Background information

A firm (no restrictions in terms of size or other criteria) undergoing mass redundancies must make a written application for funding from the warning pool in cooperation with the local job centre.

The application shall, among other aspects, specify how the company proposes to use the funding. The firm must complete its application for funds in conjunction with the local job centre. Union representatives are involved in negotiating an arrangement with the job centre and employers.

Content of measure

The warning pool applies to companies undergoing major job reductions, affecting at least 50% of the workers at a workplace with at least 100 employees.

Workplaces with at least 20 employees can undergo a trial period.

According to the state budget, in January 2020, the warning pool was raised from the previous years to DKK 6.3 million (€0.85 million). Workplaces with at least 20 employees can undergo a trial period.

Project activities can involve:

• consultation;
• courses in job searching for up to two weeks within the notice period;
• skills' development, including further education for the employees for up to eight weeks within the notice period;
• the preparation of job plans for the dismissed workers; and
• the establishment and operation of an office at the workplace where warned or dismissed
• workers can seek help and assistance.

The warning pool is divided into 'Ordinary warning pools and' and 'Supplementary warning pools'.

'Ordinary warning pools' can be used to establish a temporary employment service office in the workplace regardless of the size of the firm. Caseworkers from the PES, based at the service office, deliver individual job search assistance and/or help employees build a job strategy.

'Supplementary warning pools' aim at supporting displaced workers after their notice period if they are still unemployed and receiving unemployment insurance benefit. Grants for skills upgrading are granted for skills in current or future demand or whenever an employer wants to hire an unemployed individual without a wage subsidy after a completed skills upgrading course.

Use of measure

During the COVID-19 crisis the pool has been further raised due to the impact of the following significant economic downturn on the companies. In March 2020, when lockdown took place in Denmark in order to avoid dissemination of the virus, the warning pool was extended with DKK 10 million (€1.34 million), thus amounting to DKK 16.3 milion (€2.2 million) in total.

In September 2009, when the economic crisis peaked in Denmark, DKK 22 million (about €3 million) out of DKK 28 million (about €3.8 million) available for the warning pool were spent on providing support in connection with mass redundancies. In the last years the warning pool has mainly been used in cases of collective redundancies.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government Public employment service	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 31 March 2017: 3 mio. kroner fra varslingspuljen (bm.dk)
• 10 August 2020: Bekendtgørelse om ændring af bekendtgørelse om forsøg på beskæftigelsesområdet (www.retsinformation.dk)
• 29 December 2020: Bekendtgørelse om særlig varslingspulje i 2021 til indsats i forbindelse med afskedigelser m.v. i mindre virksomheder i kriseramte brancher (www.retsinformation.dk)
• 31 October 2022: STAR puljer til indsats ved større afskedigelser (star.dk)