Your rights: changes to your employment terms

Your employer has managerial rights and can therefore change your employment conditions at any time.

If the changes are insignificant, they can be made with immediate effect. This could be small adjustments of your tasks, number of remote working days, when breaks are placed or similar.

However, if the changes are substantial, you are entitled to notice equivalent to your notice period. This is because substantial changes corresponds to being dismissed from your current position and hired in a new one.

It will often depend on the concrete circumstances whether a change is insignificant or significant.

If you're concerned about your terms or worried that a change may be underway, you can talk to your union rep or IDA's legal advisers.

Find out how to use your union rep

Has your manager asked you to work fewer hours for less pay?

It is a significant change to your position if your employer wants you to reduce your hours and salary.

You must therefore receive notice that corresponds to your notice of termination.

Before you accept a reduction in time and salary, you must always seek IDA's legal advice, as this may have an impact on your housing and family situation. You should also contact your unemployment insurance fund, as this may affect your right to unemployment benefits and early retirement benefit.

What to consider before reducing working hours and salary

Does your manager want you to take a cut in salary and pension?

Any reduction of your salary and pension conditions is considered a substantial change in your conditions and must therefore be notified with your individual notice.

If you are stripped of managerial responsibilities or moved to a completely different job from the one you were originally hired for, this will typically also be a substantial change.

Will your working hours change?

A concrete assessment is required to determine whether there is a significant change to your working conditions if your working hours are changed.

If you're asked to begin work at 9 instead of 8.30, this will for example be a minor change.

When you have to assess whether it is a significant change, you can try to answer the following questions:

What are the working hours in your employment contract/agreement?
What are your current working hours?
Do the new working hours cause problems in terms of dropping off, picking up and looking after your children?

If your employer changes your working hours, you must contact your union representative or IDA's legal advisers.

Is your employer changing address?

It may be a significant change to your conditions of employment if moving your workplace causes you major inconvenience.

Whether this is the case will depend on a specific assessment of whether travel time and transportation costs between home and work increase, or whether there is an increased inconvenience in picking up and dropping off children at institutions or other social considerations.

Transport possibilities must always be taken into account in such an assessment.

If your employer moves address and this causes major inconvenience, you must contact your union representative or IDA's legal advisers.

When is something a significant change of job content?

Changing the content of your position can count as a substantial change. However, it takes a lot to constitute a substantial change of position, which must be notified with your individual notice period.

Examples of significant changes could be:

That you are stripped of your management responsibility
That you are moved to a completely different position

It will always be a specific assessment whether there is a substantial change in your position. We therefore recommend that you contact our legal counselling before agreeing to any major changes to your position.

Can your employer insert a non-competition clause or a non-solicitation clause?

Signing a non-compete or non-solicitation clause will be a significant change and must be notified with your individual notice.

However, if the clauses are presented in the context of a promotion, the situation may be different, as promotions and other improvements to terms and conditions are not normally notified.

If you're uncertain whether to accept a non-competition clause, you should contact your union rep or IDA's legal department.

Read about non-competition and non-solicitation clauses

When must you be notified about changes to your employment terms?

You are entitled to a notice period equivalent to your notice period if there are significant changes to your terms of employment.

This is because you are effectively terminated in your position and hired in a new one.

How should you react to a significant change in your terms of employment?

You should let your employer know if you do not want to accept the changes in your terms of employment.

If you do not react, it can be interpreted as an acceptance of the changes, and once they have come into effect, you cannot oppose them.

It is best that you react by sending an email, so that you then have written documentation that you have protested.

Your employer is not obliged to tell you that you must protest yourself, and therefore it is important that you yourself react quickly.

If you cannot accept the change in your terms, you may consider yourself dismissed and resign from your position at the end of the notice period. Employment terms agreed in a collective agreement can only be changed in accordance with the rules set out in that agreement.

If you do not want to accept the change, you can contact your union representative or IDA's legal advisers for advice.

Find out how to use your union rep

What should you do if you accept the change in your terms of employment?

If you agree to a material change to your working conditions or terms of employment, you must ensure that they are written into your contract.

Therefore, you must ask your employer for a new contract or an addendum to your old employment contract.

View the checklist for employment contracts

Specific for public sector employees

In public workplaces, employees have the opportunity to influence an organisational change and its process through works councils or employee committees.

The same applies to larger companies in the private labour market, where a cooperation system has been agreed.

You can read more about this at the Association of Local Authorities and Regionerne.dk.

Career and legal advice