Find out what your salary should be

Can I ask for more than the usual five extra holiday entitlements? Is the average salary lower in Kolding than nationwide? Is there pressure on salaries in my industry – or are salaries high? What is the standard for a project manager with my seniority – do they have share ownership schemes or bonus schemes? What is the salary level in the company I’ve just joined?

Whether you are in the process of changing your job, or you are about to negotiate salary with your manager at your current workplace, it is beneficial to be well prepared. And this is where IDA’s tool set – annual salary statistics, the IDA Salary Calculator and the specific company statistics – can help.

“The tools can help you to achieve the pay rise you’re worth. If you need to propose a salary level for a new job, it’s good to be aware of the average salary for a similar job – both in the same industry and in the same geographical location. Your salary should reflect your skills in relation to the specific position and the salary statistics,” says Kirstine Skaarup, who is a lawyer in IDA’s department for legal advice and labour market.

Delve into the company statistics

You can also use the tools to find out whether the development in your salary is comparable to that of others in your industry and geographical location – and even in the same company if there are reports from at least five IDA members.
“The company statistics indicate the salary level in a specific company in relation to the national average,” Kirstine Skaarup explains.

Company groups and employee representatives can also use IDA tools to check whether their company is at the right level or is falling behind or pulling ahead of the national average and other specific companies in the industry or geographical location.

Access IDA's company statistics

The self-employed in the statistics

The salary statistics are divided into sections for employees in the private sector, employees in the public sector and the self-employed.

Find out how to use IDA's salary statistics

“For example, if you’re new to self-employment, you can check the average hourly rate for a self-employed consultant – and this is always interesting when you’re setting your own price or want to check out the standards in the industry,” Kirstine Skaarup explains.

In the case of the private sector, in addition to salary averages, the statistics include other employment terms such as the number of members employed on a fixed salary contract.

For the public sector, there are details of salary scale in collective agreements and the individual supplements colleagues have managed to negotiate.

Pragmatic salary calculator

Simply enter all of your details into IDA’s Salary Calculator – seniority, education, job type, staff responsibility, geographical location, number of engineers and IT and science graduates in the company and whether you are employed on a fixed salary contract – and it will work out the average salary for a profile similar to yours.

Visit IDA's salary calculator to check your salary

“There are also statistics for staff benefits which show the number of extra holiday entitlements, clauses, travel days per year, average working hours and bonus schemes for colleagues in similar positions. It provides an excellent catalogue of inspiration, setting out alternatives you can present at your salary negotiation if you aren’t able to negotiate a pay rise,” says Kirstine Skaarup.

It is often in the employer’s interest to play down your salary proposal: “No-one else has such a high salary!” “Others don’t have that many holiday entitlements, either.”

“But it’s useful to be able to say that you know that 74% have five extra holiday entitlements in addition to the days stipulated by the Danish Holiday Act – and that 2% actually have more than ten days. It’s a good way of backing up your salary negotiation,” says Kirstine Skaarup.