Navigation path

Business support - Denmark

Updated 12/2012

Helping businesses

Private organisations

The Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) embraces 13 employer associations in the private labour market.

As a trade organisation, DA's purpose is to coordinate collective agreement negotiations and influence the political decision-making process to enhance companies' competitiveness and improve their access to skilled labour. DA's primary working areas are:

  • labour market policy and qualifications;
  • the working environment;
  • employment legislation;
  • coordinating collective agreements and labour law, international conditions and monitoring in the form of analysis and statistics concerning salary, absence due to illness, conflicts, etc.
  • Confederation of Danish Employers dansk

The Danish Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) is the main business organisation for SMEs. It provides advisory services to members on domestic and international politics.

  • Danish Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) dansk

The Danish Chamber of Commerce is both a business organisation and an employer association that represents businesses and organisations in terms of trade, consultancy, transport and service-related issues. The objective of the Chamber of Commerce is to be recognised as a leading political representative and an advisor to the business community.

  • The Danish Chamber of Commerce dansk

The Confederation of Danish Industries (DI) is both a business organisation and an employer association. It represents businesses and organisations from a range of sectors.

It aims to ensure that the business community runs under the best possible conditions for development and production, as well as for competing domestically and internationally. As an employer association, it is responsible for collective agreement negotiations, both nationally and within the individual business sectors.

  • DI - Confederation of Danish Industries dansk

Public organisations

Ministries are nowadays able to provide a wealth of advice electronically.

You can find guides to specific areas of legislation and forms you need to submit to public sector authorities for starting a business, paying taxes, expanding and possibly winding up.  The most useful of these are:

  • Startvækst dansk
  • Virk.dk dansk

You can get help recruiting employees by working with the job centres. These can offer advice on grants for recruiting specific types of employee and training for new ones.

  • Jobnet, a portal for recruiting labour force dansk

The Ombudsman considers complaints about decisions taken by public authorities. You can complain to him if you feel that public bodies have infringed upon applicable legislation or otherwise committed errors or omissions when handling your case.

  • Parliamentary Ombudsman dansk

Startvaekst contains comprehensive information about start-ups, business operations and growth. It also provides a homepage for the 5 incubation units and access to all public advice available to entrepreneurs and businesses in Denmark.

  • Startvækst dansk

Incubation units provide free and independent advice for new and expanding businesses. They help businesses to identify their opportunities and realise their full growth potential. The advice includes information and skills development in all aspects of starting up and growth. They are located in each of the five regions and are run by the local councils.

They work with other relevant bodies and offer businesses specialised assistance. In some incubation units, grants for consultation are available, meaning that businesses only have to pay a share of the cost.

Other organisations

Dialogue takes place on an on-going basis with the business community, through organisations, associations and individuals.

Developments on the labour market are monitored by 4 Regional Employment Councils and the local employment councils which are affiliated with specific job centres.

  • Employment Council for the Capital City Area & Zealand dansk
  • Employment Council for Central Jutland dansk
  • Employment Council for North Jutland dansk

Access to finance is crucial for setting up and running a business.

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

Living and moving in Europe

Still need help?

Still need help?

Enterprise Europe Network - Contact points

The Enterprise Europe Network provides businesses with information and advice through its local contact points. 

Choose your nearest contact point for personalized help and advice:

Further help

SOLVIT helps businesses deal with problems that arise when national authorities wrongly apply EU market rules.