Danish minister outlines financial impact of reduced workweek amid parliamentary inquiry

Beinir Johannesen, a member of the parliament, recently posed a question to Ingilín Didriksen Strøm, the Minister for Labour Market Affairs, regarding the financial implications of a shortened workweek.

In her response, Didriksen Strøm noted that reducing the workweek by three hours would incur costs of approximately 280 million Danish kroner for the government and municipalities. However, she mentioned that this reduction would lead to an additional 100 million kroner in tax revenue.

For businesses, the impact would be significant, with an estimated cost of half a billion kroner due to increased payroll, pension, and labor market expenditures. Didriksen Strøm indicated that this cost assessment was based on an overarching evaluation conducted by the Tax Agency.

However, Durita Tausen, the Deputy Director at the Tax Agency, expressed disagreement with the financial implications outlined in Didriksen Strøm’s response. She clarified that the agency had been requested to conduct calculations for a working group established by the minister to address the matter, implying that the analysis was not intended for public dissemination.