Business News in Brief: No more waiting for holiday money

In other news, a sodden summer has hit Carlsberg and Tivoli’s bottom line, but TDC can’t roll out the same excuse for its decrease in television customers

Ben Hamilton

Nov 2, 2017

A majority in Parliament has approved a new bill that will guarantee workers in Denmark holiday pay from the beginning of their employment.

Currently, workers have to wait until May 1 to access the holiday pay accrued in the previous year – which can result in internationals, the newly-educated or Danes returning from abroad waiting up to 16 months.

Wait to end in 2020
But majority support for the bill from DF, SF, Socialdemokratiet, Radikale and Alternativet means that from 1 September 2020 workers will receive holiday pay during the year it is accrued.

Several trade unions and employer associations applauded the approval of the law, which followed recommendations made by the Ferielovsudvalget committee’s report.

In violation of EU directive
The new law will in the future further safeguard holiday pay for employees and cost employers even more.

In 2014, the EU ruled that Danish holiday rules were in violation of the EU labour directive that stipulates that employees are entitled to four weeks of paid holiday a year.

TDC continues to bleed customers
Telecom group TDC has seen its third quarter turnover fall by 5 percent to 4.962 billion kroner as the number of its cable television customers in Denmark fell by 18,000. Profits were halved compared to the same period in 2016. TDC chief executive Pernille Erenbjerg conceded that the company was losing business to streaming services and that in the future it needed to produce more original content for its YouSee platform.

Fewer opening days hit Tivoli
Tivoli’s third quarter turnover fell by 3 percent to 411 million kroner as the themepark declared a post-tax profit of 64.3 million – a fall of 1.5 percent. The rainy summer resulted in four fewer days of operation. Overall, visitor numbers over the first nine months have fallen from 3.04 to 2.76 million. Nevertheless, guests on average spent more.

Insurance industry adapting to change
Forsikring og Pension is among the organisations impressed by a new trend in the insurance business that offers young customers tailor-made packages that are cheaper than traditional deals. Some 40 percent of young Danes aged 21-24 have no form of insurance, often because they are deterred by the price. Increasingly, though, insurance firms are revising their idea of the model customer to reflect lifestyle changes.

Soggy summer hits Carlsberg
Carlsberg’s turnover fell by 1 percent to 16.7 billion kroner during the third quarter of 2017 as a disappointing summer took its toll on the Danish brewer’s bottom line. Western Europe sales were worst hit by the weather, declining by 800 million kroner to 9.6 billion. However, this was offset slightly by higher beer prices and an improved performance by some of its brands – Tuborg sales rose by 5 percent – and over-the-counter specialty beers, which jumped 34 percent.

Gaming group’s portfolio growing
Danish company Better Collective continues to acquire European betting websites, this time taking over Romanian company PariuriX – its seventh in 2017. Better Collective, a creator of digital platforms for iGaming communities, sees PariuriX, a company founded in 2006 that offers useful information about betting and tips, as a useful addition to its ever-growing portfolio.

Novo Nordisk forecasts muted growth
A landmark decision recently paved Novo Nordisk’s future with gold in the US, but it is forecasting muted growth for 2018, warning that draft legislation in some US states could impact on growth. Despite third quarter revenue of 12.04 billion kroner, the pharmaceutical giant has narrowed its 2017 sales growth forecast from 1-3 percent to 2-3 percent.