Laws and Policies in Greenland

Employment Contracts in Greenland

Employment is governed by Greenlandic labour legislation and sectoral collective agreements (especially in construction and public services). Much practice is similar to Nordic standards.

Contract Requirements

• Contracts should be in writing, particularly for ongoing or full-time roles.
• Typical content:
  • Employer & employee details
  • Job title, duties, and work location (site / town / offshore / remote)
  • Start date and duration (indefinite or fixed-term)
  • Working hours and schedule
  • Salary and any allowances (site, rotation, travel, housing)
  • Leave entitlement
  • Notice and termination terms
  • Reference to any collective agreement that applies

Types of Contracts

• Indefinite-term (standard for permanent roles)
• Fixed-term (for projects, seasonal work, or time-limited assignments)
• Part-time and casual arrangements

Many sectors (e.g., building trades) are covered by collective agreements that add detailed rules on pay scales, overtime, pensions, and severance.

Your EOR will align contracts with both Greenlandic law and any relevant collective agreement.

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Working Hours in Greenland

There is no single uniform weekly hours law like in some EU countries, but practice and regulation follow Nordic patterns:

• A typical full-time week is around 37–40 hours, similar to Denmark; sectoral agreements may define exact norms.

Under the Greenland Working Environment Act, employers must:

• Organise work so employees have at least 11 consecutive hours of rest in every 24-hour period (can in some cases be reduced to 8 hours, e.g., on shift changes).
• Provide weekly rest days and manage working environment and safety.

Overtime

• Overtime rules and premiums are normally set by collective agreements or the individual contract.
• In many Nordic-style agreements, overtime is paid with a premium (e.g., 1.5x or 2x) or compensated by additional time off, especially for shift and remote-site work.

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Employee Leave in Greenland

Nordic-style leave standards apply, often influenced by Danish practice but with local rules.

Annual Leave

• Employees in Greenland are generally entitled to 5 weeks of paid annual leave (25 days for a standard 5-day week), which aligns with Nordic norms.

Public Holidays

Employees are entitled to paid time off for official Greenlandic public holidays (e.g., New Year’s Day, National Day, Christmas and other Christian holidays).

Sick Leave

• Employees have rights to paid sick leave, but exact duration and pay levels usually depend on:
  • Length of service
  • Contract terms
  • Applicable collective agreement (e.g., construction, public sector).

Maternity / Paternity / Parental Leave

• Greenland generally follows a Nordic model where parents have access to protected maternity and parental leave, often financed partly via public benefits and partly via employer obligations under collective agreements.
• The specifics (weeks and pay) differ by sector and agreement and should always be checked when drafting the contract.

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Employee Benefits in Greenland

Social Security & Employer Contributions

Greenland does not levy classic social security contributions on employees. Instead:

• Employees:
  • No Greenlandic social security contribution on wages.
• Employers:
  • Pay a payroll-based social contribution; recent guidance shows rates around 1.1% of payroll, increasing to about 2.1% from 2025 (may vary with employer type and local rules).

This employer contribution helps finance statutory pension and social schemes.

Pension

Greenland’s pension system includes:

• Statutory pensions (public retirement and disability)
• Labour market pensions (mandatory/collective pension plans for many employees)
• Individual pensions

Collective agreements often require employer pension contributions on top of statutory schemes, especially in skilled trades and unionised sectors.

Typical Additional Employer Benefits

To compete for talent—especially for attracting specialists or expats to remote locations—companies often offer:

• Top-up occupational pension
• Travel, board, and lodging for rotation / project workers
• Private or supplementary health/accident insurance
• Site allowances / hardship premiums
• Relocation assistance for long-term postings

An EOR can standardise these benefits and keep them compliant.

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Payroll & Tax in Greenland

Payroll Currency

• All payroll is normally processed in Danish Krone (DKK).

Personal Income Tax

• Greenland has its own income tax system, separate from Denmark.
• Tax is generally flat or nearly flat at municipal + national rates, with total effective rates often in the low-40% range for ordinary employment income (depending on municipality).
• Residents (typically those who live in Greenland for ≥6 months) are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents are taxed only on Greenland-source income.

Employer Obligations

Employers must:

• Withhold income tax on wages and remit to the Greenland Tax Agency.
• Pay the employer payroll contribution (social security) as mentioned above.
• Report payroll and maintain proper records under tax laws.

There are also special rules (e.g., 35% gross tax for certain construction and airport projects outside towns when workers haven’t been resident for the prior six months), which can be relevant for foreign contractors.

Your EOR handles all these calculations and filings so you don’t need local tax expertise.

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Employment Laws & Compliance in Greenland

Key elements include:

• Greenlandic labour legislation, influenced by Danish and Nordic models
• The Greenland Working Environment Act (health & safety, rest, working environment)
• Collective agreements in major sectors (e.g., construction, public services)

Health & Safety

Employers must:

• Provide a safe and healthy workplace
• Respect rules on rest periods, working environment, protective equipment, and risk assessments
• Take extra care with remote sites (mines, construction camps, offshore/ice work).

Termination & Notice

• Notice periods and severance are set by law + collective agreements + contracts.
• In many Greenlandic/Nordic agreements, notice and severance scale with length of service; for example, some sectoral CBAs grant weeks of wages per year of service as severance, plus special payments to surviving dependants if an employee dies.
• As always in Nordic systems, documentation and fair process are important to avoid disputes.

Non-Discrimination

Employers must avoid discrimination based on:

• Gender, age, ethnicity, religion
• Disability, union membership, or other protected grounds

…and must respect privacy and data-protection principles when handling employee information.