Flexi-job: Salary, working hours and assessment of work ability

Flexi job (fleksjob) is an offer for people who cannot get or keep a job under normal conditions because their ability to work is reduced.

In order to be granted a flexi job, your ability to work must be significantly and permanently reduced in any profession. In practice, this means that your ability to work must be reduced to less than 50 percent in any profession.

Who can get a flexi job in Denmark?

It is your municipality of residence that determines whether you can get a flexi job. To get a flexi job, the following criteria must be met:

You must be below retirement age.
You may not receive early retirement benefit.
Your ability to work must be permanently and significantly reduced - in practice below 50 percent in any profession.
You must have tried all other relevant options for ordinary employment, e.g. through a compensatory scheme such as an offer of an aid or personal assistance.

How do you apply for a flexi job?

If you would like a flexi job, you must apply for it through your job centre. This applies regardless of whether you are unemployed, on sick leave or in employment.

If the job center assesses that you meet the conditions for a flexi job, you can get a flexi job-certificate. It documents that you are approved for a flexi job and what special needs you have due to your reduced ability to work.

How is your ability to work assessed?

Your ability to work is assessed through a testing of your work ability, where you must try all support schemes that could possibly get you into ordinary work. The job center assesses along the way whether your ability to work can be improved by getting a different position at the workplace or by being retrained.

However, it is not necessary to test your work ability if it is clearly pointless, because you have, for example, been affected by an extensive injury or an advanced illness. The job center decides this, among other things, on the basis of relevant medical certificates.

For how long can you have a flexi job?

The first flexi job will be granted for 5 years, regardless of your age.

If you are over 40, a flexi job can be made permanent.

If you are under 40, a flexi job will be granted for 5 more years.

How long are the working hours in a flexi job?

If you are employed in a flexi job, you are only paid by your employer for the number of weekly hours you can effectively work.

It is possible to be employed for as little as 4 hours per week.

What is the salary and salary supplement in a flexi job?

If you are in a flexi job, you get a salary from your employer and a subsidy from the municipality.

The salary from your employer is calculated based on your efficiency and not the number of hours.

If you work 15 hours a week with 100 percent efficiency, you get paid for 15 hours.
If you work 20 hours a week with an efficiency of 50 percent, you get paid for 10 hours.
If you work 10 hours a week with an efficiency of 20 percent, you get paid for 2 hours.

In addition to the salary from the employer, as a flexi-jobber, you get flexi-salary that is adjusted based on your income. You can see the current amounts and calculate your salary in a flexible job at the Danish Labour and Employment Agency.

Calculate your income at star.dk (in Danish)

What conditions are you entitled to in flexi job?

If you perform white-collar work for less than 8 hours per week, the employer is obliged to employ you on conditions similar to white-collar workers with the same rights and duties.

You are typically a white-collar worker if you deal with office work, trade, buying, selling and similar types of tasks.

Do you earn a pension in a flexi job?

The employer must pay pension and ATP contributions for the number of working hours that have been agreed.

What significance does a flexi job have if you receive benefits?

When you get a flexi job, you lose the right to unemployment benefits. You have the option of being paid unemployment benefit instead.

The right to early retirement benefit (efterløn) is waived if you are assigned to a flexi job, and you have the option of receiving a flexible benefit (fleksydelse) instead.

If you are assigned a flexi job, or if you are employed in a flexi job, IDA recommends that you contact the pension fund or the insurance company where you have your pension savings. You may be entitled to permanent or temporary disability benefits.

Can you be employed permanently in a flexible job?

In order to be assigned flexible work at your existing workplace, a number of conditions must be met:

You must have been employed for 12 months under the collective agreement's social conditions or on special conditions. The rule can be waived in case of acute illness or injury.
A written agreement has been entered into between employer and employee, in which the challenging functions and concrete safety considerations are specified.
It must be documented that a real attempt has been made to establish a permanent unsupported job according to the social chapters of the collective agreement or on other special terms.

Can you get a flexi job at your current workplace?

In order to get a flexible job at your current workplace, you must have been employed there for a minimum of 1 year according to the social chapters of the collective agreement or on other special terms.

An exception is, however, if you have been exposed to a serious occupational injury or illness.

The social chapter is found in your collective agreement - typically only if you are a public sector employee. If you are employed after the special terms described in the social chapter of your collective agreement, you cannot get a salary subsidy from the public sector.

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