Act on Work Injury Insurance

Act on Work Injury Insurance 1)

Hereby is promulgated the Act on Work Injury Insurance, cf. Consolidation Act No. 919 of 25 June 2024, with the amendments resulting from Section 2 of Act No. 502 of 20 May 2025, Section 2 of Act No. 703 of 20 June 2025, and Section 19 of Act No. 712 of 20 June 2025.

The published text of the Act regarding Sections 84 b and 84 c enters into force on 31 December 2025, cf. Section 4 of Act No. 703 of 20 June 2025 on amendment of the Act on Social Pension, the Act on Work Injury Insurance, and the Act on Levy on Contributions to the Labour Market Occupational Insurance and on Work Injury Compensation etc. (Regulation of the retirement age and amendment of audit provisions etc.).

Chapter 1 Purpose of the Act

Section 1. The purpose of this Act is to provide compensation and reimbursement to injured persons or their survivors in the event of a work injury and to support the injured person in maintaining their connection to the labour market to the greatest possible extent after a work injury. The injury must be caused by the work or the conditions under which it takes place, cf. Sections 5-7 of the Act, but the employer need not have acted in a manner that entails liability. Through the financing of compensation etc. by employers, the prevention of work injuries by the working environment system is supported.

Subsection 2. In the processing of cases, both the injured person or their survivors and the employer, insurance company, authorities, and doctors are involved. This safeguards the need for a coherent effort towards the injured person or their survivors.

Chapter 2 Scope of the Act

Persons Entitled under the Act

Section 2. Persons employed to perform work in the country for an employer are entitled under this Act, cf. Sections 5-7. The work may be paid or unpaid and may be permanent, temporary, or transient.

Subsection 2. Members of the employer's family are entitled under the Act when they work in the business in a manner and to an extent that can be equated with other employees. The employer's spouse is solely entitled under this Act pursuant to subsection 3.

Subsection 3. Self-employed persons and assisting spouses who work in the country are entitled under this Act when they have insured themselves pursuant to Section 48, subsection 2.

Subsection 4. Persons working on a Danish ship are equated with persons employed to work in the country.

Subsection 5. A live-born child is entitled under this Act if, before birth, it contracted a disease as a result of the mother's work during pregnancy.

Subsection 6. A fetus or child is entitled under this Act if it is later documented that an influence on the parents before conception or after birth had a harmful effect on the fetus or child. Such injuries can be attributed to the Act under Section 7.

Section 3. The Minister of Employment establishes rules on how the Act shall apply to:

1. persons covered by the Child Act,
2. students or other persons staying at an educational institution or workplace as part of an educational or practical training course etc., and
3. persons sent to temporary work abroad in the service of the employer.

Section 4. All work for the employer is covered by work injury insurance. This applies to work in their business, whether commercial or not, and in the employer's personal household, as well as the performance of private service for the employer and their family.

Subsection 2. Persons performing the following activities are also entitled under this Act, cf. Sections 5-7:

1. Exercise of civil or municipal office.

2. Performance of trust positions in connection with employees' working conditions in the business.

3. The Act contains provisions implementing parts of Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions concerning liability for defective products, OJ 1985 No. L 210, p. 29.

Lovtidende A 2025 Published on 8 November 2025 4 November 2025. No. 1279. Ministry of Employment, Danish Working Environment Authority, file no. 2025-78330 BE010319

3. Attempts to save human life, prevent accidents, or avert major material and cultural losses, when the attempt is not work under Section 2 but takes place in connection with such work.
4. Attempts to save human life in the country, when the attempt is not a natural part of the person's work.

Subsection 3. The Minister of Employment establishes rules on when the Act shall apply to injuries occurring during commuting to and from work.

Chapter 3 Work Injury

Section 5. By work injury in this Act is meant accident, cf. Section 6, and occupational disease, cf. Section 7, which is a consequence of the work or the conditions under which it took place, cf. however Section 10 a.

Section 6. By accident is meant under this Act a personal injury caused by an event or influence that occurs suddenly or within 5 days.

Subsection 2. The personal injury, cf. subsection 1, may be physical or mental and may be permanent or transient. It is not a requirement that the personal injury entails a need for treatment, or that the personal injury has been treated.

