Copenhagen city government to trial four-day work week 

Copenhagen’s city government have voted to trial a four-day week for certain employees from the start of 2024, TV2 has reported. 

This means that several divisions in the city’s offices will be able to have a shorter work week. Copenhagen’s city government is Denmark’s biggest employer with 45,000 employees. 

“We know that there is a relatively big stress crisis in Denmark and that one of the remedies is to have shorter working and more flexible working times,” said Troels Christian Jakobsen from The Alternative, who proposed the trial.  

Danish vocab: et redskab – a remedy/tool

Danish bank posts loss after US money laundering fine

Danske Bank reported heavy losses for 2022 on Thursday as Denmark’s biggest lender was hit by huge fines in the United States and at home over money laundering.

The bank posted a loss of 5.1 billion Danish kroner ($753 billion) last year.

But it expects to bounce back into the green in 2023 as it forecast a net profit in the range of 15-17 billion kroner for the year.

The bank said 2022 was “an unusual year” with market volatility, soaring inflation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a “deteriorating macroeconomic outlook”.

Danske Bank also set aside nearly 1.8 billion euros in provisions for legal cases related to a money laundering scandal involving its branch in Estonia.

Danish region wants health service physiotherapy without a referral from doctor

Greater Copenhagen says it wants to extend nationally a scheme allowing patients to access physiotherapy through the public health system without a doctor’s referral.

Under current rules, referral from a doctor covers around 40 percent of the cost of physiotherapy treatment.

Patients can go directly to physiotherapists without a doctors’ referral if they pay the full cost of treatment.

The proposed scheme would see physiotherapists make the decision as to whether the patient qualifies for the subsidy.

A trial project in two municipalities in the region, Ballerup and Frederikssund, proved popular with patients and doctors.

Danish vocab: lægehenvisning – a doctor’s referral

New rail service planned through Norway, Sweden and Denmark to Hamburg

Plans for a new rail service running from Oslo and stopping in Gothenburg, Malmö and Copenhagen before arriving in Hamburg are in the works, Swedish state-owned rail operator SJ has said.

Sweden’s state-owned SJ, along with Denmark’s DSB and DB of Germany, plans to offer a new international train line which runs between the Norwegian capital Oslo and Hamburg in northern Germany.

The planned route would run daily, departing from Oslo at 8am before making stops in Gothenburg, Malmö and Copenhagen and arriving in Hamburg at 7pm. A service departing Hamburg and terminating in Gothenburg is also planned.

The 11 hour service would be quicker than the equivalent journey using either a car and ferry connection or existing train services.

The planned service will enter into operation in 2027. Petter Essén, head of SJ’s vehicle and traffic programme, said the route made sense as it would connect a long stretch which doesn’t have continuous train traffic.