Benefit card

To receive unemployment benefits, you must be available for work. This means that you are ready to start a new job tomorrow. 

It also means that employers must be able to contact you, that you are actively searching for a job, and that you show up for your appointments. More specifically, the availability requirement means that you:

• Must be registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk – and have an active CV there;
• Attend mandatory meetings at Akademikernes A-kasse, the job centre and with other service providers; 
• Must live and stay in Denmark; 
• Must have a residence and work permit that gives you the right to work in Denmark; 
• Are able to start full-time work with one day’s notice; 
• Are able to accept a job offered to you via Akademikernes A-kasse, the job centre or another service provider; 
• Meet the job search requirements and update the job log. 

Read about job search requirements and the job log 

If you do not meet these requirements, there may be doubts about whether you are available for work. This may affect your eligibility for unemployment benefits. 

In addition, remember to tell us and the job centre if you: 

• do not have childcare; 
• participate in a training course; 
• move temporarily or permanently; 
• go abroad; 
• take a holiday. 

You must also tell us if you: 

• Say no to a job that is offered to you through the unemployment insurance fund, job centre or another service provider; 
• Terminate an employment relationship; 
• Have limitations in your ability to work. 

Read about doubts about eligibility for unemployment benefits 

From your first day of unemployment, you are entitled to receive unemployment benefits for two years within a three-year period. We pay unemployment benefits in hours; two years correspond to 3,848 hours. You can keep track of how many hours of unemployment benefits you have left on Mit AKA with the unemployment benefits counter (dagpengetæller). 

We pay unemployment benefits for 160.33 hours per month (130 hours per month for part-time insured). Hours should be deducted from this if you:    

• Have taken a holiday; 
• Have been on sick leave with sick pay from the municipality; 
• Have been on maternity/paternity leave; 
• Have been working; 
• Have not been registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk; 
• Have not been eligible for unemployment benefits. 

There must be at least 14.8 hours of unemployment benefits in a month for us to pay out unemployment benefits.  

You are not entitled to unemployment benefits on weekdays that you are not registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk. We enter 7.4 hours on your benefit card for each day you are not registered, and these hours will be deducted from your benefit payment. If you are insured part-time, we deduct 6 hours per day. 

This is especially relevant for your unemployment benefit payment if you become unemployed or start working full-time in the middle of a month. In this situation, you will only be registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk for half the month. 

This also applies if you have not booked an interview before the deadline and have been deregistered as unemployed on jobnet.dk. 

We calculate your unemployment insurance rate based on your income for 12 months. We find the 12 months within the last 24 months with the highest income. The average income for those 12 months minus 8% labour market contribution is called a daily work rate. 

You can receive a maximum of 90% of your daily work rate in unemployment benefits. However, you can never receive more than the highest unemployment benefit rate. Please note that there is no minimum rate. Therefore, you may risk receiving a very low unemployment benefit rate if you’ve had a very low salary. 

See the current rates 

We calculate your rate when you become entitled to a new eligibility period (dagpengeperiode). We also calculate a rate if you switch from full-time to part-time insurance or vice versa. 

If you are a recent graduate, you can have your rate recalculated when six months have passed from the day you became entitled to unemployment benefits and at least three months of income have been reported since you completed your education. 

Learn how working can give you a higher unemployment benefit rate 

In the month after you have filled out your benefit card, we compare your information on the benefit card with the information your employer has provided to SKAT. 

If we need to adjust the payment of unemployment benefits on this basis, you will receive a letter from us. 

In connection with your resignation, your former employer has transferred your remaining holiday days to FerieKonto. 

You can see how much holiday pay you have available at borger.dk. 

If you want to receive holiday pay while unemployed, you should be aware that the number of holiday days will be deducted from your unemployment benefits. You cannot receive holiday pay and unemployment benefits at the same time. 

Go to borger.dk and read about holiday pay 

Every fourth month of unemployment, you will have what is known as a waiting day (karensdag). That’s one day that you don’t receive unemployment benefits. 

You avoid the waiting day if you work more than 148 hours within the 4-month period. 

You can keep track of how many hours you still need to work to avoid the waiting day with the unemployment benefits counter on Mit AKA. 

If you quit your job or are substantially to blame for your dismissal, you will only receive unemployment benefits after 111 hours of quarantine (karantæne). 

This is equivalent to not receiving unemployment benefits for three weeks.  

The quarantine is effective. This means that it can only be carried out when you are registered as unemployed on jobnet.dk and are eligible for unemployment benefits. Remember to register as unemployed on jobnet.dk the day after your notice period has expired. You must also be actively looking for work, update your job log and fill out the benefit card for the three weeks. 

The quarantine is considered over when you have worked more than 185 hours after the quarantine came into effect. If the quarantine has not been completed after three months, it will lapse. 

If you become self-inflicted unemployed twice within 12 months, your right to unemployment benefits will lapse. You will regain your eligibility after working at least 300 hours within three months after the quarantine. 

If you have received unemployment benefits for a total of four years within a period of eight years, your benefit period will be reduced by one month. We will write to you if you approach that situation.