DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Lise Lauridsen and Sandro Ratkovic, Bech-Bruun
extended to cover the employer’s former custom - ers or current customers with whom the employee has not had direct business contact. • The clause can only be enforced if the employee has been employed for an uninterrupted period of at least six months. • An employee cannot be bound by the clause for more than 12 months after the termination of employment. For a description of the mandatory compensation requirements, refer to 2.1 Non-Competes under A combined restrictive clause must satisfy both the conditions for non-competition clauses and for cus - tomer clauses, as set out in separate sections. How - ever, a number of additional conditions must be met for combined clauses. The combined clause may not have a duration of more than six months after the termination date. This means that the duration requirement is stricter than for sepa - rate non-competition and customer clauses, each of which may have a duration of up to 12 months. “Non-Competition Clauses”. Combined Restrictive Clause Compensation must amount to at least 60% of the monthly salary at the time of termination. If the employee finds other suitable employment, the com - pensation from the 3rd to the 6th month after termina - tion must amount to at least 24% of the monthly salary at the time of termination. If the employee loses the suitable employment, they will again be entitled to the full compensation of 60%. The full compensation for the first two months after termination is a lump sum to which the employee is entitled, regardless of whether the employee obtains other suitable employment. 3. Data Privacy 3.1 Data Privacy Law and Employment In Denmark, data privacy in the employment context is primarily governed by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), supplemented by the Danish Data
Protection Act (in Danish: “ Databeskyttelsesloven ”). These regulations apply to all stages of the employ - ment relationship from recruitment to termination and are interpreted and enforced through guidance from the Danish Data Protection Authority (in Danish: “ Datatilsynet ”), including their HR-specific guidance on data protection in employment relationships. Employers are considered data controllers and are required to have a valid legal basis for processing employee data, comply with principles such as data minimisation and purpose limitation, and respect employees’ rights to access, rectification, and eras - ure. Among the practical obligations is the require - ment to provide employees with a clear and transpar - ent privacy policy that outlines how their personal data is collected, used, stored, and shared. The Danish Data Protection Agency cannot issue fines directly; instead, it refers cases to the police for pros - ecution, and any monetary penalties must be imposed by a criminal court. While the GDPR sets a maximum fine level of up to EUR20 million or 4% of global turno - ver, the typical Danish fines in employment related GDPR cases have ranged between DKK50,000 and DKK150,000. The Danish Data Protection Agency has previously recommended fines amounting to DKK400,000 where the fine has been lowered by the Danish courts. Thus, fines in Denmark have historical - ly been more modest compared to other EU countries, although enforcement activity is increasing. Employers should also be aware that special rules may apply to the processing of sensitive data (such as health or union membership information), and certain types of employee monitoring (eg, email or location tracking) require a strong legal basis, clear documen - tation, and proportionality. Danish guidance places strong emphasis on transparency and data protection impact assessments, particularly in situations involv - ing high-risk processing.
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