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Over 36,000 entrepreneurs have sought financial aid

Nathan Walmer
April 16th, 2020


This article is more than 4 years old.

Still standing strong … mostly (photo: Pixabay)

The compensation scheme for small businesses and the self-employed, set up as part of a series of coronavirus relief initiatives passed on March 19, has already had more than 36,000 applicants.

According to the Danish Business Authority, 36,066 self-employed and 332 freelancers have so far submitted applications for financial assistance to cover the period from March 9 to June 8.

The company must have been established by March 9 in order to be eligible for compensation.

Seen as a positive
The business minister, Simon Kollerup, sees the enormous wave of applications from desperate entrepreneurs as a positive development.

“This applies not least to the self-employed and freelancers who have been severely affected by the fact that the streets are empty and the orders do not flow at the same pace as before,” he said.

“Some may have even lost their income from one day to the next. I know many carry a heavy burden, which is why I think it is incredibly positive to see the government’s compensation scheme being used.”

Financial requirements
The government scheme allows small businesses and the self-employed who have experienced a fall in revenue of 30 percent or greater to receive compensation for 75 percent of their lost revenue.

However, there is a maximum of 23,000 kroner per month in compensation for the self-employed. The self-employed person must also have a maximum of 10 full-time and employees, along with a personal income not exceeding 800,000 kroner in 2020.

Other initiatives
The scheme has not been the only initiative aimed at supporting small businesses and the self-employed passed during this time period.

Other coronavirus relief measures have included the deferral of VAT and taxes, loan guarantee schemes, salary compensation and compensation for fixed costs.


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Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”