Selling a business doesn't just affect you as the owner — it affects the employees who've helped build it with you. Badly timed or badly communicated information about a sale can create unnecessary uncertainty, resignations and unrest, exactly when you need stable operations most, ahead of the handover.

What does Danish law require?

If it legally qualifies as a business transfer, you as the seller have a duty to inform and negotiate with employees. They have the right to be told the date, or the planned date, of the transfer, the reason for it, and the legal, economic and social consequences and any planned measures affecting employees — with reasonable notice before the transfer takes place.

If the transfer results in significant changes to employees' terms of employment, they're entitled to notice equal to their own notice period, and can then choose to resign or continue on the new terms. The new owner generally takes over the rights and obligations you, as the seller, had toward the employees — meaning they continue on the same pay and terms as before.

When should you inform employees?

It's a balancing act. Inform too early, while there's no real buyer yet, and you risk unnecessary unrest and possibly resignations before there's anything concrete to react to. Inform too late, and you risk employees feeling overlooked — and important key employees hearing it through rumors before you've told them yourself.

In practice, it usually makes the most sense to wait with the broad communication until a specific agreement is in place, or at least until negotiations have reached a stage where a deal is likely — but the rules in any case require that information is given with reasonable notice before the transfer itself.

How to approach the conversation itself

  • Be honest about what you know — and what you don't know yet. Avoid promising more than you can keep about the future under the new owner.
  • Explain why. A reason employees can understand and accept eases uncertainty far better than silence.
  • Be concrete about the practical side. What changes for employees day to day, and what doesn't?
  • Make room for questions. Both in the group message and individually afterward, particularly for key employees.
  • Inform key employees earlier than the rest, if practically possible and agreed with the buyer — they're often crucial to operations continuing smoothly through the handover.

Why it matters for the deal itself

Unrest among employees can in itself threaten a deal — if the business loses key employees mid-sale-process, it can significantly change the buyer's assessment of the business. Good, timely communication is therefore not just a matter of good leadership, but also of protecting the value of what you're selling.

Read more about the whole process in our guide on how to sell your business in 7 steps, or book a no-obligation call if you'd like sparring on timing and communication.

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