Who are we

About Gymnasielærerne

The Danish National Union of Upper Secondary School Teachers, GL, was founded in 1890.

GL organises teachers in the general Upper Secondary Schools in Denmark and all of our members have a university degree.

GL is the trade union representing teachers and leaders in upper secondary education with the purpose of:

• promoting members’ collective and individual interests in working life, and

• strengthening upper secondary education programmes.

GL negotiates salaries and employment terms on behalf of our members and provides advice on these matters. We also offer individual assistance and play an active role in the public debate on education – engaging with the Ministry, Parliament, schools and other relevant stakeholders.

The Danish Upper Secondary Education System

The general Upper Secondary School system comprises below institutions, all with their own profile:

• The Gymnasium (3 years)

• HF (Higher Preparatory Education, which is taught either for 2 years at Gymnasium schools or at separate adult education centres, VUC)

• HHX (Higher Commercial Examination) (3 years)

• HTX (Higher Technical Examination) (3 years)

Examination from above schools all gives access to further studies at university level.

HHX and HTX, taught at technical Gymnasiums, also prepare for professional activities in the private sector.

Regulations for General Upper Secondary education are regulated on a national basis with a nation-wide set of curriculum and national exams laid down by the Danish Parliament/Ministry of Education.

Danish Upper Secondary Schools are public independent institutions (private foundations) yet with full public financing. Approximately 13 per cent of the general Upper Secondary Schools are private schools, however all subsidised by the state with 86 per cent public funding. (Private schools follow the same national curriculum as public schools and the teachers have the same qualifications, salary and working condition as those employed in the public schools).

Teacher qualifications and working conditions

Competence to teach in the Danish Upper Secondary Schools presupposes a university degree: main subject plus thesis (i.e. a master’s degree or above) in a subject relevant to the schools. The majority of teachers also have a relevant subsidiary subject at university level.

Within the first year of employment in the general upper secondary schools the graduate must complete a professional postgraduate teachers’ training programme (full salary paid) where the graduate for a year must teach under supervision, teach own classes, and follow theoretical pedagogic courses.

Conditions of the planning of the teachers' working hours are laid down in the Collective Agreement. The Collective Agreement states the overall basic conditions at a national level, whereas the local conditions are negotiated at the school.

An increasing number of economic and administrative decisions are decentralised to the schools. The principal decides on the planned workload of the individual teacher and how much time to allocate for preparing lessons and correcting students' assignments. Teachers register their actual time workload and can ask for adjustment in workload or claim overwork compensation in adjustment is not made. Our local union representatives will negotiate with the principals regarding approximately 6 per cent of the salaries. There are no negotiations between the individual teacher and the principal regarding salary.

Teachers have the same working hours as are generally applied to the Danish labour market: 1,924 hours per year including holidays (37 hours in 52 weeks). For teachers at the non-vocation schools (Gymnasium/HF/VUC) each lesson of 45 minutes counts approx. 1,5-2 hours when working hours are added up on a yearly basis. The actual formula is decided by the local principal. Teachers are allocated separate time to correct the students papers - in total up to 15-20 per cent of the teachers workload, depending on subject.

The organisation

GL's bylaws and constitution can only be changed by Committee of Representatives

GL cooperates with Danish as well as international organisations of teachers, of pupils, cultural- and governmental institutions etc.​