Act relating to the working environment, working hours and employment protection, etc. (Working Environment Act)

Chapter 1. Introductory provisions

Section 1-1.The purpose of the Act

The purpose of the Act is:

a.to secure a working environment that provides a basis for a healthy and meaningful working situation, affords full safety from harmful physical and mental influences and always has a standard of welfare consistent with the level of technological and social development of society,
b.to ensure sound conditions of employment and equality of treatment at work,
c.to facilitate a satisfactory climate for expression in the undertaking,
d.to facilitate adaptations of the individual employee's working situation in relation to his or her capabilities and circumstances of life,
e.to provide a basis whereby the employer and the employees of undertakings may themselves safeguard and develop their working environment in cooperation with the employers' and employees' organisations and with the requisite guidance and supervision of the public authorities,
f.to foster inclusive working conditions.

Section 1-2.The scope of the Act

(1) The Act shall apply to undertakings that engage employees unless otherwise explicitly provided by the Act.
(2) The following are exempt from the Act:
a.shipping, hunting and fishing, including the processing of the catch on board the ship but such that diving operations and pilotage are covered by the Act,
b.military aviation which is covered by the Aviation Act.

The Ministry may issue regulations concerning exemptions from the Act for civil aviation and state aviation other than military aviation and concerning special provisions for such aviation and concerning the application of the Act for diving operations and special provisions and exemptions for such operations.

(3) The King may issue regulations concerning the provisions of Chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 and concerning the extent to which these provisions shall apply to employees who are subject to the Act of 16 June 2017 No. 67 relating to Civil Servants (the Civil Service Act) or are senior civil servants.
(4) The King may by regulation provide that parts of the public administration shall wholly or partly be exempted from the Act when the activity is of such a special nature that it is difficult to adapt it to the provisions of the Act.

Section 1-3.Offshore activities

(1) The Act shall apply to activities associated with the exploration for and exploitation of natural resources in the seabed or its substrata, Norwegian inland waters, Norwegian sea territory and the Norwegian part of the continental shelf.
(2) The Act shall apply to activities associated with renewable energy production and the offshore conversion and transmission of electrical energy.
(3) The Act shall apply to activities as referred to in the first and second paragraphs in the area outside the Norwegian sector of the continental shelf if this ensues from a special agreement with a foreign state or from international law in general.
(4) The Ministry may by regulation wholly or partly exempt from the Act activities as referred to in the first to third paragraphs. The Ministry may also provide in regulations that the Act wholly or partly shall apply to activities as referred to in the first paragraph in areas outside the Norwegian part of the continental shelf if exploration for or exploitation of natural resources on the seabed or its substrata are conducted from an installation registered in a Norwegian shipping register or if manned underwater operations are carried out from an installation or vessel registered in a Norwegian shipping register. The Ministry may by regulation also provide that the Act shall apply in connection with the movement of installations or vessels as mentioned.
(5) Special provisions may also be laid down in regulations issued pursuant to this section.

Section 1-4.Undertakings with no employees, etc.

(1) The Ministry may provide in regulations that the provisions of the Act shall wholly or partly apply to undertakings with no employees.
(2) The Ministry may provide in regulations that the provisions of the Act shall wholly or partly apply to anyone legally responsible for building assignments or his representative.
(3) Special provisions may be laid down in regulations issued pursuant to this section.

Section 1-5.Work performed at the home of the employee or employer

(1) The Ministry may issue regulations concerning work performed at the home of the employee and the extent to which the Act shall apply to such work.
(2) The Ministry may provide in regulations that the provisions of the Act shall wholly or partly apply to an employee who performs work in the home or household of the employer.
(3) Special provisions may be laid down in regulations issued pursuant to this section.

Section 1-6.Persons who are not employees

(1) The following persons are regarded as employees pursuant to the Act's provisions concerning notification and health, environment and safety when performing work in undertakings subject to the Act:
a.students at educational or research institutions,
b.national servicemen,
c.persons performing civilian national service and Civil Defence servicemen,
d.inmates in correctional institutions,
e.patients in health institutions, rehabilitation institutions and the like,
f.persons who for training purposes or in connection with work-oriented measures are placed in undertakings without being employees,
g.persons who without being employees participate in labour market schemes.

The provisions of this Act concerning notification shall not however apply to persons as referred to in (d). The Ministry may by regulation provide exceptions from the provision laid down in the first sentence.

(2) The provisions of the Act concerning the employer shall apply to a person who allows persons as referred to in the first paragraph to perform work in his undertaking.
(3) The Ministry may issue regulations concerning the extent to which the remaining provisions of this Act shall apply to persons referred to in the first paragraph.

Section 1-7.Posted employees

(1) A posted employee means herein an employee who for a limited period works in a country other than that with which the employment is normally associated.
(2) Posting of an employee shall be deemed to take place when a foreign undertaking in connection with the provision of services:
a.by agreement with a recipient of services in Norway, posts an employee to Norway for its own account, at its own risk and under its own management, or
b.if an employee is posted to a place of business or undertaking in Norway that belongs to the same group, or
c.in the capacity of temporary employment undertaking or another undertaking that makes employees available, posts employees to an undertaking in Norway.
(3) Posting of an employee is also deemed to take place when a Norwegian undertaking in connection with the provision of services posts an employee to another country within the EEA area.
(4) The Ministry may in regulations provide rules concerning which pay and working conditions provided or authorised by statute shall apply to posted employees and provisions necessary for ensuring compliance, including provisions concerning cooperation with the responsible authorities of other EEA member states, protection and compensation in the event of retaliation from the employer, criteria for determining whether a posting is genuine, remuneration for accommodation and documentation requirements.
(5) In connection with cooperation between EEA member states in accordance with regulations issued pursuant to section 1-7, fourth paragraph, and section 18-11, fifth paragraph, of the Working Environment Act​1, information may be provided to the responsible authorities of another EEA member state regardless of any statutory duty of confidentiality.
1i.e. the present Act.

Section 1-8.The employee and the employer

(1) For the purposes of this Act, an employee shall mean anyone who performs work for and is subordinate to another. When determining this, emphasis shall be placed on, among other things, whether the person in question makes their personal labour available on an ongoing basis, and whether the person in question is subordinate through management, leadership, and control. It shall be assumed that an employment relationship exists unless the client shows it to be highly probable that an independent contractual relationship exists.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, an employer shall mean anyone who has employed an employee pursuant to the first paragraph. The provisions of this Act relating to the employer shall apply correspondingly to a person managing the undertaking in the employer's stead.

Section 1-9.Indispensability

This Act may not be departed from by agreement to the detriment of the employee unless this is expressly provided.