Preferential right in connection with employment
Part-time employees and recently redundant employees are, under certain conditions, entitled to an expanded position or entitled to preferential right to a new appointment at the same enterprise.
Preferential right for part-time employees
Part-time employees have a preferential right to increase their working hours rather than their employer recruit new employees. This preferential right is subject to the condition that the employee is qualified for the position and that exercising the preferential right will not entail any significant disadvantage for the enterprise. The preferential right can also apply to part of a position.
Right to a position corresponding to actual working hours
Part-time employees who have regularly worked beyond their agreed working hours in the past twelve months have the right to a position corresponding to their actual working hours during this period. This does not apply if the employer can document that there is no longer a need for work beyond the agreed hours. Disputes regarding the right to a position corresponding to actual working hours are resolved by the Dispute Resolution Board.
Preferential right following downsizing
Employees who have been made redundant during the past year due to downsizing have a preferential right to a new appointment. This preferential right only applies if the employee is qualified and has been employed by the enterprise for a total of at least 12 months during the past two years. The preferential right applies for a period of one year after expiry of the period of notice. The preferential right does not apply to people who have been employed in temporary cover positions.
The Labour Inspection Authority on preferential right to employment (in Norwegian only)
Preferential rights after downsizing in a group of companies
An employee who has been laid off due to downsizing within the past year has preferential rights to new employment in all entities within the same group of companies. A group of companies refers to a parent company and one or more subsidiary companies. A company is considered a parent company if it has controlling influence over another company due to an agreement or ownership. The preferential right only applies if the employee is qualified and has not declined other suitable work. This preferential right does not apply to employees who were employed in temporary positions
Right to regular employment following long-term temporary employment
In addition to the rules of preferential right, employees have the right to regular employment after working in a temporary position for more than three years.
The Dispute Resolution Board handles disputes where employees invoke the right to regular employment.
