The Danish Working Environment Authority is responsible for working environment issues in Denmark and ensuring that companies in Denmark maintain a healthy and safe working environment. To fulfil its mandate, the authority carries out inspection visits at companies and disseminates working environment-related knowledge.
In Denmark, working environment problems must be prevented and remedied by companies in a collaborative process between employers and employees. However, it is the employer that is responsible for ensuring compliance with working environment rules and regulations.

What does an inspection visit entail?

The Danish Working Environment Authority carries out inspections of Danish companies as well as companies providing services in Denmark. The legal basis for these inspections is always the Danish Working Environment Act. The inspectors tour the company with a view to assessing the company’s compliance with working environment rules and regulations. For example, they examine work-related aspects such as ergonomics, noise and the risk of accidents.

The Danish Working Environment Authority also checks whether foreign companies have registered in the Register of Foreign Service Providers (RUT) and whether their registration is accurate.

Inspection visits will often occur without prior notice.

In Denmark, wage/salary and working conditions are regulated by the social partners through collective agreements. These conditions are therefore not scrutinised by the Danish Working Environment Authority’s inspectors.

The Danish Working Environment Authority’s possible responses to an inspection visit

If the Danish Working Environment Authority determines after an inspection visit that a company is not in compliance with Danish rules and regulations, the Danish Working Environment Authority will issue an enforcement notice to the company to remedy the situation.

In exceptional cases, the Danish Working Environment Authority may also shut down the company’s operations until the working environment issue has been remedied. The Danish Working Environment Authority also has the power to issue a fine to a company if it is in violation of clear and well-known rules.
The Danish Working Environment Authority may choose to return after an inspection visit to check whether the company has complied with the enforcement notice from the previous visit.

Inspections always include dialogue and guidance to ensure that companies understand why the Danish Working Environment Authority has determined that working environment rules have not been complied with and how the company can go about solving its working environment issues.

Informational material in other languages

Complete list of the Danish Working Environment Authority’s informational material in other languages