The Faroe Islands have a well organised labour market that delivers the human capital necessary to drive a productive and growing economy. It exists alongside the wider welfare system in the Faroe Islands, which provides the economic security and employment benefits needed to support a dynamic workforce and a healthy balance between work and life.
Fairness and prosperity
The collaborative effort of trade unions and employers' associations has shaped the Faroese labour market, making it both fair and efficient.
There are more than 50 trade unions in the country. The trade union movement dates back to the turn of the 20th century and has played a large role in ensuring fair wages, good working conditions and ample employment benefits for the Faroese workforce.
Employers' associations exist to promote legislation and industrial policies that are conducive to a prosperous business climate. They work together to accomplish this through an umbrella organisation based in the House of Industry.
Healthy work-life balance
The Government of the Faroe Islands works together with employers and trade unions to create excellent working conditions that benefit workers, employers and wider society.
A wide range of employment benefits give workers peace of mind, and family-friendly employment regulations help workers maintain a healthy balance between work and home life.
Maternity and paternity leaves
The Faroe Islands has a well-developed parental leave scheme that is funded jointly by employees and employers. After child birth, the initial maternity leave is 14 weeks. Parents then get an additional paid leave of 44 weeks which can be divided between mother and father. Fathers get 4 weeks of paternity leave.
Low-cost childcare
Childcare is widely available at a low cost, both for children under school-age and children in the early school years. This not only enables families to better balance work and childcare responsibilities, but also promotes higher employment rates and reduces gender inequalities in the work force. At least 70% of childcare costs are funded through the tax system, and childcare facilities are staffed by educated child menders. The result is a high-quality and continuously developing childcare system.
Dignified retirement
After a long life in the work force, every worker is ensured a dignified retired life through the old-age pension scheme provided by the Government. A growing number of people also get an employment based pension funded by their employer.
Unemployment support
All workers in the Faroe Islands contribute to the employment service, ALS, which provides unemployment benefits for people out of work. The service also functions as a job centre, and it has the largest database of job vacancies in the Faroe Islands. In addition to providing economic security for people out of work, it also supports people looking for a new job or seeking to re-enter the work force.
