Is there a 4-day week in Denmark?
No, not as a national right or scheme. Denmark has no law on a four-day week: working hours are laid down in agreements, and in most areas the normal week is 37 hours. What some Danish public employers have tested is a compressed week, with the same hours spread over four days, not fewer hours.
- Odsherred Municipality ran a voluntary three-year trial in its administration, from September 2019 to August 2022: 35 hours Monday to Thursday plus two hours of competence development.
- Esbjerg's jobcenter let staff choose a four- or five-day week for three years. VIVE's final evaluation calls it a compressed week, organised as a full-time week.
- Copenhagen Municipality's 2024-25 trial let volunteers at 14 workplaces put their full working time on four days, or ten days of work over nine.
Some of it has stuck. DR reported in 2024 that Esbjerg's jobcenter was making its four-day week permanent, and DR reported in January 2025 that Vesthimmerland had made its option permanent.
The catch: the working week itself usually does not get shorter, only the number of days, and these are local, voluntary schemes rather than a right. Odsherred's own summary says the researchers' status reports found uneven service standards and working conditions across the municipality, and calls for more attention to communicating the scheme to the rest of the municipality.
Latest developments
Copenhagen reports on its 2024-25 flexible working weeks trial
The Economic Committee recommended that the City Council note the report on the trial. 17 workplaces took part, 14 changed how they work, and about 300 employees joined on a voluntary basis.
Københavns Kommune, Økonomiudvalget 17 June 2025: forsøg med fleksible arbejdsuger (opens in new tab)DR: Vesthimmerland has made its four-day week option permanent
DR reported that, after a trial, Vesthimmerland Municipality made the four-day week option permanent. Employees still work 37 hours a week, spread over four days.
DR: Første nordjyske kommune indfører fire dages arbejdsuge (opens in new tab)
4-day-week trials in Denmark
What each pilot reported. Figures are the organiser's own, from the linked report.
Copenhagen Municipality flexible working weeks trial
Run by Københavns Kommune (Copenhagen Municipality)
- Jan 2024 – Apr 2025
- 14 companies
- 300 employees
17 workplaces were selected and 14 changed how they organise work; about 300 volunteers took part. Options included a four-day week with the full working time on four days (participants describe still working 37 hours), or ten days of work over nine. The 2025 report found that the need for flexibility is individual and that trust and dialogue matter.
Forsøg med fleksible arbejdsuger i Københavns Kommune: Erfaringsopsamling 2025 (opens in new tab)Odsherred Municipality four-day week trial
Run by Odsherred Kommune (administration)
- Sep 2019 – Aug 2022
- 1 company
Voluntary trial for the administration (just under 300 staff): 35 hours a week Monday to Thursday plus 2 competence hours (35 + 2 = 37, our sum), so we call it a compressed week. 80% of employees on the four-day week wanted to extend it. The municipality's summary cites researchers' findings of uneven service standards and working conditions.
- Mental health: 82% of employees on the 4-day week said it had a positive effect on their well-being and job satisfaction (a share of respondents, not a size of change).
Jobcenter Esbjerg compressed four-day week
Run by Esbjerg Kommune (Jobcenter Esbjerg); evaluated by VIVE
- Jan 2021
- 1 company
A three-year trial in which jobcenter staff could choose a four- or five-day week, organised as a full-time week (a compressed week). VIVE's 2022 midterm found 58% of four-day staff working 37 hours. The final evaluation (24 January 2024) found 96% satisfied or very satisfied in 2023. DR reported four in five chose the shorter week and that it was made permanent.
- Mental health: 96% of employees were satisfied or very satisfied with their work in 2023 (a share of respondents, not a size of change).
Jobs in Denmark
Paid Social Consultant
IIH Nordic · Onsite · Copenhagen, Denmark
4 day week+1 more
Senior Solution Architect
Elastic · Remote · Denmark
5 day week+1 more
Product Support Engineer (EMEA)
Ashby · Remote · UK +12 more
5 day week+1 more
Who offers a 4-day week in Denmark
IIH Nordic
Award-winning digital agency pioneering 4-day work weeks since 2017, helping companies maximize their digital potential through data-driven strategies and measurable results.