Subsection 3. For accidents, the legal effects of this Act apply from the day the accident occurs, or when the influence that caused the accident ceases, unless otherwise provided in the Act.

Section 7. By occupational diseases is meant under this Act:

1. Diseases which, according to medical documentation, are caused by special influences to which specific groups of people are exposed to a higher degree through their work or the conditions under which it takes place than persons without such work. Furthermore, diseases in a live-born child contracted before birth as a result of the mother's work during pregnancy. The Minister of Employment establishes, upon recommendation from the Occupational Disease Committee, cf. Section 9, in a list, which diseases are considered to be of this character.
2. Other diseases, including diseases in a live-born child contracted before birth, if it is proven that the disease, according to the latest medical documentation, meets the requirements mentioned in item 1, first sentence, or if it must be considered to be exclusively or predominantly caused by the special nature of the work.

Subsection 2. Diseases resulting from influences on the parents before conception or after birth can be attributed to the Act by amendment of the list mentioned in subsection 1, item 1, or pursuant to subsection 1, item 2, if it is proven that these influences have a harmful effect on the fetus or child.

Subsection 3. Diseases covered by subsection 1, item 2, and subsection 2, can only be recognized after submission to the Occupational Disease Committee, cf. Section 9. These diseases must be submitted to the Occupational Disease Committee when the Labour Market Occupational Insurance considers that there is a possibility that the disease can be recognized.

Section 8. A person who has contracted a disease that is included in the list of occupational diseases, cf. Section 7, subsection 1, has a right to benefits under the Act, unless it is considered predominantly probable that the disease is due to other conditions than occupational ones.

Subsection 2. For occupational diseases, the legal effects of this Act apply from the day the disease is reported, unless otherwise provided in the Act.

Occupational Disease Committee

Section 9. The Minister of Employment appoints a committee that recommends to the Minister of Employment which diseases meet the requirements for inclusion in the list mentioned in Section 7, subsection 1.

Subsection 2. The committee consists of a chairman and 8 other members, who are appointed for 3 years at a time.

Subsection 3. The Minister of Employment appoints the committee's chairman and members, as well as substitutes for these, such that 1 member is appointed upon recommendation from the Danish Health Authority, 1 member upon recommendation from the Danish Working Environment Authority, 1 member upon recommendation from public employers, 2 members upon recommendation from the Danish Employers' Confederation, and 3 members upon recommendation from the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions.

Subsection 4. Members of the Occupational Disease Committee cannot simultaneously be members of the board of the Labour Market Occupational Insurance or the board of ATP.

Subsection 5. The Minister of Employment establishes the committee's rules of procedure, including rules on the committee's recommendations and their publication.

Injuries Resulting from War and Terror

Section 10. If Denmark is at war, injuries occurring as a result of acts of war are not considered to be work injuries. Persons who perform work on board vessels of any kind, which are usually used in the shipping or fishing industry, are, however, entitled under this Act in connection with injuries occurring as a result of acts of war. The same applies to fisheries control ships and sea research ships.

Section 10 a. Anyone insured under this Act, including self-employed persons and assisting spouses who have insured themselves pursuant to Section 48, subsection 2, has the right to compensation for the consequences of terrorist acts, cf. Sections 114 and 114 a of the Criminal Code, even if the injury cannot be considered a consequence of the work or the conditions under which the work took place. The right to compensation under this Act for the consequences of terrorist acts also applies to persons who are insured under the Act on Work Injury Insurance pursuant to other legislation.

Subsection 2. For injuries caused by terror, cf. subsection 1, the state pays the benefits under the Act.

Subsection 3. The Labour Market Occupational Insurance can, pursuant to Section 49, subsections 1-8, and Section 59, demand that the expenses be paid by an insurance company etc. or by the Labour Market Occupational Insurance of contributions, cf. Section 55, when the injury has affected persons whose work involves preventing, avoiding, or averting terrorist acts or providing help, assistance, or other effort before, during, or after such an act. The same applies when the injury has affected persons who are sent by the Danish state or by a Danish company to work in countries where there is a special risk of terror, as well as when the act affects employees on board a Danish ship sailing in an area where there is a special risk of terror.

