CMNT_TITLE

Part IV of the Convention. Unemployment benefit. The Committee notes that, according to the rules on the readiness and availability of jobseekers to take up offered employment laid down in the Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended by the Act No. 1035 of 17 December 2002, unemployed persons shall be available for reasonable work from the first day of unemployment (previously after three months of unemployment); the term "reasonable" meaning work which may be outside the occupational field of the unemployed person. Pursuant to section 63 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, benefit shall not be paid to persons who without adequate reasons refuse to take up "reasonable employment" offered to them. In its XVII-1 Conclusions concerning the application by Denmark of Article 12(3) of the European Social Charter, the European Committee of Social Rights "considers the new rules on availability to be very stringent, virtually compelling unemployed persons on pain of loss of benefits to accept a job regardless of the occupational field from the first day of unemployment. The Committee holds that one of the aims of an unemployment benefit system is to offer unemployed persons adequate protection during at least an initial period of unemployment from the obligation to take up any job irrespective of occupational field, precisely with a view to giving them the opportunity of finding a job which is suitable taking into account their individual preferences, skills and qualifications. However desirable it may be for the labour market authorities to channel surplus workforce into areas with labour shortages, unemployed persons should be treated with due respect for their professional, social and family status and not as ordinary labourers, physically and mentally fit for any job".

The Committee shares the preoccupations expressed by the European Committee of Social Rights. It points out that Part IV of the Convention is based on the concept of "suitable employment", which ensures that at least during the minimum period of protection of 13 weeks provided for in Article 24 of the Convention unemployed persons shall be offered jobs with due regard, inter alia, to their skills, qualifications, acquired experience and length of service in the former occupation - the criteria normally used in assessing the suitability of employment - and that in no case covered by Article 20 (in relation to Article 69(h) of the Convention) their benefit could be suspended for refusal to accept a job unsuitable in this respect. The Committee would like the Government to indicate in its next report how effect is given to these provisions of the Convention and to supply a translation into English, if available, of the following legislation:

n  the latest consolidated version of the Unemployment Insurance Act;

n  Notification (No. 1194 of 2002) to amend the Notification respecting availability (No. 1353 of 2000) (Lovtidende A, 2002-12-19, Vol. 177, No. 1194, pp. 8488-8490);

n  Notification (No. 516 of 2003) respecting availability (Lovtidende A, 2003-06-27, Vol. 93, No. 516, pp. 3279-3284); and

n  Notification (No. 731 of 2003) respecting availability for persons applying for or benefiting from daily cash benefit or starting assistance exclusively due to unemployment (Lovtidende A, 2003-08-29, Vol. 120, No. 731, pp. 4779-4783).

In addition, to assess the practical effect of the new rules on availability of jobseekers, the Government is asked to explain the practice followed and to supply a copy of the internal guidelines of the employment service in making offers of "reasonable employment" to the jobseekers, as well as in determining whether the person concerned has a reasonable ground for refusing such offer, indicating in particular to what extent account is being taken of the person’s acquired professional and social status, or his personal and family situation in case the job offered implied a change of residence. Please also supply the statistical information on the number of cases in which unemployment benefit was suspended due to refusal to accept the job offered for the whole period since the entry into force of the new rules in 2002.