Last week 29 staffing firms in Norway sent a petition to the Oslo District Court for a temporary injunction and they are suing the state at the Ministry of Labour and Inclusion over new hiring rules set to come to force in July, reports Dagsavisen (translated as The Daily Newspaper). The companies believe the rules violate an EEA (European Economic Area) Agreement. Managing director Heine Aardalen of staffing firm Stolt said, “In the petition, we demand that the new hiring rules should not come into force until a Norwegian court has decided with final effect whether the change in laws and regulations is in line with the EEA agreement.” The construction industry has protested against the ban, which they believe is ill-advised. It was reported that 1,200 permanent employees have lost their jobs in staffing companies. Staffing firm Sonar compared the hiring ban to an earlier case where it was found that Norwegian authorities broke EEA rules.

From 1 January 2023, a new rule strengthening employees’ right to full-time employment entered into force. This legal development was covered in in SIA’s Europe Legal Update Q1 2023 by Fiona Coombe, Director, Legal & Regulatory Research at SIA. Norway’s parliament and the government adopted these regulations. According to the regulation, from 1 April 2023 (with a transition period until 1 July), it will generally no longer be permitted to hire workers from staffing companies for work of a temporary nature. Employers can only hire workers as temporary replacements for another person or persons. It will still be possible to hire temporary agency workers for a limited period provided the business is bound by a collective agreement entered into with a trade union which has the legal right to object and has agreed to the hiring.