Christmas, New Year, pay, working hours, public holidays
Should you be paid extra for working at Christmas? These are the rules
Time off with pay or working on public holidays? This is what you are entitled to at Christmas time.
Time off or working at Christmas? This is what you are entitled to from your employer.
Hanna Skotheim
Saken oppsummert
foreignworkers@lomedia.no
What are your rights as an employee at Christmas and the New Year weekend?
See the overview here.
Christmas Eve, 24th of December
This year, Christmas Eve is on a Wednesday, and this is more or less a normal working day.
As a general rule, employees are entitled to time off after 3 pm on Christmas Eve, according to the Working Environment Act (WEA).
Some employees are also covered by collective agreements or other agreements with their employer under which they have additional rights.
For example: the right to time off on Christmas Eve or the right to leave work earlier than usual.
However, many workers will not be entitled to time off after 3 pm:
Exceptions from the WEA apply in many occupations where there is a requirement for personnel to be on duty at all times.
Examples include personnel working in the health and care service, transport sector as well as the police and fire services.
Exceptions may also apply in the case of employees of hotels and restaurants.
Many of the people working on Christmas Eve are covered by collective agreements which give them extra pay.
What is a collective agreement?
A collective agreement is an agreement governing pay and conditions.
It applies to a specific industry, for example, hospitality, retail or construction.
The agreements are made between trade unions and employers’ organisations.
If the agreement is to apply in your place of work, it must be signed by the manager.
Collective agreements are often amended during pay rounds.
Sources: The Labour Inspection Authority and the Working Environment Act
Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
25th and 26th of December and the 1st of January are public holidays. The general rule is that employees will not be required to work on these days.
Many employees are in permanent employment and receive a fixed monthly wage. The same monthly amount will be paid into their accounts, even if they have these days off. In other words: time off with pay.
Nevertheless, not everyone is entitled to time off with pay.
People who are not on a fixed monthly wage and are paid by the hour do not have an automatic right to pay on these days off.
Nevertheless: Some will be covered by collective agreements or have other arrangements with their employers ensuring that they have time off with pay on public holidays.
People who work on these public holidays have a right to be paid, of course. However, not everyone gets paid extra for doing so.
If you have to work on a public holiday and are not covered by a collective agreement extra pay. You are entitled to your normal pay, but no more.
If you are employed at a workplace with a collective agreement it will usually have been agreed that employees will receive extra pay for working on public holidays.
Furthermore, it will usually be agreed that working hours on these days will be reduced.
For example: municipal employees receive an increase of 133 per cent an hour for working on public holidays, such as Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Saturday, 27th of December: Is a normal working day, not a public holiday.
Sunday, 28th of December: The same rules apply as on a normal Sunday.
Monday, 29th of December: Is a normal working day, not a public holiday.
Tuesday, 30th of December: Is a normal working day, not a public holiday.
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New Year’s Eve, 31st of December
New Year’s Eve is a normal working day, although employees are entitled to time off after 6 pm.
Here too there will be exceptions from the law in the case of many occupations requiring some personnel to be on duty.
Examples include personnel working in the health and care service, transport sector, the police and fire services. Exceptions might also apply in the case of employees of hotels and restaurants.
Many collective agreements grant workers the right to time off or shorter working hours on New Year’s Eve.
Several collective agreements also grant workers the right to a higher rate of pay for working after 12 midnight.
Sources: LO-advokatene (Christmas 2024) and Lovdata
Translated by Robert Lovering
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This is a news article from FriFagbevegelse, a Norwegian online newspaper about working life and the labor movement.
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