Employment and Labour law New Year's cavalcade!
The new year is underway, and we're excited to see what 2025 has to offer in terms of employment and labour law. At Littler, we're pleased to summarise the key takeaways for businesses from the year gone by, as well as give a sneak preview of what's to come.
A fresh start to the year with gender equality and a pension settlement
2024 began on a high note with demands for more than 6,600 new female board members in several of the country's largest businesses by the end of the year. In addition, the Working Environment Act introduced a definition of what constitutes sexual harassment.
During the winter, agreement was reached on a new pension settlement where the retirement age will be adjusted according to life expectancy. Because we all need to work longer. At the same time, disability pensioners received more in their pensions and the minimum benefits in the National Insurance Scheme were strengthened.
Sun, summer and employment contracts
When spring arrived and the buds burst, the Labour Inspection Authority was given the opportunity to impose fines of up to 50 G or 4 per cent of the company's annual turnover. For many businesses, however, it was probably the many new requirements for employment contracts and standard contracts that attracted the most attention.
As many of us felt the warmer weather and the need for more time outdoors, the Supreme Court addressed the employer's duty to offer other suitable work also in the event of dismissals due to the employee's circumstances. For employers, it is therefore important to note that this duty can also apply in such cases.
Gloomy autumn for injured workers
During an otherwise cold and dreary autumn, the Supreme Court didn't have much joy to bring to injured workers. On two occasions, the Supreme Court denied workers occupational injury compensation. Neither the lift engineer, who fainted and hit his head at work, nor the doctor, who injured the foot while working from home, were successful in their claims for compensation. In other words, taking breaks at the home office can be a financial risk.
However, the Supreme Court did offer a small ray of hope: A former firefighter won the case that a health-related consequence of a recognised occupational injury should also be considered an occupational injury. Just before the Christmas holidays, the Supreme Court also issued a clarification on the financial settlement following the misclassification of employees. In the case where three healthcare workers had been misclassified as contractors, the Supreme Court ruled that work more than normal working hours should be considered overtime under the Working Environment Act, and that the healthcare workers' claims for holiday pay in the case were not time-barred.
New year and new opportunities
Hopefully, we will bring both real and artificial intelligence into the new year. In an increasingly complex world, we may well need both. So, it's promising that many employers are well on their way to utilising new digital tools.
New rounds on temporary work regulations
It doesn't take much artificial help to realise that there will be new rounds of temporary work regulations in 2025. Even though the EFTA Court issued its advisory opinion on the temporary work regulations well before Christmas, the only thing that became clear was that nothing has been clarified. We'll probably have to wait until well into 2025 before we get an answer as to whether the Norwegian tightening of the rules is in line with EU law or not.
The government claims that the restrictions on the use of temporary work can be justified by legitimate considerations such as protecting employees and preventing the circumvention of regulations. The staffing companies, however, believe the restrictions violate the rules on freedom of movement and have sued the state for damages.
Both the dispute case before Oslo District Court and an injunction case before Borgarting Court of Appeal were suspended pending the EFTA Court's opinion. It is now up to the Norwegian courts to decide on the legality of the hiring rules. That is, if the judgement is issued before the general election. After this autumn's election, the tightening of the temporary work regulations could be history if Sylvi Listhaug (the Progress Party) and Erna Solberg (the Conservative Party) have their way.
IA agreement up in the air
Although the reluctance was palpable before Christmas, the last word has probably not been said between employment and labour laws’ oldest warriors, LO and NHO. The sick pay scheme is a hot potato among politicians these days, who are ready to take over if the parties fail to reach an agreement. Because one thing is certain: No-one is served by a sickness absence rate that continues to skyrocket.
‘Show me the money’ and other EU requirements
In 2025, there will probably also be more legislative changes because of the EU's many new directives in the field of employment and labour law. It is currently unclear what the Equal Pay Directive will require of Norwegian businesses in terms of reporting and transparency on salaries, but it is safe to assume that the directive will also be implemented here.
The Ministry of Justice's work on the EU's whistleblowing directive is still a long time coming, and part-time employees' right to overtime pay has been a hot topic in the European Court of Justice. In several cases, the Court has concluded that equal overtime rules for part-time and full-time employees may constitute discrimination against part-time employees. This poses a challenge to the Norwegian standard working day and may lead to legislative changes.
It is possible that there will also be changes to the Holiday Act, after the system for earning holiday pay has been investigated. It is unclear whether Norwegian accrual of holiday pay is in line with the EU Working Time Directive. The EU's new Due Diligence Directive from 2024 could also lead to changes in Norway. In future, larger companies may have to carry out due diligence assessments related to the environment, in addition to human rights and decent working conditions.
Employee status on trial
Temporary contracts are a recurring feature of employment and labour law, and 2025 is no exception. The proposal that so-called practical work should only apply to those in an educational programme is out for consultation. And while we're about employees, it's only to be expected that the new presumption rule in the Working Environment Act will be tested in the courts on more employees than ever before. With the new platform directive from the EU, platform workers, such as those at Foodora and Wolt, will probably also have their status challenged.
In other words, 2025 has a lot of exciting things coming up. Whatever changes and opportunities the year brings, Littler looks forward to continued collaboration and wishes you and your businesses all the best in 2025.