Subsection 4. In the same way as in subsection 3, expenses in cases concerning persons insured under the Act on Work Injury Insurance pursuant to other legislation can be demanded to be paid by the authority etc. that is to bear the expenses for work injury.

Subsection 5. The state has recourse against liable tortfeasors for expenses that cannot be demanded to be paid by an insurance company etc. pursuant to subsections 3 and 4.

Chapter 4 Benefits

Section 11. The benefits under the Act are:

1. payment of expenses for medical treatment, rehabilitation, and aids etc., cf. Section 15,
2. compensation for loss of earning capacity, cf. Section 17 and Section 17 a,
3. reimbursement for permanent impairment, cf. Section 18,
4. training reimbursement, cf. Section 18 b,
5. transitional payment in the event of death, cf. Section 19,
6. compensation for loss of provider, cf. Sections 20-22, and
7. reimbursement to survivors, cf. Section 23.

General Rules on Determination of Compensation etc.

Section 12. Compensation and reimbursement under Sections 15-18 are determined based on the consequences of the work injury. Compensation and reimbursement may be reduced or, depending on circumstances, forfeited, if the injured person's current medical or social situation cannot be exclusively attributed to the work injury.

Subsection 2. A proven loss of earning capacity, a permanent impairment, or a person's death is considered to be a consequence of the work injury, unless predominant probability speaks against it, or otherwise provided in this Act.

Section 13. If the injured person does not comply with the requirements mentioned in Section 38, or undermines their recovery by disregarding given regulations, the right to compensation may be forfeited wholly or partially.

Subsection 2. If the survivors oppose an autopsy, cf. Section 37, subsection 2, the right to compensation may be forfeited.

Section 14. If the injured person intentionally or by unlawful act or omission caused or significantly contributed to the occurrence of the work injury, the claim for compensation for loss of earning capacity and reimbursement for permanent impairment may be reduced or wholly forfeited. The injured person must, if necessary, be explicitly made aware of this.

Medical Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Aids etc.

Section 15. During the processing of the case, expenses for medical treatment or rehabilitation can be paid if it is necessary to achieve the best possible recovery, when the expenses cannot be covered under the Health Act or as part of treatment at a public hospital. The rehabilitation must be carried out as aftercare under medical supervision in immediate connection with the medical treatment.

Subsection 2. During the processing of the case, expenses for the acquisition of prostheses, glasses, and similar aids, as well as wheelchairs, can be paid when it is necessary to secure the results of medical treatment or rehabilitation, to reduce the consequences of the work injury, or to more accurately determine the extent of the loss of earning capacity and the degree of permanent impairment.

Subsection 3. Compensation for future expenses for healing, rehabilitation, and aids as a result of the work injury is determined as a lump sum. For permanent expenses, the amount is the expected average annual expense multiplied by the capitalization factor established pursuant to subsection 7.

Subsection 4. If an aid mentioned in subsection 2 is used during work, and the aid is damaged as a result of the work or the conditions under which it takes place, the expenses for repair, possibly renewal, of the aid can be paid.

Subsection 5. The Minister of Employment establishes rules on the extent to which expenses under subsections 1-4 can be covered, including expenses incurred before the case is reported.

Subsection 6. The Minister of Employment establishes rules that insurance companies can take a position on claims regarding coverage of expenses covered by subsections 1-4.

Subsection 7. The Minister of Employment, upon recommendation from the board of the Labour Market Occupational Insurance, annually before the end of October establishes the detailed rules for converting compensation for permanent expenses for healing, rehabilitation, and aids, cf. subsection 3, second sentence, into a lump sum, which is awarded and calculated the following year.

Section 16. Self-insured employers, cf. Section 48, subsection 5, can, in the event of work accidents, cf. Section 6, decide to cover expenses for concrete efforts that support the injured person's possibility of maintaining or restoring their connection to the labour market, when the expenses cannot be covered under Section 15, the Health Act, or as part of treatment at a public hospital.

