Unemployed

This is a guide on what you need to know when you become unemployed, while you’re unemployed and when you find work again. We can also help you with your jobseeking and careeer advice

Whilst unemployed you face many challenges, but CA can help you deal with most of them.

We help you with benefits while you’re unemployed
We also help you with your job search, making you better equipped to land a new job.
We help you navigate the requirements and rules of the benefits system.

Your unemployment benefits

Benefits when unemployed

You need to have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for the past twelve months and have had a minimum income as a wage or salary earner in the past three years. Other rules apply if you are new graduate or have been self-employed.

You can get as much as 90% of the earned income you have had, but you cannot get more than the highest benefit rate.

How are benefits paid?

At jobnet.dk, you can access various tools that show you more information about your benefits at “My Page” / “My benefits”. The information is updated continuously.

Deductions

If you are fully unemployed for a month, you’ll receive benefits for 160.33 hours. But if you have a job or income from employment, are not registered as unemployed at the Jobcenter, take holiday, are sick or are otherwise not available to the labour market, you’ll get less in benefits.

If, after various deductions, there is less than 14.8 hours left of the 160.33 hours, you will not receive benefits for the month.

G-days

Your former employer must pay you compensation for the first and second day of unemployment when you stop working. These two days are called G-days.

How long can I receive benefits if I become unemployed again?

If you become unemployed again, you can use the remaining hours with benefits you have left from your original benefit period unless you have already earned a new two-year period with benefits.

Example

If you become unemployed on 1 July 2022, you will generally have the right to benefits for two years (3,848 hours). If you have been unemployed before and received benefits for at least four years in total since 1 July 2014, you will instead have the right to benefits for 1 year and 11 months.

You will have a waiting day every fourth months if you have not worked more than 148 hours in the previous four months.

We must review your number of working hours in every fourth month and the previous 3 months.

If you did not work more than 148 hours in that four-months period, we must deduct 1 day’s worth of benefits.

This is called a waiting day. Only income from employed work is included in the calculation.

The first waiting day is in the fourth month after you first registered as unemployed. After that time, there will be a waiting day every fourth months for as long as you are unemployed.

The four-months period may be prolonged by months in which you have claimed sickness benefits or parental benefits, etc., unless you also received unemployment benefits in the same month(s).

Requirements and rules while unemployed

While you are unemployed

You are to meet with your local Jobcenter approximately once a month. CA may participate in the first and last of these meetings (joint meeting). We will agree whether you need CA to participate.

You are to meet with CA within the first 14 days of your unemployment and then within three months and again within six months.

You’ll find all information from us in “My CA”, but as unemployed, you’ll receive information from both us and the Jobcenter.

It is therefore important that you remember to check your e-mail and your online digital mailbox (e-Boks) every day as you may be invited for meetings at a day’s notice.

You can contact CA by sending us a message or calling us at +45 33 14 90 45.

Approximately one week before the month ends you must complete and submit your benefit form. You are required to submit a benefit form stating your hours of work and days of sickness, holiday, etc. you have had in the relevant month and the activities you expect to have for the remainder of the month.

It is important that you submit the benefit form each month, even when there are no changes to your activities. The benefit form is available at “My CA” where you’ll also find a video guide on how to complete the form.

Click here to complete your benefit form

You must be available to the labour market to be eligible for benefits. In short, this means that you must be actively seeking a job and accept relevant job offers.

You should of course apply for jobs within your field, but you also need to be occupationally and geographically mobile - within a commuting radius of up to three hours a day by public transport. This applies for the first three months of your unemployment.

After three months of unemployment, you must apply for jobs within a commuting radius of more than three hours a day.

To enable us to pay benefits to you every month, you must be actively seeking work from the first day you are unemployed. That means that every week (already from the first week), you must fill in your job log at jobnet.dk.

Only your registrations in the job log count when we are to assess whether you are available to the labour market.

While you are applying for benefits, there may be situations where there is doubt about your availability for work which we will discuss with you.

The payment of your benefits may be affected for a short or long period of time, and you may risk a suspension period by reason of self-inflicted unemployment.

If you become sick, you must report sickness via “My page” at jobnet.dk already on the first day of sickness – then we will be notified automatically. This means that you do not need to contact us unless you have a meeting with us on the same day.

You must report sick, also when you are only sick one day. Otherwise you may lose your benefits or sickness benefits for the day of sickness.

Remember to report well again when you are no longer sick.

You must give notice of holiday at jobnet.dk no later than 14 days before the start of your holiday – then we will be notified automatically. We encourage you to let us know about your holiday in as good time as possible to prevent meetings or activation programmes from disrupting your holiday plans.

You can claim holiday benefits if you have earned them. You can naturally always take holiday without benefits. You will just have to give notice at jobnet.dk no later than 14 days before the first day of your holiday.

Both mothers and fathers are entitled to take leave after the birth of their child. If you’re unemployed and are about to go on paternity or maternity leave, you must contact CA and your Jobcenter on the day you begin your leave.

Activation programmes

When you have been unemployed for a period, you have a right and a duty to participate in activation programmes. Examples of activation programmes are company internships, wage-subsidised jobs, coaching or training programmes.

Mandatory job search and facilitated jobs

The Jobcenter may require you to apply for specific jobs, and they can also refer you to an employer who has asked the Jobcenter for help to fill in a vacancy.

If you do not apply for the jobs facilitated by the Jobcenter, we’ll be notified that there are doubts about your availability for work, and then you risk losing your benefits.

Special situations

If you already have a part-time job, or if you get a part-time job as a wage or salary earner, you are often eligible for supplementary benefits.

We recommend that you always contact us before you begin working reduced hours to clarify whether you meet the conditions for receiving supplementary benefits. It’s important that you fill in and submit your release certificate.

Download the release certificate

When you get a job

It’s important to differentiate between full-time and part-time employment.

If you get a full-time job, you’ll not be entitled to benefits.

If you get a part-time job, you may apply for supplementary benefits.

If you already have a part-time job, or if you get a part-time job as a wage or salary earner, you are often eligible for supplementary benefits. We recommend that you always contact us before you begin working reduced hours to clarify whether you meet the conditions for receiving supplementary benefits.