What Are The Public Holidays in Denmark in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in Denmark (2026)

Denmark’s public holidays combine religious and national observances that can affect your team’s working hours, pay, and scheduling. Use this list to plan staffing, leave, and payroll for your Danish employees in 2026.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

No, Danish law does not universally require employers to provide paid leave on public holidays, but in practice many employees receive paid time off or premium pay through collective agreements and individual contracts. The key rule is that salaried employees covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act (Funktionærloven) generally keep their normal salary on public holidays when they would otherwise have worked. For hourly paid staff, entitlement to pay on holidays usually depends on the applicable collective bargaining agreement or the terms of the employment contract.

Public holidays in Denmark are fixed calendar dates or specific religious days, and there is no general rule that moves a holiday to a weekday when it falls on a weekend. If a public holiday falls on a day when an employee is not scheduled to work, there is typically no additional statutory entitlement to another day off.

Part-time employees are usually treated proportionally to full-time staff. If a public holiday falls on a day they would normally work, they are generally entitled to the same paid time off or pay rules as comparable full-time employees, adjusted for their working hours, provided the relevant collective agreement or contract grants such rights.

When employees work on a public holiday, any entitlement to premium pay, time off in lieu, or both is normally set by collective agreements or company policy. It is common in many sectors for employees who work on public holidays to receive a higher hourly rate or an additional paid day off, but this is not mandated by a single nationwide statute. You should always check the specific collective agreement and written contract that apply to your Danish team.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Because Danish law does not impose a single, uniform rule requiring paid leave on all public holidays, penalties focus on whether you comply with the rights that do exist in law and in binding agreements. If you fail to respect statutory rights for salaried employees or ignore the terms of a collective agreement, you can face claims for back pay, compensation, and potentially contractual penalties.

Disputes are typically handled through the Danish labour court system or industrial arbitration, especially where collective agreements apply. Trade unions play a central role in enforcing holiday and pay rules, and they can support employees in bringing claims or initiating industrial action if an employer systematically underpays holiday entitlements.

Common employer mistakes include assuming that hourly workers are not entitled to any holiday-related pay when a collective agreement says otherwise, failing to pay agreed premium rates for work on public holidays, and not documenting local practices around holiday work and compensatory time off. To reduce risk, you should keep clear written policies, align them with the relevant collective agreements, and ensure your payroll system correctly applies holiday rules.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In Denmark, overtime rules are largely governed by collective agreements rather than a single national overtime statute. Public holidays can affect overtime in two main ways. First, if a public holiday is normally a non-working day under the applicable agreement, any hours worked on that day may attract a higher premium rate than ordinary overtime. Second, weekly working time calculations in some agreements exclude public holidays, which can change when overtime thresholds are reached.

Many collective agreements provide enhanced pay for work on Sundays and public holidays, often at a higher percentage than standard overtime on weekdays. For example, employees may receive a substantial premium on top of their base hourly rate or be granted additional paid time off in lieu. However, the exact percentages and thresholds vary significantly by sector, so you should always review the specific agreement covering your employees.

There is no automatic rule that a public holiday counts as worked time for overtime purposes if the employee does not actually work. If your company offers paid public holidays, that paid time off does not necessarily push an employee over an overtime threshold unless the relevant agreement explicitly says so. To stay compliant, configure your timekeeping and payroll systems to distinguish between ordinary hours, overtime, Sunday work, and public holiday work according to Danish practice.

Stay 100% Compliant with Leave Regulations Using Playroll

Managing Denmark's public holidays and leave rules doesn’t have to be complex. Playroll keeps you 100% compliant by automatically tracking local holidays, observed days, and pay requirements –  so your team is paid correctly and on time, every time.

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling a growing team, Playroll lets you employ talent without setting up a local entity. We handle compliant contracts, benefits, and payroll in one platform, so you can reduce compliance risk and focus on growing your business while we take care of the heavy-lifting in the background. Book a chat with our team to get started.