Denmark

Disability Definition

Under the Equality Act 2010 we operate the following definition of disability: "A person (P) has a disability if: (a) P has a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."‍

Reference: Defining Disability in Denmark

Legislation

In July 2009 Denmark ratified the CRPD and the Danish Institute for Human Rights was appointed by the Danish Parliament to promote and monitor the implementation of the CRPD in Denmark. On 1 July 2018, a general ban on discrimination on the grounds of disability outside the labour market came into force. The ban, however, does not include an obligation to provide reasonable accommodation nor an obligation to comply with existing accessibility standards.

Hence, under Danish law there is still no effective legal protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability in the forms of denial of reasonable accommodation or lack of accessibility.

Reference: Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Denmark 2019

Employer Legal Requirements

Persons with disabilities – regardless of disability – are covered by general employment policy measures. If the disability entails a need for special measures or assistance, for example, personal assistance, such measures or assistance can be granted through the Act on Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment, etc.The Act on Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment consists of three schemes:

Personal assistance for persons with disabilities in employment.
Wage subsidies on the employment of newly educated people.
Preferential access.

The Danish Act on Prohibition against Differential Treatment on the Labour Market forbids direct and indirect differential treatment and harassment as well as instructions to discriminate on grounds of disability, etc. Disability was inserted into the act as a discrimination criterion that implements parts of Council Directive 2000/78 in establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. The Danish Act on Prohibition against Differential Treatment on the Labour Market stipulates that an employer may not discriminate against wage earners or applicants with respect to vacant positions, dismissal, transfer, promotion or salary and working conditions. Discrimination with respect to salary conditions is considered to be present where an equal salary is not paid for an equal amount of work or work of equivalent value.

Under the terms of the act, an obligation adjustment applies to persons with disabilities, meaning that an employer must take expedient measures to consider the specific requirements for granting a person with disability access to employment, to work or to success in employment. However, the obligation adjustment does not apply if the employer would as a consequence have a disproportionately heavy burden imposed upon him or her. If the burden is sufficiently alleviated through public measures, it is not considered to be disproportionately heavy.

Reference: Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment

Accessibility Requirements

In July 2017, an administrative order from the Danish Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing came into force which involved an amendment of the accessibility requirements for buildings in the Danish Building Regulations. The amendment entailed that single-family houses are no longer subject to the provision in the Building Regulations which prescribes that all external doors must provide level access to the ground floor of a building. This amendment has been strongly criticized for being a significant deterioration of the accessibility requirements for housing and thus a serious retrograde step for the right to accessibility for persons with disabilities.Since January 2008, an agreement has been in place which commits Danish public authorities to ensure that new public websites, or websites that are changed, follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.0.These guidelines set up a standard to make websites more accessible for persons with different kinds of disabilities. However, in 2017 DIHR concluded in a report on digital communication in the municipalities that less than 57% of the municipalities had websites fulfilling the WCAG 2.0-standards.

On 29 May 2018, an act on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public authorities was passed, implementing the European Union Web Accessibility Directive, EU Directive 2016/2102. However, the new act does not contain a specific complaint mechanism that ensures a uniform and reliable enforcement of the accessibility standards. Neither does it contain a possibility to sanction a lack of compliance with the requirements of the Act.

Reference: Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Denmark 2019

Cultural Norms

Insights

30% of Danes aged 16-64 consider themselves to have a disability in the form of a long-term health problem, physical disability or mental disorder. 12% consider that their disability has the character of a major disability.

Reference: Denmark Handicapbarometer