Broad alliance seeks to correct inequitable legislation and ensure equal access to parental leave

9. December 2025

Inequitable legislation is leaving a significant share of Denmark’s workforce without access to parental leave benefits. The current rules affect up to eight percent of the total Danish labour force - roughly 250,000 people. Twenty-one organisations representing the cultural and creative sectors are now advancing four proposals aimed at establishing equal access to parental leave. Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Board Member of the Danish Actors’ Association, describes the present legislation as discrimination and urges political action.

A broad alliance within the cultural and creative sectors has jointly drafted four proposals to improve the parental leave system. These proposals aim to close the gaps in existing legislation and ensure equal parental leave rights across the labour market.

Under current law, eligibility for parental leave benefits is structured around a traditional division between employees and the self-employed. Yet, a large group of people in the labour market - including many within the cultural and creative industries - combine several forms of income. As a result, many of them fall between the cracks and lose their entitlement to parental leave benefits.

Calls for political action

One of the 21 organisations in the alliance is the Danish Actors’ Association. According to Board Member Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, the current legislation results in inequitable treatment because it is based on an outdated understanding of the labour market and does not reflect the reality of people with more than one type of income:

“It is profoundly unreasonable that hard-working people who create significant value in society risk losing basic rights simply because their income is structured differently. In many cases, the very same work activity - if carried out solely as an employee or solely as a self-employed person - would qualify them for parental leave benefits. When an outdated system grants people with identical work activity different rights, something is fundamentally wrong. That is why political action is needed now,” says Birgitte Hjort Sørensen.

Dansk Kulturliv also supports the four proposals. Managing Director Jakob Sørensen states:

“A large part of Denmark’s workforce currently has no right to parental leave benefits simply because their income is structured differently than in traditional jobs. This is the result of a rigid system still designed for a time when most people were employees. This inequality hits the cultural sector particularly hard, and it does not serve culture, artists, organisers or audiences. It needs to be corrected.”

The alliance’s four proposals

Eligibility for parental leave should be based on total working hours: We propose granting entitlement to parental leave benefits based on a combined calculation of working hours across employee work, fee-based work and self-employment. In addition, the calculation period should be extendable.
The requirement of employment on the first day of leave should be amended to allow for greater flexibility: We propose easing the requirement of employment on the first day of leave if the person meets the employment criteria under the combined calculation.
Parental leave benefits should be calculated from total income:
We propose that meeting the employment requirement - following the above amendment - entitles the individual to a benefits rate calculated from total income, including wages (hours), fees (converted to hours) and profits from self-employment.
Equal access to carrying out necessary tasks without deductions: We propose that combined-income workers (kombinatører) are granted the same ability as the self-employed to perform up to 3.5 hours of necessary work per week without deductions in parental leave benefits.

Poor parental leave conditions disproportionately affect women

A report prepared in collaboration with the think tank Equalis in the spring of 2025 found that seven out of ten musicians have inadequate access to income during parental leave. The report also showed that becoming a parent exacerbates the already unequal gender balance in Danish music. Nearly six in ten female musicians find it difficult to resume their careers after parental leave, and one in four reports being passed over because of it.

Koda’s Chair, Loui Törnqvist, states:

“The fact that we can unite such a broad alliance behind these proposals shows clearly that this is a problem in need of a solution. We also know that the current legislation particularly affects women, many of whom may ultimately leave the music sector because of poor parental leave conditions. This demonstrates the need for a system that serves everyone fairly and ensures that talent and diversity are not lost from cultural life.”

According to the 2023 Labour Force Survey, up to eight percent of employed people in Denmark have more than one form of employment. This means that around 250,000 Danes risk losing their entitlement to parental leave benefits unless the legislation is updated.

Organisations in the alliance

Autor, Billedkunstnernes Forbund (BKF), Dansk Artist Forbund, Dansk Forfatterforening, Dansk Journalistforbund – Medier & Kommunikation, Dansk Komponistforening (DKF), Dansk Kulturliv, Dansk Kunstnerråd, Dansk Live, Dansk Musiker Forbund, Dansk Scenekunst, Dansk Skuespillerforbund, Danske Forlag, Danske Scenografer, Danske Sceneinstruktører, DPA (Danske Populær Autorer), IFPI, Koda, Musikforlæggerne, Foreningen Musikbevægelsen af 2019 and Producentforeningen.

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