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Employers face fixed SVU repayment deadline plus interest
New SVU guidance: employers must repay overpaid support by the 1st of the month following two months after the demand, with monthly statutory interest and referral to Gældsstyrelsen on default.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 30 September 2026
Employers who pay wages while staff take qualifying adult education can apply for Statens Voksenuddannelsesstøtte (SVU) when employees are absent from work for specified education programmes. The SVU scheme exists to upskill people in employment on the Danish labour market, and support is available where an employee is absent from the workplace in connection with those programmes. When eligibility changes, repayment follows.
If circumstances around the employee change so that the conditions for SVU are no longer met, the employer may no longer qualify and may have to repay SVU already received. A repayment demand follows when the conditions for receiving SVU cease to be fulfilled.Virk
Overpaid SVU must be repaid no later than the first day of the month that follows two months after the repayment demand was made.Virk An employer that receives a demand in February, for example, must repay before 1 May. This deadline mirrors the statutory rule that overpaid SVU is repayable by the first of the month following two months after the demand.
Late payment accrues interest. From the first of the month following two months after the demand, the outstanding debt carries an annual rate equal to the rate under the lov om renter ved forsinket betaling (the Late Payment Interest Act), with interest credited monthly.Virk An instalment arrangement of up to three years in equal amounts can be set, with a longer period only in quite special circumstances, and debt that is not paid on time is passed on to Gældsstyrelsen for collection
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The repayment duty applies where the conditions for support were not met and the recipient knew or should have known this. The conditions include that the person seeking education is at least 25 years old and below state pension age, is employed without public subsidy, is pursuing qualifying education, is actively studying, is registered in the Danish national register or is a Danish citizen (or equivalent), and receives no other public support intended to cover living costs. Employees aged 20 to 24 can receive SVU only for preparatory adult education or special education for adults. Employers of wage earners must also agree leave terms with the employee, who must be in a non-terminated position, covering the return to the workplace after the education period ends or is interrupted.
The practical point for employers is to track eligibility throughout the education period: a change in the employee's situation can trigger a repayment demand with a fixed deadline, monthly interest on late payment, and referral to Gældsstyrelsen if the debt is not settled.
Legal basis: lov om statens voksenuddannelsesstøtte § 16 and SVU-bekendtgørelsens §§ 33-36, via the AUB employer guidance page updated 30 September 2026.
Monitor SVU eligibility for each employee throughout the education period and repay any overpaid amount before the 1st of the month following two months after a repayment demand.