Flexicurity model provides flexibility and security, at the same time, in the labour market. It has a long tradition in Denmark and it is based on dialogue between employer associations and labour unions. Employers can hire and fire easily without excessive costs for severance payments and employees are secured from the social system during unemployement up to two years after losing the job. State suppors many education and reskilling/upskilling  programs to get unemployed people back to work as quickly as possible. 

“In Denmark, the flexicurity model has facilitated very good economic and social outcomes. This goes also for periods of economic downturn such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The core of flexicurity is the combination of low job security on the one hand, but on the other hand a robust income support system if you lose your job. However, there is also a third essential element of the Danish model, which is a very active labour market policy: The government investment in this is substantial and amounted to 12.7 bio. EUR in 2019. It might bring good inspiration for the Czech labour market to look into advantages provided by our flexicurity model. One of its main assets is that it generates high job mobility from which both employers and workers benefit, for example because it contributes to a very low structural unemployment,” said the Danish Ambassador, H.E. Søren Kelstrup.

Jeppe Sørensen, political analyst of the Danish Trade Union Confederation added that: "Unemployment was around 4.5 percent in 2022, now it's even lower. The Danes have the lowest long-term unemployment of all European Union countries. Flexicurity prevents people from being unemployed for a long time, and it also gives people and companies more opportunities to take more risks.“

The Flexicurity model works very well in this turbulent time in a highly competitive world. It seems that many regulations that we can see in the Czech Republic in the Czech Labor Code do not help either businesses or employees. It has an impact on the Czech labor market, which is inflexible and keeps people unemployed for a long time. We could see this during the pandemic when, for example, the hospitality sector was hit very hard. However, many employees lost their jobs but found it difficult to get them into other sectors of the economy.

Qualified employees get the work they need and where they are needed. A qualified employee will not be afraid to move from company to company - Danes believe in globalization, if they lose their job in Denmark, they will find it somewhere else," said H.E. Søren Kelstrup in his presentation. "Trust between employees and employers is key, negotiations must be approached with respect, competitiveness must be taken into account, and employees must have properly concluded agreements," he added.

„This model can be a good source of inspiration for many EU markets including Czech republic. An open and flexible labor market leads to mobile and flexible employers and brings significant economic and social benefits for everyone," closed the debate Pavel Štern, Director Business for Society.

If you are intested in more details, you can watch the recording in English on our website www.diverzita.cz