Legislative changes affect you as an employee – get an overview of what's new
Several amendments to the Working Environment Act have entered into force from 1 January 2024. "This strengthens workers' rights," says Farah Ali, head of legal affairs at NITO.
Ali is happy about the new legislative changes. "This is a step in the right direction, because the purpose of the changes is to strengthen employees' rights in a changing working life. It is right and important that working life changes in line with societal developments, so this is good news for our members," she says.
Here are the most important changes.
Right to permanent employment after three years
From January, everyone who has been temporarily employed by an enterprise for more than three consecutive years will be entitled to permanent employment.
Previously, the legislation required either three or four years of temporary employment, depending on what was the basis for the temporary employment. After the change, it does not matter what the basis for the temporary employment is.
It is the Working Environment Act §14-9 (lovdata.no) that is amended.
Protection against sexual harassment
The Working Environment Act now specifies that the protection against harassment also applies to sexual harassment.
Although there was no doubt that sexual harassment was covered in the previous provision, the clarification could contribute to companies directing more attention to the preventive work against sexual harassment in the workplace.
It is Section 4-3 (lovdata.no) of the Working Environment Act that is amended.
The safety service is strengthened
The threshold for when a company must have a safety representative is lowered from ten to five employees.
The starting point of the law is that all enterprises must have a safety representative. For enterprises with fewer than ten employees, it has nevertheless been possible to enter into an agreement on a different scheme for participation, but now this possibility only applies to enterprises with fewer than five employees.
If there are more than 30 employees working in your company, a working environment committee must be established. Previously, this has been required in companies with more than 50 employees. If one of the parties so requests, working environment committees shall also be established in enterprises with between 10 and 30 employees.
The safety representative's responsibility is to safeguard the employees' interests in working environment matters. This shall also include hired workers and independent contractors who have a close connection to the enterprise.
The new rules also clarify that the safety delegate must ensure that the psychosocial working environment of the employees is safeguarded.
Sections 6-1, 6-2 and 7-1 (lovdata.no) of the Working Environment Act are amended. In addition , Section 3-7 (lovdata.no) of the Regulations on Organisation, Management and Participation is amended so that it complies with Section 7-1 of the Act.
New definition of who is considered an employee
Who is an employee is now being clarified to make it easier to distinguish between employees and contractors. This is done by including factors that are included in the assessment of the term employee in the Working Environment Act.
In addition, a new provision is introduced stating that an employee relationship exists unless the contracting authority makes it "predominantly probable that an employment relationship exists".
The clarification is important because there are several important rights that follow from the Working Environment Act and associated regulations. This applies, among other things, to the right to sickness benefit, accrual of pension and holiday pay, job protection. These rights only apply if you are categorised as an employee.
One is Section 1-8 (lovdata.no) of the Working Environment Act that is amended.
Extended duty to discuss
It is already the case that the employer must discuss the following with the employee representatives at least once a year:
- The use of part-time
- Temporary employment
- Hiring of labour
The duty to discuss now covers the employer's use of independent contractors and purchases of services from other enterprises that are of importance to staffing. In the discussion, the parties will discuss the basis, scope and consequences for the working environment.
The duty to discuss has been extended to also apply when one of the parties, the employee representatives or the employer, so demands.
Section 14-14 a (lovdata.no) of the Working Environment Act is amended.
Employer responsibility in a group
Employees in enterprises that are part of a group will have their rights strengthened in the event of restructuring and downsizing.
Strengthened protection for employees in groups
In the event of dismissal of employees due to downsizing, the companies must investigate whether there is other suitable work in the other companies in the group. Until today, the employer has only been obliged to offer other suitable work in its own business.
This means that job protection will be strengthened, in that redundancies in one enterprise in a group also affect the ability to make new appointments elsewhere in the group.
Extended preferential rights
According to the new rules, employees who have been dismissed due to downsizing have priority rights in all enterprises that are part of the group.
"These rule changes may be demanding for employers in a transitional phase, but at the same time we must remember that the employer's obligation to offer other suitable work and preferential rights in the event of new employment is an important part of the employee's job protection in the event of downsizing," says Ali
New arrangements for information and discussion
Arrangements will be established for information and discussions between employees and the companies in the group.
If changes are to be implemented that may have a greater impact on employment in several of the enterprises, this must be informed about and discussed as early as possible, including with employee representatives. These may be reorganisations or other measures that may lead to downsizing.
Sections 8-4, 14-2, 14-3, 15-4, 15-7 and 17-3 (lovdata.no) of the Working Environment Act are amended.
Read more: New rules for downsizing in groups