Originally published 2021-09-12.
In September 2021 Denmark's Social Democratic government proposed that some immigrants receiving welfare benefits should take part in up to 37 hours a week of work or work-like activity in return for their payments. The plan targeted people judged to be far from the job market, many of them women with roots in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After years of political negotiation, a version of the rule was passed by parliament in December 2024 and began phasing in from 1 January 2025.
This page explains what was proposed in 2021, how the final law differs, the arguments on both sides and how the policy fits into Denmark's wider approach to immigration.
What the government proposed in 2021
The plan was presented on 7 September 2021 by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen and Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard, as part of a 40-page reform package titled "Denmark can do more". It covered several changes to the welfare system, from lower unemployment benefits for new graduates without children to looser earnings limits for students.
The headline element was a work duty for a specific group. According to The Local Denmark, it would apply to people with an integration obligation who had not passed a set Danish language test or completed the equivalent of sixth grade, and who had received cash assistance (kontanthjælp) in three of the previous four years, or received the lower self-support and repatriation benefit. Around 20,000 people were expected to be covered.
Municipalities would organise the activity. Hummelgaard gave the example of going to the beach to collect cigarette butts and plastic, which made headlines abroad, but the idea was broader: any useful task that built routine and contact with working life.
The government's reasoning
The government framed the plan as an integration measure. The report argued that too many people, especially from non-Western backgrounds, had no job to get up for in the morning. As the Associated Press quoted it: "If you come to Denmark, you have to work and support yourself and your family."
Ministers singled out women in particular. Their argument was that some immigrant women stay out of the labour market for years, sometimes because of family expectations, and that a clear duty to take part would help them learn Danish, build networks and eventually find paid work. Supporters also saw it as a matter of fairness: Danes on benefits are expected to look for work, so the same norm should apply to everyone.
The criticism
Opposition came quickly. Mai Villadsen of the left-wing Red-Green Alliance called the idea foolish and warned of "social dumping", meaning that unpaid or low-paid benefit work could push down wages and displace ordinary jobs. Her party described the scheme as state-backed social dumping. Others questioned whether busywork would really lead to employment.
Groups working with migrants made a practical point: many women want full-time jobs, but there are not enough 37-hour positions open to people with limited Danish, and some feared losing benefits through no fault of their own. A migrant-support organiser quoted by the Daily Mail at the time reportedly made exactly this argument.
Research on "workfare" programmes in several countries is mixed. Well-designed schemes that include language training and real job contacts can help, while purely symbolic activity tends to show weak results. Those concerns shaped the later negotiations.
What the final law actually says
The 2021 proposal did not become law straight away. It was reworked into a political agreement in October 2023 between the coalition government and two parties to its right, the Denmark Democrats and the Danish People's Party. Parliament passed the resulting law on 17 December 2024, and it took effect on 1 January 2025.
As reported by The Local Denmark, the final rules apply to people on the social welfare system who fail either of two tests:
- they have not lived in Denmark for at least nine of the past ten years, or
- they have not worked full-time for at least two and a half of the past ten years.
Those affected must take part in up to 37 hours a week of "employment-focused activities", such as internships, community service jobs, wage-subsidised work and some training programmes. People under integration rules must also attend Danish lessons. Hours are reduced for those with part-time jobs, municipalities must take health into account, and benefits can be cut for non-compliance.
The duty was phased in over two six-month periods in 2025, starting with recipients of the introduction benefit. The 2023 agreement estimated that around 22,000 people could eventually be affected. Notably, the final test is written around residence and work history rather than nationality.
The wider picture: Denmark's immigration politics
Denmark has a reputation as a liberal, open society, but for more than two decades it has run some of Europe's strictest immigration rules. Frederiksen's Social Democrats, in power since June 2019, adopted a hard line that was previously associated with the right. In April 2021 she said the government's ultimate goal was "zero spontaneous asylum seekers", and Denmark began reviewing residence permits of some Syrian refugees on the grounds that parts of Syria were safe.
It is worth being precise here. Some reports at the time claimed Denmark had refused all new asylum claims since 2019. That is not accurate: Denmark continued to process asylum applications, while making the rules much tougher and pushing for reception centres outside Europe.
According to official figures cited by the AP, immigrants and their descendants made up 14.1% of the population of nearly six million in mid-2021, with the largest groups originating from Turkey, Syria and Iraq.
What to take from the debate
The Danish work duty touches questions many European countries face: how to balance a generous safety net with the expectation that people contribute, how to help immigrant women who are isolated from working life, and how to avoid creating a second-class labour market. Whether the scheme works will depend less on the 37-hour figure than on what those hours contain, whether they lead to real jobs, and how fairly municipalities apply the rules.
Early evaluations from 2025 onward will be the best guide. Anyone directly affected should check the current rules with their local municipality (kommune), as details and exemptions can change.
Sources: The Local Denmark: What do Denmark's proposed welfare reforms mean for foreign residents? (September 2021); Associated Press via WHDH: Danish government wants foreigners to work to access welfare; The Local Denmark: Obligatory work to take effect from January 1st (December 2024); Wikipedia: Mette Frederiksen. Originally reported by the Daily Mail.
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