Workfeed
Work scheduling platform helping shift-working teams thrive with flexible, easy-to-use tools that eliminate 95% of administrative work.
Kvalifik
Creative innovation agency in Copenhagen helping startups, NGOs, and corporates realize their digital ambitions through modern web technologies and agile development.
PanzerGlass
Global leader in premium screen protection with 70+ markets worldwide, offering a 4-day workweek and award-winning workplace culture since 2013.
Aaen & Co.
Danish chartered-accountancy & audit firm (Helsingør) offering a 32-hour four-day week at full pay.
comundo
Copenhagen climate-tech startup making carbon accounting simple for building owners; runs a four-day work week (32hrs) with full pay since June 2023.
How Denmark compares
Denmark, in rose, against the other countries we cover.
Average weekly hours
2nd shortest of 25 countries, 4.0 hours below the median of 37.3.
Netherlands 31.3 to South Africa 42.3
See all 25 countries
| Country | Hours |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 31.3 |
| Denmark | 33.3 |
| Germany | 34.5 |
| Norway | 34.6 |
| Australia | 35.4 |
| Austria | 35.6 |
| Finland | 35.6 |
| Switzerland | 35.7 |
| Belgium | 36.0 |
| Ireland | 36.0 |
| United Kingdom | 36.3 |
| France | 36.9 |
| Sweden | 37.3 |
| Iceland | 37.4 |
| Japan | 37.5 |
| Spain | 37.5 |
| New Zealand | 37.6 |
| United States | 38.2 |
| Lithuania | 39.0 |
| South Korea | 39.4 |
| Brazil | 39.5 |
| Chile | 39.8 |
| Poland | 39.9 |
| Portugal | 40.0 |
| South Africa | 42.3 |
Usual weekly hours on the main job, all employed people, from the OECD (latest year, 2024 or 2025). It includes part-timers. No comparable figure for: Canada, Philippines, United Arab Emirates.
Statutory paid leave
Joint 2nd longest of 26 countries, 5 days above the median of 20.
United Kingdom 28 to United States None
See all 26 countries
| Country | Days |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 28 |
| Austria | 25 |
| Denmark | 25 |
| Finland | 25 |
| France | 25 |
| Sweden | 25 |
| Iceland | 24 |
| Brazil | 22 |
| Portugal | 22 |
| Spain | 22 |
| Norway | 21 |
| Australia | 20 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| Germany | 20 |
| Ireland | 20 |
| Netherlands | 20 |
| New Zealand | 20 |
| Poland | 20 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| Chile | 15 |
| South Africa | 15 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Canada | 10 |
| Japan | 10 |
| Philippines | 5 |
| United States | None |
The legal minimum a year, in working days on a five-day week, before public holidays. Definitions differ: some countries set weeks or calendar days (converted here), the UK lets public holidays count and the United States has no national minimum. Each country page says what its number covers. No comparable figure for: Lithuania, United Arab Emirates.
Working in Denmark
Working hours
The average employee works 33.3 hours a week (OECD, 2025), counting part-timers. Most agreements set a 37-hour week, and the law caps weekly hours at 48 on average including overtime, with at least 11 hours of rest in every 24. In Copenhagen's report, the familiar pattern is 37 hours spread over five days, between 8 and 16.
Paid leave and holidays
The Holiday Act gives employees five weeks of paid leave a year, earned at 2.08 days for each month worked: about 25 days.
Part-time and flexible work
In 2025, 26.6% of employed people aged 15-64 worked part time: 36.9% of women and 17.2% of men (Eurostat).
Remote work
In 2025, 38.8% of employees aged 15-64 worked from home at least sometimes: 6.0% usually and 32.8% sometimes (Eurostat).