Mandatory employment for jobless foreigners in Denmark to commence from January 1st will be enforced
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Denmark's parliament has passed a legislation forcing certain long-term foreign residents with extensive unemployment records to perform mandatory work to claim welfare benefits.
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Foreigners who don't meet certain criteria concerning length of stay and work history will be ordered to work to receive basic benefits under the law, which was initially proposed in the spring.
The act was approved by parliament on December 17th and becomes effective from January 1st, the work permits agency SIRI announced in a press release.
The compulsory work will apply to all individuals in the social welfare (kontanthjælp) system who fail to meet two conditions: living in Denmark for at least 9 of the last 10 years and having full-time employment for at least 2.5 of the last 10 years.
People subject to the work obligation will be required to participate in "employment-focused activities" for up to 37 hours per week, SIRI revealed in the statement. If a person has ordinary part-time work, their mandatory work hours are reduced accordingly.
This can include internships, community service jobs, wage-subsidized employment, and certain training and skills development programs.
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People whose residency rights in Denmark are also subject to integration laws (intergrationsloven) will also be required to attend Danish language lessons.
Municipalities will be tasked with assigning tasks to individuals impacted by the work requirement. They should "design initiatives with consideration for the person's health situation, and the number of hours can be reduced based on a specific assessment," SIRI stated.
Fulfilling the work obligation allows migrants to receive the basic form of unemployment benefit, kontanthjælp. The benefit can be reduced or withheld if the obligation is not adhered to.
The new requirement will be phased in over two separate six-month periods in 2025, the agency explains on its website.
The first phase will see it applied to persons receiving the lower welfare benefit given to some refugees under integration laws [selvforsørgelses-, hjemrejse- og overgangsyd else, now renamed introduktionsprogrammet] and then expanded to others who do not meet the stated criteria.
The act is based on a political agreement between the coalition government and the far-right Denmark Democrats and Danish People's Party, struck in October 2023.
Approximately 22,000 individuals could eventually be affected by the rule, as per the October 2023 agreement.
The agreement text stated that "too many foreigners, especially women with non-Western background" are not participating in the labor market and this proposal aimed to address this issue. The compulsory work "will also help break negative social control" which prevents some women from seeking employment, it also argued.
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Sources
- Danish Government
- Danish Immigration Service
- Danish Ministry of Employment
- Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment
- Danish Business Authority
- In the political discussions surrounding Denmark's policy-and-legislation, a proposal was made in the spring to address the issue of long-term foreign residents not participating in the labor market, particularly women with non-Western backgrounds.
- The passing of the legislation mandates compulsory work for certain long-term foreign residents with extensive unemployment records, with aim of breaking negative social control and integrating them further into the Danish society.
- If the new requirement is not followed, a person's general-news about securing welfare benefits could be at risk, as the fulfillment of the work obligation directly correlates with the receipt of the basic form of unemployment benefit in Denmark.
