Employment terms and contracts
Restructuring: Your rights during a workplace change
When organisational changes happen at work, it may leave you placed in a different department, under a new manager, and in a new role with new tasks.
This is the reality in many Danish workplaces and is something you may experience many times during your working life.
It's a situation where you are naturally affected professionally, socially and personally, and you probably have many questions. We'll answer them for you here.
Can I renegotiate my contract and salary when I am transferred to another department?
Yes, you can. In any case, it is always a good idea to consider whether changes in your position could be a reason for negotiation.
Typically, changing departments will also mean that your tasks will change. Maybe not fundamentally, but probably in terms of focus, working methods, and how your new manager will measure your performance.
However, you should be aware of whether the changes provide grounds for an increase in your terms and salary. If they do not, it would be unwise to negotiate at this time.
How can I assess whether the restructuring has changed my position to such a significant extent that I must be notified thereof with my notice of termination?
The organisational changes and their impact on your job may well be “significant” to you. But whether they are legally defined as “significant” and thus covered by your rights to notice is another matter.
When talking about significant changes in the legal sense, it typically involves a reduction in salary, a change in workplace or working hours, and a change in professional area to outside your field of expertise. In those cases, you are not obligated to accept the changes, and therefore it is instead a termination with your regular notice that you accept.
We recommend that you seek IDA's legal advice if you are in doubt as to whether your position has changed significantly.
Read about which changes in the job are typically considered significant and which must be notified
Read about which tasks and conditions your manager can and cannot change
What options do I have if I cannot accept my new location, role and tasks after a restructuring?
If you are sure that you do not want to try out the new role in the organisation, there are different ways to proceed:
Get a severance agreement: Perhaps your employer will look favourably on a severance agreement, even if legally it is not a significant change.
The advantage of a severance agreement is that you can negotiate better termination terms. Please contact us to discuss how you can handle the situation.
Quit your job: Of course, you always have the option to quit your job. However, for most people, this is not advisable from a financial and practical perspective when you don't have another job on hand.
Get a handle on the rules regarding termination of employment
Look for a new job: You can instead try to find a new job. This can be both outside of your current organisation or within, if you have been happy with being in the company up until now.
If you have been with the company for several years, you probably also have a good internal network and at the same time the company knows what you stand for, so an internal change can also be an obvious and good opportunity for many. An organisational change often means that the bag of roles and structure has been thoroughly shaken up, and thus other and new opportunities come to light.
Am I entitled to some form of skills development when I have new tasks?
During a restructuring, you are not as such entitled to skills development.
That being said, it can be a really good idea to be aware of what skills you may be lacking in order to be able to solve your new tasks satisfactorily for both yourself and, not least, for your manager.
Therefore, you should also share your wishes and needs for competency development with your manager. It is a shared responsibility that you possess the competencies needed to be successful in your tasks.
To create an overview of where there may be gaps between what you can do and what the new tasks require, it is a good idea to work on clarifying your competencies. For this purpose, you can use IDA's Competency Profile.
I am frustrated with my reassignment following an organisational change. Who should I go to?
At IDA, it is our experience that it is a good idea to have such a dialogue directly with your immediate manager.
We recommend that this be done constructively and with a positive approach on your part. Therefore, it is an advantage if you can tone down your frustration in this dialogue.
At the same time, you also need to vent your frustrations, so feel free to talk to a good colleague about it.
You can also consider involving your union representative/employee representative in your deliberations beforehand. Perhaps there are several of you who have the same frustrations and challenges that can be brought up collectively to management.
Read more about getting help from elected employees at the workplace
After an organisational change, my new role and tasks are not described, and I actually don't have enough to do. What do I do?
Organisational changes usually require a good deal of time and patience before the dust settles and the wheels start turning again. Perhaps the new organisational puzzle isn't quite in place yet, and therefore your manager doesn't know what you as a team should focus on, which can delay details on roles and tasks.
That said, it is absolutely essential for our motivation and job satisfaction that we each know what we have to contribute to our jobs. So it is no wonder that you are emotionally affected.
IDA's recommendation is therefore to inform your manager. It is not your responsibility if you have nothing to do, but it is your responsibility to let your manager know if you are in doubt about what to focus on in your work and what you are being measured on.
It's simply not certain that your manager is aware that you feel this way. See your manager as your partner and show proactivity and responsibility by demanding clarity about your role and tasks.
You must take yourself seriously and not let things stand still, because uncertainty about something as basic as role and tasks can lead to demotivation, dissatisfaction and even ultimately sick leave.
Read more about why meaningless work can make you sick
How can I be a good colleague for those who are hard hit by the organisational change?
Major changes, including organisational changes, are often difficult to navigate because everyone is affected differently. Some get angry, some get upset, while others are more or less unaffected.
The latter is an often overlooked, but difficult position to be in. It can feel almost wrong to be unaffected or perhaps even feel happy about organisational changes when a larger group of colleagues are frustrated by the same change process. And the bad mood can be so contagious.
First and foremost, being a good colleague means taking good care of yourself and putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others.
Therefore, consider whether and how much the bad atmosphere is affecting you and your well-being. Perhaps being a good colleague in this context also means getting management to address the bad atmosphere in the office.
Even if you don't have colleagues who have been laid off, the emotions, the mood and your role can be the same in connection with a major organisational change.