Temporary staffing
Permanent jobs are the backbone of Norwegian working life. This is being destroyed by the massive use of temporary staffing, zero-hour contracts and involuntary part-time. Therefore we fight for wage security and more permanent jobs, and closely follow the changes in the law that came into force on January 1, 2019.
When is temporary staffing allowed?
When companies have a collective agreement
When it has been negotiated with the elected representatives that temporary staffing is necessary/desired
The elected representatives must consent to temporary staffing. Without an agreement with the elected representatives temporary staffing is illegal
The agreements must now be time-limited to real production peaks
Fellesforbundet has worked on the amendment to the Working Environment Act §14-12 (2) for a long time, and closely follows developments in industries with a large extent of leased labor.
What is temporary staffing from a production company?
Temporary staffing from a production company
When leasing from another production company there are different rules (AML §14-13) than leasing from a staffing agency.
Here are some check points when leasing from another production company.
A production company cannot lease out more than 50% of its employees. If they do, they are regarded as a staffing agency.
The staffing agency must conduct its own production
Only permanent employees in the company can be leased out
Leased from a production company retain the pay they have there. Equal treatment does not apply.
The company that hires in must have an agreement with the elected representatives when they hire in a number of workers that constitutes more than 10% of the employees, or when the temporary staffing is to last more than one year
The staffing company must be able to document whether they hire people from production company
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing
Sometimes the company wishes to outsource parts of a job as outsourcing. Here is a checklist that will make it easier to determine whether it is real outsourcing being carried out, or whether there is an attempt to cover up outsourcing from a staffing agency.
It is outsourcing when:
Subcontractors provide their own employees and the person who leads the work
Performs a task on assignment from a client
Fixed price regardless of time spent
The subcontractor is responsible for the result of the work performed
The subcontractor uses their own materials and tools
It is outsourcing when:
The client leads the work
Specified number of workers at disposal
Hourly price or time-based price
Controls working hours
Undefined or only sketchy tasks
The client retains responsibility for the work performed
The client's materials and tools are used
What is outsourcing of work?
Sometimes the workload is so large that the company wants to outsource part of a job. This must be negotiated with the club. Appendix 14 inThe Building Trades Joint Agreement (FOB)
A draft protocol for outsourcing of work exists HERE
This is the law change
From January 1, 2019 new provisions apply about who is allowed to hire in. Fellesforbundet believes this gives us the opportunity to obtain more permanent hires in the companies, and that it limits the use of leased labor.
It is only companies with nationwide collective agreements that can enter into an agreement on extended leasing from a staffing agency (Arbeidsmiljøloven §14-12 (2)).
What does this mean:
Only entities bound by a collective agreement negotiated with a union with appointment rights will be able to enter into an extended leasing agreement with the elected representatives.
Fellesforbundet collective agreements =nationwide collective agreements
It is no longer sufficient that the company is bound by a so-called «house tariff agreement».
The amendment is not limited to the construction and civil engineering industry, but will apply to all businesses.
This will give our members, via their company club/tillitsvalgt, the possibility to negotiate more permanent hires in the company.
After 01.01.2019 you can no longer be a permanent employee, without pay between assignments. This is directly aimed at those who currently work for a staffing agency.
There will be a clarification of what constitutes permanent employment and new requirements for real scope of positions in the contracts.
What does this mean:
The staffing agencies must tidy up the staffing lists and provide work to employees.
Employee without guaranteed pay will no longer be legal. Permanent employee = fixed salary!
Employees in staffing agencies in part-time positions must know when they are supposed to work.
The workload must be real.