Not all workplaces can turn off the lights and lock the doors when the rest of society goes on holiday. Among other things, in industry, the health sector and the food trade, it is common to engage external labour to cover vacant shifts during holiday periods. Changes to the rules on part-time employees' preferential rights affect how the employer can allocate such shifts.

The employee's right to remain in his position is a distinctive feature of Norwegian labor law and an important factor in termination cases. What consequences does this right have for the employer?

On 1 January 2023, several new rules in the working life area entered into force. Here are some of the most important legislative and regulatory changes that employers and others should be aware of.

On 22 November 2022, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment on the connection between the rules in the Mandatory Wages Act and the rules in the Ship Labor Act on the obligation to pay in case of illness.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion has proposed changes relating to the definition of employee in the Working Environment Act. Among other things, the government proposes that it now should be the business that must prove that the person is not an employee if there is doubt or disagreement about this.

From January 2022, most of the Norwegian Working Environment Act will apply if a foreign company sends one of its employees to work in Norway for more than 12 months. These changes implement EU rules. Here is an overview.

The Supreme Court has clarified that substitute teachers who are employed temporarily due to a lack of qualified personnel are not entitled to a permanent position after three years. The judgment is important for employers in the training sector who are struggling to recruit qualified teaching staff.

In June, the government proposed strong restrictions on the right to hire workers from staffing agencies. It is expected that the proposal will be adopted within a short time. It is now planned that access to hire should not be so narrow for healthcare personnel and certain types of advisers and consultants.

The government's proposal for the National Budget for 2023 – Prop. 1 S (2022–2023) was presented on 6 October 2022. One of the focus areas is measures to promote a serious and well-organized working life.

Atypical working conditions is a topic that receives a lot of attention in EU law. How can it be ensured that this group gets the necessary rights, and who is actually an atypical employee?

When an employee is dismissed, it is not uncommon for the case to end up in the courts. The decisive factor for who wins the case then is the court's assessment of the grounds for dismissal. In the past year, the Supreme Court has handed down several judgments that clarify the requirements for the grounds for dismissal.

Just before the summer kicked in, the Supreme Court handed down a judgment on so-called administrative appointments - i.e., appointments in the state where you can make exceptions to the strict rules in the State Employee Act. What happens when the employer and employee do not agree on how extensive the exemption from the law should be?

What is the situation really like for freedom of speech in Norwegian workplaces? And what should be done so that employees dare to express themselves freely? These are among the questions that the Freedom of Expression Commission is dealing with in the report that was presented during the Arendal Week 2022.

Sometimes you have to stand upright even if you want to lie down and cry. Today we in the Littler family woke up together with the whole of Norway to the news of mass shooting in Oslo with two people killed and 21 people injured. The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism. The police work on the basis of hypotheses that it may be a case of hate crime and / or psychiatry.

The government has proposed amendments to the Working Environment Act to tighten access to hiring from staffing companies and strengthen the right to full-time employment. The bills have been submitted to the Parliament (Stortinget) and will in all probability be passed in the autumn of 2022.