Compensation for Loss of Earning Capacity

Section 17. If the work injury has reduced the injured person's ability to earn income through work, the person has the right to compensation for loss of earning capacity. The loss of earning capacity is determined based on the difference between the injured person's earning capacity before the work injury, cf. subsection 2, and the earning capacity after the work injury, cf. subsection 3. The loss of earning capacity is determined at 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 percent. No compensation is paid if the loss of earning capacity is less than 15 percent.

Subsection 2. The earning capacity before the work injury corresponds to the annual salary established pursuant to Section 24, adjusted to the time of decision. If the injured person's annual salary is set to the maximum annual salary in Section 24, subsection 10, first sentence, the earning capacity before the work injury is the actual total income from work pursuant to Section 24, subsection 1 or 2, adjusted to the time of decision, cf. Section 24, subsection 7, according to the principle in Section 25, subsection 1.

Subsection 3. The earning capacity after the work injury is determined as the injured person's earning at the time of decision, cf. however subsection 4.

Subsection 4. In assessing the loss of earning capacity, regard is had to the injured person's possibilities of earning income through such work as can reasonably be demanded of the person according to their abilities, education, age, and possibilities for occupational retraining and rehabilitation etc.

Subsection 5. If the occupational situation is not clarified, the Labour Market Occupational Insurance can make a provisional decision on compensation for loss of earning capacity, cf. however Section 18 c.

Subsection 6. Compensation for loss of earning capacity to a child with a fetal injury, cf. Section 7, subsection 1, item 2, or to a child with diseases resulting from influence on the parents before conception or after birth, cf. Section 7, subsection 2, can earliest be paid from the 15th year.

Subsection 7. The compensation is awarded as an ongoing compensation, unless it is capitalized according to the rules in Section 27.

Subsection 8. In the event of complete loss of earning capacity, the ongoing compensation amounts annually to 83 percent of the injured person's annual salary, cf. Section 24, and in the event of reduced earning capacity, a proportional part thereof. For injured persons who have completed an education with training reimbursement, cf. Section 18 a, the ongoing compensation for injuries that have led to the Labour Market Occupational Insurance initiating assessment for training reimbursement, cf. Section 18 a, subsection 1, in the event of complete loss of earning capacity amounts to 100 percent of the injured person's annual salary, cf. Section 24, and in the event of reduced earning capacity, a proportional part thereof.

Subsection 9. The annual compensation is paid out monthly in advance with 1/12. The compensation runs from the time when a loss of earning capacity is proven, however not from a time that lies before the work injury was reported. Payment of ongoing compensation ceases at the end of the month in which the injured person reaches the retirement age, cf. the Act on Social Pension. If the injured person is 2 years or less from reaching the retirement age at the time of the decision, the compensation is paid out according to the rules in Section 27 as a capital amount with the factor established for a person who is 2 years from reaching the retirement age, multiplied by the annual ongoing compensation. The same applies to injured persons who have reached the retirement age.

Subsection 10. If the compensation is paid out as a capital amount according to the rules in Section 27, subsection 1, first sentence, the injured person has the right to an ongoing compensation from the time when a loss of earning capacity is proven, however not from a time that lies before the work injury was reported, and until the time of conversion of the compensation.

Subsection 11. The rules in subsections 9 and 10 are applied correspondingly in cases that are reopened pursuant to Sections 41 and 42. In these cases, no compensation is paid from a time that lies before the request for reopening, or before the Labour Market Occupational Insurance has reopened the case, cf. Section 42.

Section 17 a. The loss of earning capacity for persons who, after a work injury, are assessed for flexible employment or are in flexible employment, is determined based on the difference between the income before the work injury and the unemployment benefit or the income in the flexible job.

Subsection 2. The earning capacity before the work injury corresponds to the annual salary established pursuant to Section 24, adjusted to the time of decision. If the injured person's annual salary is set to the maximum annual salary in Section 24, subsection 10, first sentence, the earning capacity before the work injury is the actual total income from work pursuant to Section 24, subsection 1 or 2, and adjusted to the time of decision, cf. Section 24, subsection 7, according to the principle in Section 25, subsection 1. For injured persons who are injured in a flexible job, the earning capacity before the work injury is the established annual salary, cf. Section 24, subsection 2, item 12, adjusted to the time of decision with the addition of the subsidy from the municipality adjusted to the time of decision.

