On Friday afternoon, all part-time employees in Vestby received an email from the municipality's HR chief. The email stated that part-time employees must sign an agreement if they want the opportunity to work extra hours as needed. According to the municipality, the email described the agreement as a way to ensure predictable frameworks for both employees and the service.
Chief Municipal Officer Sjur Authen explains the agreement by saying they fear wage costs if part-time employees also receive overtime pay from the first krone, as an EU ruling states. He says, 'KS is concerned that it will become more profitable to work part-time. ' Sjur Authen says more than one in three municipal employees work part-time.
KS is concerned that it will become more profitable to work part-time. And I share that concern.
They now want those with low work percentages to sign a separate contract for extra work. However, Lill Sverresdatter Larsen, leader of the Norwegian Nurses Association, says the agreement is perceived as trickery. She states, 'It is perceived as trickery,' and adds, 'For me, it appears at best as impolite, and at worst it is a type of fraud.
Part-time employees do not need to sign any agreement. ' Lill Sverresdatter Larsen believes that signing the agreement effectively waives the right to overtime pay and back pay. The conflict is due to the distinction between extra work, which is compensated with regular hourly wage, and overtime, which includes a higher supplement.
I relate to KS and follow their recommendations.
Trade unions believe this distinction is discriminatory. The EU ruling is based on the principle that if a part-time and full-time employee do exactly the same job beyond planned working hours, it is discriminatory that only full-time employees receive overtime supplements. The ruling has been appealed and is not legally binding.
The Norwegian Nurses Association and several other trade unions are actively working to ensure the EU ruling becomes applicable law in Norway. They have announced a mass lawsuit to demand overtime pay from the first extra hour for part-time employees. A recent case in Søndre Østfold District Court involved André Kaldal, who for four years took as many extra shifts as he could at Coop Bygg in Sarpsborg to survive on a low position percentage.
The ruling was a historic victory for the country's part-time employees.
All these hours were compensated with ordinary extra work pay, not overtime. The district court ruling establishes unlawful differential treatment and shows that the practice violates the EU Part-time Work Directive. The ruling also awarded Kaldal over 200,000 kroner in compensation.
Stian Sigurdsen, director of Society at Virke, says the case where a part-time employee won a claim for overtime supplements for extra work is a disappointing and surprising result. ' On Friday afternoon, Stian Sigurdsen confirmed to NRK that the case is being appealed. He says all who have complied with the rules set by the authorities risk having to pay compensation for following the rules.
Yesterday, NHO asked members to drop extra work for part-time employees as a result of the ruling. Nina Melsom, director of Working Life and Tariff at NHO, said that as long as the employee side continues to advance lawsuits with extensive compensation claims, NHO sees itself forced to advise its companies against using part-time employees for extra shifts or extra work. Christopher Beckham, leader of the Trade and Office Workers Union Norway, said the ruling was a historic victory for the country's part-time employees.
He was critical of NHO's recommendation to cover labor needs through hiring. According to figures from Statistics Norway, over 27 percent of Norway's wage earners work part-time. The authorities have now set up a committee to clarify the Norwegian regulations.
The specific content of the agreement that Vestby municipality wants part-time employees to sign has not been disclosed. How many part-time employees in Vestby have been affected by this new requirement is also unknown.