Unemployment and business

You may under certain circumstances be allowed to start your own business, when you get benefits from your unemployment fund (A-kasse).

If you follow specific rules you are allowed to receive unemployment benefit from one of the Danish A-kasser at the same time you run a small business.

However, there are rules you must to meet before A-kassen pays out unemployment benefits - and you must be a member of an A-kasse.

Rules to be met

Overall, you should be able to follow these rules in order to receive unemployment benefits:

You must be able to operate your business outside normal working hours even if you get full-time job.
You must not have fixed office hours or anything that will prevent you from taking full-time job at days’ notice.
You are actively seeking full-time jobs.

You are available to full-time work. It involves, among other things that you can participate in the activation programs the Jobcenter and A-kassen provide, no matter how much time you spend on your business on the side.

Do not start until your A-kasse has agreed

Do not start your company without having made a written agreement with your A-kasse about what you can and cannot do in your business. Please contact you’re a-kasse and get clear information about your options.

Funding via unemployment benefits

As an entrepreneur it can feels like walking on a knife´s edge to meet the various demands.

You could also view the possibility of receiving unemployment benefits and at the same time being able start a business as a cheap way to finance your future life as an entrepreneur. It might be easier than to borrow money in the bank, pay interest and pay back.

Kontanthjælp

Do you get cash assistance from the municipality (e.g. kontanthjælp), do not start the business. If you do, you lose your kontanthjælp.

Outside the system, you are free

If you do not receive money from the public Danish system you are a free person and can start all the companies you want without asking anyone for permission.

If you’re not doing the things that you love, then your life is not worth living. What are you here for?
– King Sidharth, indisk iværksætter