Pay chaos may follow the abolishment of Store Bededag public holiday
The different salary systems might not offer compensation for the Store Bededag public holiday when it becomes a working day. And for this reason, Finansforbundet advises people to check their pay slip.
What financial sector employees need to check
Steven Vallik, Senior Negotiator at Finansforbundet, urges employees to have their pay slip checked.
“Compensation for Store Bededag was paid for the first time with the January pay, and I can’t imagine that it was a smooth ride for all. And that’s why it's important to have your pay slip checked,” he says.
Steven Vallik says that the 0.45 per cent must be calculated based on all fixed salary components.
“This means on pay and fixed recurring supplements. This could be a supplement for responsibilities, a supplement for additional work or a hardship allowance in so far as they are fixed recurring supplements,” he explains.
In addition, the employer-paid pension contribution must also be included in the calculation.
If you discover that your pay slip is incorrect, you should first go to your union representative, is the advice from Steven Vallik.
“They may then see if they can work it out with the workplace, and if they can’t, they should turn to Finansforbundet.”
Alternative ways of compensation
The Danish Government’s argument in favour of abolishing Store Bededag was to increase working time by an extra working day a year.
This has now been adopted by law. So, from 2024 onwards, this day is to be considered any other business day – regardless of what is written in your collective agreement, local agreement or contract.
But it is possible to make alternative agreements detailing how the employer should compensate their employees for this extra working day.
In fact, agreements on taking a day off on another day are possible.
“It’s important here to remember that you must agree that this day is a non-business day and not a day of holiday, because work on a non-business day entitles you to a compensatory day off,” explains Steven Vallik.
A third model is to agree to have the compensation paid out with your holiday supplement that is due with the pay for May. However, this must be computed using another figure.
“In this case, it should be remembered to use a higher percentage than 0.45, otherwise, the employer-paid pension contribution is not included in the calculation. The percentage to use instead is 0.52,” explains Steven Vallik.
The abolishment of Store Bededag public holiday
- Store Bededag was abolished as a public holiday as of 1 January 2024.
- From this day onwards, Store Bededag will be a normal business day.
- If you were previously entitled to time off on or entitled to compensatory time off for working on Store Bededag, you will no longer have this right.
- Your annual working time will increase by one extra working day. This corresponds to 7.4 hours annually for full-time employment.
- Any agreements on time off on or compensatory time off for working on Store Bededag concluded before 1 January 2024 become void.
- New agreements on time off on Store Bededag may be concluded after 1 January 2024
• If you are on a monthly salary, you will from now on receive a pay supplement of 0.45 per cent as compensation for the extra working day. The pay supplement is accrued continuously. - Your employer may decide whether to pay out the pay supplement every month or twice a year with the pay for May and August.
Source: Danish Trade Union Confederation (Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation, FH)