Unemployed and A-kasse

The page you are currently viewing covers the obligations and rights that apply once you have started receiving unemployment benefits. The eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits are covered in another article.

Switching A-kasse while unemployed

You can easily change A-kasse even if you are unemployed. See more in our guide on changing A-kasse.

Contact process (Kontaktforløb)

Once you have been approved by your A-kasse to receive unemployment benefits (and have been enrolled in a two-year benefit period), you will simultaneously begin a "process" - initially with your A-kasse - aimed at helping you return to the labor market.

The A-kasse is responsible for the contact process during the first three months of unemployment, should you become unemployed.

If you remain unemployed after those three months, the municipality takes over responsibility for the contact process, and you are then required to attend meetings only at the municipality.

Job interviews during the first 6 months

• The A-kasse must conduct at least two individual job interviews with unemployment benefit recipients during the first three months in which the A-kasse manages the contact process.
• The municipality must conduct at least two job interviews with unemployment benefit recipients after the first three months and no later than six months into the benefit period.
• Unemployment benefit recipients choose whether the A-kasse is to participate in the first individual job interview with the municipality after the first three months of unemployment.

The A-kasse may exempt up to 25% of individuals from the job interviews. Thus, based on an individual assessment, the A-kasse can exempt persons whom it deems capable of finding employment on their own from the full number of job interviews.

The municipality may also exempt up to 25% of the individuals from the job interviews. Thus, based on an individual assessment, the municipality may exempt individuals whom it deems capable of finding employment on their own from the full number of job interviews.

For unemployment benefit recipients whose contact process is managed by the A-kasse during the first three months, the A-kasse may exempt the individual from one job interview during the first 3 months; subsequently, the municipality may exempt the individual from two job interviews - after the first three months and no later than after 6 months - given that only the initial job interview is mandatory for all benefit recipients. There is not necessarily a correlation between the individuals exempted from job interviews by the A-kasse and those exempted by the municipality. Consequently, the specific individuals included in the 25% exemption calculation may differ between the A-kasse and the municipality.

First meeting with the A-kasse

The A-kasse must conduct a meeting (CV meeting) with the unemployment benefit recipient no later than two weeks after their registration as a job seeker to ensure that the CV information on Jobnet.dk is complete.
Furthermore, during the first job meeting of the contact process, the A-kasse must review the applications the individual has uploaded to their joblog in order to provide specific guidance on, or clarification regarding, the individual's continued job search.

For unemployment benefit recipients, the A-kasse must - at the first meeting of the contact process - introduce and jointly develop the individual's "My Plan" (Min Plan); this includes helping to clarify the individual's skills, job opportunities, any need for a career change, and the scope of their job search.

The first meeting with the A-kasse must take place in person. Thereafter, the unemployed person may choose the format (in-person, digital, or telephone) for subsequent meetings with the A-kasse and the municipality.

Content of subsequent job interviews

The purpose of the contact process for unemployment benefit recipients is to secure ordinary employment or a flexible job ("fleksjob") as quickly as possible. The job interviews must focus on specific jobs and job seeking, including following up on active job-seeking efforts and determining the next steps in the job search.

Flexible offers (Fleksible tilbud)

Responsibility for authorizing offers remains with the municipality throughout the entire period of unemployment. If the A-kasse, together with the unemployed person, assesses that the member would benefit from an offer commencing within the first three months of unemployment - or starting immediately thereafter - the A-kasse may submit a recommendation regarding that to the municipality.

The rules regarding more flexible offers entered into force on 1 July 2026.

The rules mean that, going forward, offers of employment-related activities will be required only for individuals close to the labor market.

Municipalities will thus have greater freedom to tailor their efforts to the individual's needs. They will have more scope to assess - based on employment expertise - the appropriate level of intensity for these interventions and to determine which individuals should receive such offers.

As part of the ongoing contact process, the municipality must continuously assess whether an individual requires an offer of activities to secure employment or move closer to the labor market.

All recipients of unemployment benefits and cash benefits - whether job-ready, education-ready, or activity-ready - are required to participate in such offers throughout their period of unemployment. There are rules governing the circumstances under which an individual may be exempted from this participation requirement.

Rights and obligations of the unemployed

Unemployment benefit recipients who are close to the labor market have the right and obligation - no later than six months into their benefit period - to receive an offer under Chapters 11-14 of the Act (such as company internships, subsidized employment, community service tasks, or guidance and upskilling). It is the municipality that makes the specific assessment regarding which offer an individual should receive.

However, the municipality may exempt up to 25 percent of these individuals from such offers.

Based on an individual assessment, the municipality can thus exempt persons deemed capable of finding employment on their own. The option to exempt up to 25 percent of individuals gives the municipality greater scope to exercise professional and individual judgment in prioritizing offers for those deemed most likely to benefit from the intervention.

Wanting an offer

Individuals will continue to be able to contact the municipality regarding the possibility of being granted an offer, including the possibility of a specific offer.

Your job search

Job search activities must be continuously documented in a job log on Jobnet.dk. However, unemployment benefit recipients may document job search activities in their A-kasse's digital job log, provided the A-kasse offers a job log within its own self-service system and this is integrated with the job log on Jobnet.dk.

The purpose of the job log is to provide individuals with an overview of their own job search activities. At the same time, the entries in the job log provide a basis for the municipality and the A-kasse to improve the guidance provided to the jobseeker regarding their job search. Consequently, the use of the job log and the associated guidance can help ensure the right matches between jobseekers and companies, while also supporting the demand for labor. Furthermore, the job log serves as a means for individuals to document their job search activities, enabling A-kasser and municipalities to assess whether the job search is sufficient for the individual to meet the availability requirement—specifically, the requirement for active job seeking—necessary to qualify for unemployment benefits.

It is the A-kasse that sets job-search requirements and makes decisions regarding availability for work for unemployment benefit recipients. You should expect the A-kasse to require you to apply for an average of at least two jobs per week.

After the first 6 months

After the first six months, the schedule of contacts is agreed upon individually between the individual and the municipality.

For unemployment benefit recipients, the municipality must also conduct a job interview no later than 16 months into the process, in which the A-kasse also participates as a general rule.