New Danish legislation to tackle social dumping on construction sites

From 1 July 2025, the Danish Working Environment Authority can give bigger fines and stop all work for both the main contractor and subcontractors on a building site if orders to rectify illegal working conditions are repeatedly ignored.

This is the result of the latest in a series of legislative tightenings against social dumping and labour crime, decided by a broad political majority in the Danish parliament following the TV documentary The Black Swan and other revelations of life-threatening working conditions and the exploitation of migrant workers on construction sites in Denmark. 

Minister for Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen sees the construction site shutdown as a very important new tool in the toolbox. Photo: Marie Hald

The Minister for Employment Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen (Social Democrats) calls the latest legislative tightening “a new, big hammer” that the Working Environment Authority can use when they inspect workplaces to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations. 

DA and FH disagree

According to Halsboe-Jørgensen, the "hammer" is intended to stop companies that defy repeated orders from the Working Environment Authority and continue to commit serious breaches of health and safety laws – for example, by exposing workers to the risk of falling from great heights or being hit by vehicles on construction sites.

"When a small group of companies repeatedly put other people’s lives and safety at risk, there must be tangible consequences. That is why the construction site shutdown is an important new tool in the toolbox," she said when the law was passed.

The Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) has criticised the construction site shutdown for also impacting law-abiding companies.

The new option to close the entire construction site impacts both the main contractor and all subcontractors, even if only one subcontractor fails to improve illegal working conditions after being issued an order. DA considers this to be unreasonable.

The Danish Trade Union Confederation (FH) disagrees with DA. FH sees a need for a “deterrent sanction” to ensure the main contractors also take responsibility for the conduct of their subcontractors. 

More is needed

The tightening is a small step towards what is known as chain liability, according to Pelle Dragsted, a Danish MP and political spokesperson for the Red-Green Alliance, who took part in the negotiations that led to the contractor shutdown legislation.

“It is really, really good that the top of the supply chain, either the developer or the main contractor, can no longer just pass on the problems they create to the subcontractors,” Pelle Dragsted told the Danish parliament when the legislation was passed.

Pelle Dragsted is a Danish MP and political spokesperson for the Red-Green Alliance. Photo: The Red-Green Alliance 

The contractor shutdown comes into force on 1 July 2025, and FH has said it will follow the legislation’s implementation closely to make sure it has the desired effect on construction sites. 

The Red-Green Alliance shares FH’s concern that the contractor shutdown will not be the hammer that the Minister for Employment has predicted it will be.

The Working Environment Authority must issue orders as well as conduct multiple inspections on the construction site where illegalities continue before the site can be shut down, and this takes time.

“Even in cases where multiple orders already exist, there still has to be a period of increased inspections. I just worry what might happen to the workers on those construction sites during that time,” says Pelle Dragsted.

Both the Red-Green Alliance and the Socialist People's Party (SF) would like to see even tougher penalties in particularly serious cases where people are exposed to lethal danger, beyond what the new law proposes.

Reason for concern

Many migrants work in the most dangerous trades, including construction, and, according to the Ministry of Employment, migrant workers are overrepresented in fatal workplace accidents.  

A report into migrant workers’ working environments and safety in the Danish construction trade concluded that “there is good reason to be concerned about migrant workers’ working environment and safety in the Danish construction and civil engineering sector”. 

The report was prepared by researchers at Aalborg University in 2023. They highlight a number of “widespread and serious” problems regarding migrants’ working environments and safety, including: 

• Migrant workers are significantly overrepresented in fatal accidents in the construction and civil engineering sectors.
• It is highly probable that migrants are also significantly overrepresented in non-fatal accidents.
• Migrant accidents are not reported, accidents are concealed, and the rules on notification are being systematically circumvented.
• Migrant workers report being more prone to accidents due to fatigue and exhaustion. Migrant workers who work long hours with strenuous physical labour also believe they are more susceptible to wear and tear. Psychological issues arising from high work pressure are also mentioned.
• Many migrants report that their employer has told them to stop working, leave the site, disappear, or hide when the Working Environment Authority visits.