When you start a new job, you need to remember to pay attention to the contract you sign. Of course, it's not hard to imagine that you need to look through the papers you sign, but it's worth remembering.
Even though you know you should review your documents, it can be difficult for many people to know what to look for.
Therefore, I will give three things worth keeping an eye on when you have your employment contract in front of you.
If you have a specific job offer, it is not enough to look at these three things, and since all jobs are different, I cannot explain everything here. However, you are welcome to contact us by phone. 82 82 82 42 and hear more about what we can do for you in your specific situation.
The first thing to pay attention to is whether there are clauses of one kind or another in the contract. Clauses are provisions that can also apply after the employment ends, and they are very important.
Typical clauses are things like non-competition clauses or customer clauses. They can mean that after employment ends, you may not work for competitors, or that you may not work for customers – either as an employee or through another place.
Precisely because these clauses can extend beyond the employment itself, they can have a major effect on one's life and career afterwards, and therefore they are important to consider.
Clauses can come in several forms, and you should be aware of them before signing your contract.
As a rule of thumb, the working week in Denmark is 37 hours, and that is why that is the starting point. For most people, working hours are also on weekdays from, for example, 9 am to 5 pm, but there may be cases where work falls outside of the normal hours.
It could be a course or a meeting that you can only attend in the evening, or it could be that there is an annual event that is held on the weekend, and you therefore have to work on Saturday or Sunday.
For many, it would be a good idea to have written into the contract how time beyond 'normal' working hours should be handled. For example, your contract could state that weekend work can be taken off at a ratio of 1:1.5.
If you work under these conditions, you can work 4 hours on Saturday and get 6 hours off on a weekday.
This is just an example, and there may also be a supplement to the hourly wage during certain periods, whether the employer can require work outside normal working hours and more.
It is not uncommon for a workplace to have an employee handbook that explains how employees should behave in a variety of ways. This can range from a dress code to a rule that family members cannot be each other's bosses at work.
If the employment contract mentions the employee handbook, the employee handbook is actually part of the contract you sign.
It is therefore very important that you have read the handbook carefully and that you have understood and accepted everything it contains.
We are happy to advise you on your employment contract before you sign it. Contact us here.
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