coalition announced in its policy platform that it intends to scrap one of Denmark’s public holidays – most likely the late spring Great Prayer Day – from 2024, saying it would spend additional state revenue on defence.
READ ALSO: How can Denmark earn money by abolishing a public holiday?
“The number of public holidays we have in our country is decided politically. We are politically seeking one fewer. That should obviously be paid for in wages,” Halsboe-Jørgensen said.
Although defence is previously cited as the beneficiary of the proposal, the minister said other areas could also benefit.
“If we, for example, want to invest money in psychiatry, climate or the military, we also need to put pressure on things that put money in the coffers. Working on a public holiday is in this regard one of the things that can contribute to everything we want to do,” she said.
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Employers will bear sole responsibility for paying extra wages due as a result of the government scrapping a public holiday, the minister said.
“It will be a working day like all other days of the year and those wages will naturally be paid by the employer,” she said.
The new left-right coalition announced in its policy platform that it intends to scrap one of Denmark’s public holidays – most likely the late spring Great Prayer Day – from 2024, saying it would spend additional state revenue on defence.
READ ALSO: How can Denmark earn money by abolishing a public holiday?
“The number of public holidays we have in our country is decided politically. We are politically seeking one fewer. That should obviously be paid for in wages,” Halsboe-Jørgensen said.
Although defence is previously cited as the beneficiary of the proposal, the minister said other areas could also benefit.
“If we, for example, want to invest money in psychiatry, climate or the military, we also need to put pressure on things that put money in the coffers. Working on a public holiday is in this regard one of the things that can contribute to everything we want to do,” she said.
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