Subsection 3. The income in the flexible job, cf. subsection 1, is the sum of the salary from the employer and the subsidy from the municipality.

Subsection 4. For persons assessed for flexible employment, a municipality's decision on a sanction for lack of right to unemployment benefit for a period, cf. Section 76, Section 77 a, subsections 3 and 4, and Section 77 b, subsection 1, cf. however Section 77 b, subsection 2, in the Act on Active Social Policy, will result in a deduction in a future payment of compensation for loss of earning capacity, cf. subsection 1.

Subsection 5. The size of the deduction according to subsection 4 will correspond to 10 percent of the established compensation amount for loss of earning capacity at the time of the sanction. The period for the deduction in the compensation for loss of earning capacity will correspond to the period during which the sanction in the unemployment benefit lasts. If the injured person loses the right to unemployment benefit, there is only a deduction in the compensation for the period that goes from when the injured person loses the unemployment benefit until the injured person is employed in a flexible job.

Subsection 6. The Labour Market Occupational Insurance makes a provisional decision according to subsection 1 when the injured person receives unemployment benefit, or when permanent flexible employment has not been granted. For persons in flexible employment, the Labour Market Occupational Insurance can, regardless of the first sentence, upon request from the injured person, make a final decision according to subsection 1 when the Labour Market Occupational Insurance assesses that the occupational conditions are sufficiently clarified.

Reimbursement for Permanent Impairment

Section 18. If a work injury has caused the injured person permanent impairment, the person has the right to reimbursement. Reimbursement is, however, not paid if the degree of impairment is set to less than 5 percent.

Subsection 2. The degree of impairment is determined based on the medical nature and extent of the injury and with regard to the disadvantages in the injured person's personal life that the work injury has caused.

Subsection 3. Reimbursement for permanent impairment is determined as a capital amount and amounts to 1,013,500 DKK (2024 level) for a degree of impairment of 100 percent. The amount is adjusted pursuant to Section 25. For lower degrees of impairment, the reimbursement is a proportional part of 1,013,500 DKK (2024 level).

Subsection 4. In very special cases, reimbursement for permanent impairment can be determined as a higher amount, however maximum 120 percent of 1,013,500 DKK (2024 level), adjusted pursuant to Section 25.

Subsection 5. If the injured person was 40 years old at the time the work injury occurred, the reimbursement is reduced by 1 percent for each year the person was older than 39 years at the time the work injury occurred. If the injured person was 60 years old, the reimbursement is reduced by an additional 1 percent for each year the person was older than 59 years at the time the work injury occurred. The reimbursement is, however, not reduced further after the 69th year.

Subsection 6. Regardless of subsection 5, first sentence, reimbursement is reduced for injured persons from 1 July 2035 and onwards by 1 percent for each year the person was older than 40 years at the time the work injury occurred, and by an additional 1 percent for each year the person was older than 60 years at the time the work injury occurred. The reimbursement is, however, not reduced further after the 70th year.

Training Reimbursement

Section 18 a. In cases covered by the Act, and where the Labour Market Occupational Insurance has not made a final decision on loss of earning capacity, the Labour Market Occupational Insurance makes a decision that the injured person can take a concrete vocational competence-giving education in accordance with subsection 2, items 1 and 2, with training reimbursement, when the injured person:

1. is outside employment or in a notice period that expires before the start of the education,
2. is estimated not to be able to use their education or perform work within previous work areas on a full-time basis in the future as a result of the work injury, and
3. is estimated to have better earning possibilities with a vocational competence-giving education than without the education.

Subsection 2. For injured persons who meet the conditions in subsection 1 and are expected to have a degree of impairment set to at least 10 percent as a result of one or more work injuries, of which the most recent injury is expected to result in an impairment of at least 5 percent, and who wish to take a vocational competence-giving education with training reimbursement, the Labour Market Occupational Insurance, prior to the decision, cf. subsection 1, obtains information from the municipality of residence regarding the injured person's wish for education and the municipality's assessment of whether:

1. the education is a vocational competence-giving education within an area with a need for labour...