Stine Bjørnstad

The end of a calendar year is approaching. In this connection, several questions often arise regard-ing any remaining holiday days and in some cases also the payment of holiday pay.

On February 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a decision that helps to clarify the scope of an employer's duty to exempt an employee from night shifts if the individual needs this for health, so-cial, or other significant welfare reasons. The case concerned the employee's claim to retain their job, without night shifts.

Safety representative arrangements are a crucial part of companies' efforts to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of employees. Chapter 6 of the Working Environment Act contains a duty to appoint safety representatives, and currently, exceptions to this duty are only permitted in busi-nesses with fewer than ten employees. From January 1, 2024, the scope of the safety representa-tive arrangement will be expanded.

In recent years, there have been several proposed and implemented changes to the Working Environment Act, including stricter regulations on hiring, especially with regards to temporary employment. On June 16th, the government presented proposals for new changes, covering the use of trial periods, the right to written justification statements if part-time or temporary employees request more predictable and secure working conditions, as well as the requirements for written employment contracts and the consequences of deficiencies in these contracts.

On May 25, 2023, the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion decided to implement an approval scheme for temporary employment agencies. The approval scheme is an extension of the tightening of access to hiring labor from staffing agencies, which came into effect on April 1, 2023. 

Until July 1st, businesses should review their agreements to determine if any changes need to be made.

The Norwegian labour authorities have tightened the rules for hiring workers from temporary employment agencies.