Graduating - and all about membership, unemployment benefits and more

Already a member of the unemployment insurance fund
If you have been a member during your education, you must fill in the Education completed form.
If you have been a member of the unemployment insurance fund for a minimum of 12 months, you have the opportunity for unemployment benefits from your first day as unemployed.

Not a member of the unemployment insurance fund
If you have not been a member of the unemployment insurance fund during your education, it is very important that you register as a recent graduate no later than 14 days after you have completed your education. The deadline of the 14 days is a special rule for membership, which only apply when you complete an education of min. 18 months. If you have not previously been a member of the unemployment insurance fund for 12 months - you will not be able to receive unemployment benefits the first month of your unemployment. 

Yes, it is important that you join the unemployment insurance fund - even if you have landed your dream job.

Being enrolled in the unemployment insurance fund in connection with completing your education means that you do not risk being without finances, because in that case you must, among other requirements, wait 1 year to be entitled to unemployment benefits. Read more under *When should I join the unemployment insurance fund?

The special rules that means you must be enrolled no later than 14 days after graduating, means that you have the opportunity for unemployment benefits in case you need to apply for benefits at a later date.

For example, if you or your new employer choose to end your employment during the probationary period, you are financially secured if you do not find a new job right away.

 

That's a good thing.
If you have been a free member of the unemployment insurance fund for at least 12 months, you have the option of unemployment benefits from the first day of uemployment if you have no job and need to apply for unemployment benefit.

When you have finished your education, you must pay an unemployment insurance membership fee.

HK is one of Denmark's cheapest unemployment insurance funds for recent graduates

As a full time member it costs only DKK 495 per month. The entire amount is automatically deducted in your tax statement, so the real price is much less.

(Of the DKK 495, DKK 386 is a state contribution which is the same amount for all unemployment funds).

You must

• Join the unemployment insurance fund as a recent graduate or choose rights as a recent graduate before the 14-day deadline has passed
• Meet a danish language requirement

If, as a graduate, you are to receive unemployment benefits you must meet a language requirement.
You meet the language requirement if you have completed a Danish-language education (at least the 6th grade of primary school) or passed the Danish 2 test.

Affiliation requirements
If you cannot meet the language requirement you may fulfil an affiliation requirement instead. The affiliation requirement can be met with wage hours reported to the Income Register before you become unemployed and receive unemployment benefits.

At least 600 wage hours must be reported to the Income Register for 12 months within 24 months.
You do not necessarily have to have carried out the work for 12 consecutive months and there is no requirement for membership of the unemployment fund for the period work hours are reported.

Work with an independent business
Income from self-employment cannot be included in the calculation of the 600 wage hours to fulfil the affiliation requirement.

Work abroad
You may well include wage hours earned in another EEA country, Switzerland or Great Britain to meet the affiliation requirement. There is, however, a requirement that the last 150 paid hours must have been carried out in Denmark.

When you join the unemployment insurance fund in connection with completing your education, there are fixed unemployment benefit rates.

The unemployment benefit rates depend on your age, whether you are a provider or non-provider and whether you are insured full-time or part-time with the unemployment insurance fund. You are a provider if you have one or more children under the age of 18.

You are also welcome to try our unemployment benefit calculator. (Danish only)

If you are entitled to unemployment benefits on the basis of your education (if you graduate and join the unemployment insurance fund in connection with completing your education), you are entitled to unemployment benefit for 1 year.

If you are already a member of the unemployment insurance fund and have a current unemployment benefit entitlement from earlier unemployment, you can use this right at the rate you were previously paid. However, if you were paid unemployment benefit as a newly qualified non-provider your rate will be reduced. 

 

We can!

One of our top priorities is to see our members in employment – throughout their lives. As recent graduates, we know it can be a challenge to find a foothold in the labour market. On the positive side, we know that 80% of our newly graduated members go directly into jobs after graduation.

HK Jobbørs
HK Jobbørs creates contact between companies and candidates who have registered their CV in HK Job Exchange. Companies contact us when they have job openings and we match with our candidates.

Get started now
JobBørs: Recruitment of qualified candidates for companies - HK (in Danish only)

HK.DK
On our website you will find a whole universe of inspiration, good advice and tools for the entire process of finding a new job, the application itself and CV. You also have the opportunity to get personal sparring on your application and CV.

Job Search | Guide to application, CV and job interview - HK (in Danish only, but personal sparring can be held in English)

Personal meeting in your local HK department
If you become unemployed, it will not take long before you have to participate in an interview with one of our skilled supervisors. There will always be focus on the job and your situation and what you need. You don't have to wait for us to invite you. You are always welcome to contact us.

You will automatically receive a letter about the meeting in your inbox at My HK.

Fill out the form education completed
You must fill in the form Education completed no later than 14 days after you have finished your education. You must fill it out regardless of whether you have got a job, do not have a job yet and need to apply for unemployment benefit, start a new education or interrupt the education you are in.

Fill out the unemployment declaration form, if you do not have a job efter your education

You must fill out an unemployment declaration form if you want to apply for unemployment benefits. Read our general information about the declaration form. You can apply for unemployment benefits from the first day you are unemployed. But remember, in order to receive unemployment benefits from day one, you must have been a member of an unemployment insurance fund for 12 months. If you have been a member of the unemployment insurance fund for less than 12 months when you apply for unemployment benefit, there will be a waiting period of one month during which you cannot receive unemployment benefits.

Remember to register that you are unemployed at jobnet.dk

It is very important that you sign up at jobnet.dk on your first day of unemployment. You can only get unemployment benefits from the day you are registered at jobnet.dk.  

 

 

Right to unemployment benefits for graduated EU citizens – new rules on exemption from the residence requirement.
If you didn't apply for unemployment benefits as a graduate, or if you have been refused unemployment benefits as a graduate because you did not meet the requirement for residence in Denmark before the education began, you can apply again.
It is a condition that you were prevented from meeting the residence requirement due to entry bans caused by Covid 19 restrictions.