Ready for some extra help this Christmas? Here are the rules you need to keep track of!

It's Black Week and we're entering the hectic pre-Christmas period. For many businesses, this means more hands at work. Here's a simple overview of the rules to make sure you're on top of your Christmas season help this year.

The main rule: Permanent employment is the standard

In Norway, the main rule is that employees should be permanently employed - i.e. with a secure and predictable workload in the contract. This is easy to achieve for full-time positions and for part-time positions that cover a regular and permanent need for labour.

However, when the need is more fluid - as it often is during the Christmas season - it can be challenging to know how many hours you need the extra help. Although workloads can vary, the Working Environment Act requires you to define how much work there will be, either as a job percentage, number of hours per week or specific days and hours. In other words, you can plan for periods with more work, such as 40 hours a week in November and December and 0 hours the rest of the year.

But note: On-call temps with completely open working hours are not allowed. Everything must be agreed in advance.

Temporary employees - what can you do?

Do you want to employ temporary staff? Then you need a legal basis. Section 14-9 of the Working Environment Act lists the grounds that apply. Here are the most common ones:

• Temporary staff to cover absence, for example due to illness or leave.
• People on labour market initiatives through NAV.
• Work of a temporary nature, covering seasonal work.

It is often clear whether the first two reasons are adequate, but remember that you must write in the contract which basis is used. For example, it should say ‘temporary employee pursuant to section 14-9(2)(b) of the Working Environment Act’ for a temporary worker.

When it comes to seasonal work, such as Black Week and the Christmas season, it will normally fulfil the legal requirements for ‘temporary nature’. But beware - the assessment must be made in each individual case.

Hire from a temp agency? Here's how it works

Do you want to hire people from a temp agency? If so, you need to know that this is essentially only legal for temporary positions, and that there has been a tightening of the regulations in this area over the past year. The Working Environment Act gives companies two options: hire temporary staff themselves or hire from an agency.

The law also ensures that hired workers receive the same pay and conditions as permanent employees at the same workplace. The hiring company may be liable to pay wages and benefits if the agency fails to do so - and as a general rule, the hired worker must have access to social benefits on an equal footing with the other employees.

Remember: Written contracts for everyone!

All employees must have a written employment contract - regardless of whether they are permanent or temporary employees. When it comes to hiring from a temporary employment agency, it is the agency that has the contract with the employee, while the hiring relationship is regulated in an agreement between the company and the agency.

Section 14-6 of the Working Environment Act requires that the agreement contains information about the place of work, job content and salary. In addition, the contract must state the expected working hours and scope. If you employ someone on a temporary basis, the agreement must also say something about why it is temporary.