Port of Grenaa entered into a partnership with InterForce, which is part of the Danish Defense Command and works with companies across the country to ensure that employees can take time off from their civilian jobs to serve in uniform.
Under this new partnership, employees at the Port of Grenaa who are members of the Danish Armed Forces’ reserve forces, the Home Guard, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, or the Coastal Rescue Service will now be eligible for up to five days of paid leave per year for training or duty in uniform.
At Grenaa Port, the new partnership with Interforce is seen as a natural part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. Port employees already have the opportunity to participate in volunteer activities—such as serving as emergency responders and blood donors—even during working hours.
“InterForce contacted us to ask if we were interested in partnering with them—and we had no doubt that we wanted to. We see this as an obvious opportunity for us, as a company and a workplace, to contribute to emergency preparedness and take active social responsibility in the turbulent times we live in,” says Henrik Carstensen, Director of Grenaa Port, and elaborates:
“We don’t know exactly how many of our employees are part of the reserve force and could therefore be called to duty during working hours. But now the opportunity is there. Through this partnership, we’re making it clear that we support them—and perhaps this will encourage more employees to get involved in the Home Guard, for example.”
As part of the new partnership, Reserve Major Per Bøch Andersen, who serves as InterForce’s regional ambassador for the Central Jutland Region, presented an InterForce shield to the Port of Grenaa.
What is InterForce?
InterForce is an organization under the Defense Command that works to build support within the civilian sector for Denmark’s defense and emergency preparedness.
The organization works with companies across the country to ensure that employees can take time off from their civilian jobs to serve in uniform—either as reservists in the Armed Forces or as volunteers in the Home Guard, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, or the Danish Coast Guard.
These operations can range from training and search-and-rescue missions at sea to national emergency response operations, disaster relief efforts, and international missions.
Photo: From left: Director Henrik Carstensen, InterForce Regional Ambassador for the Central Jutland Region Per Bøch Andersen, and CAO Mette Klit.
