Living Wages, Rarity for U.S. Fast-Food Workers, Served Up in Denmark (Published 2014) (2024)

FAQs

Living Wages, Rarity for U.S. Fast-Food Workers, Served Up in Denmark (Published 2014)? ›

Only after nearly a year of raucous, union-led protests did McDonald's relent. In interviews, Danish employees of McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks said that even though Denmark had one of the world's highest costs of living — about 30 percent higher than in the United States — their $20 wage made life affordable.

The average minimum monthly salary in Denmark is about US$3,300 (DKK 22,600) per month. CBAs establish minimum wages for about 84% of the Danish workforce, including most employees in the public sector and certain private industries, such as construction and hospitality.

As a consequence of higher labor costs, Danish fast food restaurants are also far less profitable than their American counterparts–meaning that there are far fewer locations than in the United States.

An employer is obliged to pay the agreed salary/wages. There is no mandatory minimum pay in Denmark. The pay is typically governed by collective agreements for different types of work. For some types of work the pay will depend on the amount the worker must be paid, for example per hour.

In 2022, food preparation assistants was the occupational group with the lowest average monthly salary in Denmark. That year, they earned just below 28,000 Danish kroner per month. Sales workers had the second lowest average salary at 30,000 kroner, followed by cleaners and helpers.

The median cost of living in the second- and third-most expensive states in the U.S. is $3,155 and $3,126, respectively. That's only slightly less than the $3,176 that's needed to get by in Denmark.

The United States stands at the first position on the list of countries with the highest fast-food consumption. More than one-third of adults living in the USA eat fast food every day, and 83% of American families feast on fast food at least once a week.

Competitive tax conditions

One of the many reasons Denmark is considered the best place to do business is its competitive tax environment. Business costs are relatively low for the entrepreneur – Denmark stands out for having some of the lowest employer costs and social security rates among European countries.

These are the largest fast-food chains by revenue in the United States, including all system-wide sales (which includes franchise sales) as reported by QSR Magazine: McDonald's: $37 billion in system-wide U.S. sales. Starbucks: $13 billion in system-wide U.S. sales. Subway: $10.8 billion in system-wide U.S. sales.

Most of the public sectors jobs involve a collective bargaining agreement, which usually stipulates the minimum wage. The average minimum wage across different sectors ruled by the collective bargaining agreements is DKK 110 per hour.

Is it expensive to live in Denmark? ›

The cost of living in Denmark is, on average, 248.5% higher than in India. Rent in Denmark is, on average, 452.9% higher than in India. Why is Denmark Expensive? Denmark has a high standard of living—its per capita GDP is among the highest in the world—and well-developed social services.

The amount of unemployment benefits is calculated based on the 12 months in which you had the highest income within the past 24 months. You can receive a maximum of: DKK 19,728 (2023) and DKK 20.359 (2024) per month as full-time insured. DKK 13,152 (2023) and DKK 13.573 (2024) per month as part-time insured.

Standard hours

There are no statutory rules on the number of standard working hours in Denmark. As a general rule, working hours are mandated through a collective agreement (if any), or the employment contract. The majority of sectors have 37 hours weekly.

If a labour market council finds that the terms of your contract do not correspond to Danish standards, we will then request your remarks before we make a decision in your case. For most of SIRI's work schemes it is a condition that you are offered full-time employment (normally 37-40 hours per week).

There is no statutory minimum wage in Denmark. Pay rates for blue-collar and white-collar workers are set through collective bargaining agreements. An agreement may set actual pay rates or minimum pay rates at the industry level.

This takes effect from 2023. It has also been agreed that the minimum wage will increase by 9 DKR. The increase corresponds to (1.21 EUR) per hour and leads to a new hourly wage of 131.65 DKR (17.70 EUR) for adult workers and 75.80 DKR (10.20 EUR) for workers under 18 years of age.

The median sale price of a home in Denmark was $268K last.

Denmark is a unitary country and a member of the European Union. It is a high-income country with a very high human development level.