family business

Hi,

after a change in the law regarding unemployment benefits (“dagpenge”) for self-employed in 2018, it is no longer impossible to start your own company while you are receiving dagpenge.

However there are off course some requirements. It is only possible if it will be your side employment (“bibeskæftigelse”), and also you must be full available for the labor-market, meaning that you must be able to start a full-time job with one day notice, and you have to apply for jobs etc. This is only possible if you with one day notice can move your working hours and work tasks in your company. If your A-kasse can see that you for example are contractually obliged to perform work at specific hours every day or some days, then you are not full available for the labor-market, and your business will therefor not be approved as your side employment.

If your business can be approved by the A-kasse as your side employment (and not full time employment), then you can also get supplementary benefits (“supplerende dagpenge”). You can get supplerende dagpenge for maximum 30 weeks.

If you work in your wifes personally owned company (not Aps or Aps), and you have a salary-contract, you will be considered as wage-earner. The salary-contract must comply with kildeskatteloven § 25a, which means that you pay A-skat, ATP and arbejdsmarkedsbidrag, in other words a normal salary-contract.

In this case you will be able to get supplementary benefits as wage-earner, if you can be fully available for the labor-market, and you can stop with one-day notice in your wifes company.

Working in your wifes company in other cases that the mentioned, for example in a A/S or APS where she own 50% or more, means that you are considered as self-employed, in relation to A-kasse. In this case you can only get supplementary benefits if your self-employment can be regarded as your side employment.

I will recommend you to get this confirmed by your A-kasse.

Best regards,

Anders Weber, A-kasser.dk