Temporary employment

Sometimes additional workers are needed, such as

• periods with peak demand or periods when the workload cannot be predicted
• situations when there is an electronic disruption, which means you need more workers quickly to avoid negative consequences for production, goods or services

Seasonal fluctuations include

• the harvesting of fruit, berries and vegetables, and the processing of these goods in the food industry
• increased demand for waitstaff during the summer season
• increased demand for customer service staff in connection with Christmas
• when the tourism industry need additional workers during peak seasons

Sometimes an enterprise might have a temporary need for expertise that does not exist in-house, and the work this expertise is needed for is different from the type of work the enterprise normally performs.

One example of needing specialised expertise is when a carpentry enterprise needs an electrician for a limited time.

One condition for using temporary employment for project work is that the work must be time-limited and not part of the enterprise’s normal or regular work. If you have many similar projects one after another, your need may not be temporary in nature. If that is the case, the employee must be appointed on a permanent basis.

• Trainee work – Trainees work as part of their education. Typical examples of trainee work are apprentice and apprentice candidate in a training company and physicians who are doing their residency period. The training an employer is supposed to provide new employees with when they start a new job does not constitute trainee work according to the law.
• Labour market schemes organised by or in collaboration with NAV. The condition is that this is work that could help the employee enter or return to the workforce.
• Some appointments in sports, such as athletes, coaches, referees and other managers in organised sports
• Some appointments in the arts, research or sports, where a collective agreement has been established between a national labour union and the employer.
• Fixed-term contracts for executive staff at the top administrative level of an organisation.

An employee may be entitled to permanent employment if they have been appointed to a temporary position when you do not have a temporary need for labour.

In some situations, the employee and the employer may disagree on whether or not the employee is entitled to permanent employment. When that happens, the employee must initiate legal action and demand permanent employment. A court will then determine whether or not the temporary appointment was lawful or unlawful. If the employee’s temporary appointment was unlawful, the court could decide that the temporary employee is entitled to permanent employment. The employee can also initiate legal action after the temporary employment has ended.

For temporary appointments made after 1 January 2024, a time-limit of three years applies for work of a temporary nature

Employees who are temporarily appointed after 1 January 2024 on grounds that the work is of a temporary nature, such as seasonal work or short-term and clearly limited periods of peak demand, are, like all other temporary employees, entitled to permanent employment if their employment period is longer than three years.

For temporary appointments made before 1 January 2024, a time-limit of four years still applies for work of a temporary nature

For employees who were temporarily appointed prior to 1 January 2024 on grounds that the work is of a temporary nature, a maximum time-limit of four years still applies. The employee is entitled to permanent employment if the employment period is longer than four years.

The temporary employment ends when the agreed employment period ends. If you need to extend the employment period for a short period, this must be agreed in writing as a supplement to the original employment contract. The employment period as a whole, including the extension, must not exceed the statutory maximum time limit, or it will not longer be considered temporary.

If an employee has small gaps between several temporary appointments in the same enterprise, the appointment could be interpreted as continuous. If it is clear that the employer has implemented a gap between appointments just to circumvent the three-year time limit, the employee could be entitled to permanent employment. This will be up to a court of law to decide.

If a trial period is implemented for a temporary appointment, the trial period cannot be longer than half of the employment period.

When assessing how long an employee has been employed, deductions will not be made for any periods of absence. Absences could refer to sick leave or other types of leave.

The temporary employment ends when the agreed employment period ends. If a temporary employment is to be terminated before the employment period ends, the ordinary rules concerning resignation and dismissal apply.