New collective agreement in retail

New collective agreement for retail has been agreed 

On March 1, 2023, negotiations for a new collective agreement fell into place for retail. 

All that's left is for a majority of members to vote in favor for it to come into force. 

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The collective agreement negotiated between HK handel and Dansk Erhverv covers 150,000 shop employees across the country. 

The biggest changes after the new collective agreement 

• Elimination of zero hours contract 
• The minimum wage will be increased by DKK 721 per month this year and again next year 
• Contributions to free choice account increase by 2%. 
• Employer has to pay 2% more towards pension while employee pays 2% less 

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Smaller companies with only part-time employees should pay special attention to the new collective agreement. As the zero-hour contracts have now been abolished. This means that all contracts will now state a weekly number of hours. 

If there is no specific number of hours per week, e.g. young worker under 18 or student assistant, there are now 2 ranges they can be hired on. These are 8-15 hours per week or 13-20 hours per week. 

The new contracts will ensure that all employees have a minimum number of hours and know what they can expect in their pay packet. At the same time, they will be covered by the Danish Salaried Employees Act, which guarantees them rights to sick pay and a longer notice period. 

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The minimum wage will increase by DKK 721 per month from March 1, 2023, with the same increase again on March 1, 2024. In addition, an agreement has been reached on a better framework and conditions so that union representatives can better assist with the crucial local wage negotiations. 

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There will be a general salary increase of 4%, the first two will be released by the employer paying 2% more and the employee 2% less to the pension scheme. In the future, the distribution will be that the employer contributes 10% and the employee 2%. This also means that every month the employee will receive 2% more than today. 

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In addition, contributions to the free choice account will go from 7% to 9% in 2024 

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Overall, the new collective agreement provides an 11.2% wage increase for unskilled workers. 

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