A full-time employee on DKK 35,000 a month costs an office business about DKK 38,800 a month in 2026 with 8% employer pension, holiday supplement and all statutory contributions. Without pension it is about DKK 36,000. Workplace injury insurance, equipment and training come on top. Use the calculator on this page with your own salary, pension rate and industry.
Employer costs
What does an employee cost in Denmark? Employer costs 2026 with calculator
See what an employee costs on top of salary in Denmark in 2026: ATP, AUB, Barsel.dk, AES, financing contribution, holiday supplement and pension. With a calculator and rates from virk.dk.
Calculate the employer cost (2026)
Enter gross salary and pension rate, and choose your industry. The calculation covers one full-time, monthly-paid employee with pay during holiday, using rates from virk.dk.
| Item | Per year |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | 420,000 kr. |
| Holiday supplement (1%) | 4,200 kr. |
| Employer pension | 33,600 kr. |
| ATP (employer share) | 2,376 kr. |
| AUB | 2,821 kr. |
| Barsel.dk | 2,200 kr. |
| AES and injury levy | 457 kr. |
| Financing contribution | 328 kr. |
| On top of salary | 45,982 kr. (10.9 %) |
| Total per year | 465,982 kr. |
| Equivalent per month | 38,832 kr. |
Not included: mandatory workplace injury insurance (price varies), pay during sickness, equipment, training and other collective-agreement supplements. Barsel.dk is replaced by your own scheme if you are in, for example, DA-Barsel. The calculator is indicative and not legal or accounting advice.
Source: 2026 rates for ATP, AUB, Barsel.dk, AES and financing contribution from virk.dk
Step-by-step guide
- 1
Salary is only the starting point
Start with gross salary — what the employee earns before tax. If you are covered by a collective agreement, it sets the minimum pay and often pension, supplements and paid leave. Without an agreement you set the salary freely in the contract. On top of gross salary come statutory contributions, holiday and any pension. Those are what the calculator above adds up.
- 2
Statutory contributions: ATP, AUB, Barsel.dk and financing
For each full-time employee in 2026 you pay: ATP DKK 198 a month (the employer’s 2/3 of DKK 297), AUB DKK 705.25 a quarter, Barsel.dk DKK 550 a quarter and the financing contribution DKK 82 a quarter. That is about DKK 7,700 a year. AUB is deducted for the first employee and every 50th after that. You do not pay Barsel.dk if you are in another parental-leave scheme such as DA-Barsel. Contributions are collected every quarter via Samlet Betaling on virk.dk.
- 3
AES and workplace injury insurance depend on your industry
The AES contribution covers occupational diseases and depends on your industry group. In 2026 the total yearly charge per full-time employee is, for example, DKK 457 in finance and business services, DKK 539 in wholesale and retail, DKK 1,558 in manufacturing and DKK 2,323 in construction. You must also have workplace injury insurance with a private insurer covering accidents at work. It is mandatory from the first employee, and the price depends on industry and insurer, so it is not in the calculator.
- 4
Holiday: 1% supplement — and five weeks away
Monthly-paid staff who keep their salary during holiday are entitled to a holiday supplement of 1% of salary (Danish Holiday Act § 16). Hourly-paid staff instead receive holiday pay of 12.5% of wages, settled via FerieKonto or your own scheme. Remember that five weeks of holiday also means five weeks where others must cover the work. It costs no extra salary, but it costs capacity.
- 5
Pension is agreed — not statutory beyond ATP
Outside collective agreements there is no legal requirement for occupational pension beyond ATP. Many agreements do have a combined pension where the employer pays the larger share, for example 8% of salary from the employer and 4% from the employee. Pension is one of the largest items on top of salary and a strong argument when you recruit. The calculator uses 8% as a default; enter your own rate.
- 6
The hidden costs: sickness, equipment and training
During sickness the employer pays sickness benefit or salary for the first 30 calendar days (the employer period); salaried employees (funktionærer) are entitled to full pay during sickness. Then add equipment (computer, phone, workwear), software licences, desk space and the time colleagues spend training the new hire in the first months. Count recruitment too: a job post on Arbejd.com is free, but a long process costs management time.
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Frequently asked questions
No, AUB is deducted for the first full-time employee and every 50th after that. A business with one full-time employee therefore pays no AUB. ATP, Barsel.dk, AES and the financing contribution apply from the first employee. Tick the box in the calculator to see the figure without AUB.
Part-time staff cost less in contributions because ATP follows working hours: full contribution from 117 hours a month, 2/3 at 78–116 hours, 1/3 at 39–77 hours and nothing below 39 hours. AUB, Barsel.dk, AES and the financing contribution are based on the number of full-time equivalents, derived from your reported ATP. A half-time employee counts as roughly half.
ATP is reported with payroll in eIndkomst, and the other contributions are collected together every quarter via Samlet Betaling on virk.dk. The amount is calculated automatically from your reported ATP. If you use a payroll system, it usually handles reporting; you just pay the invoice.
On Arbejd.com posting a job is free, and you pay only when you contact a candidate. On the large job boards an ad typically costs several thousand kroner, and a recruitment agency often charges a percentage of annual salary. See the guide on job-ad prices for an overview.