Do you work part-time and often take extra shifts? Norway is preparing changes
Do you have a contract for 50, 60 or 80 per cent employment, but in practice regularly work more? In Norway, extra hours do not always mean overtime and do not always entitle you to a 40 per cent supplement. However, this may change. On 15 September, a report was published on new rules for part-time employees. We explain what applies today and what you should keep an eye on.
Extra hours do not always mean overtime.
MojaNorwegia - Ilustracja AI
This situation is very common in Norway.
For example, you have a 60 per cent position. Someone has fallen ill, there are not enough staff, or there is more work, so your boss asks:
- Can you come in tomorrow?
- Can you take an extra Saturday shift?
- Can you stay a few hours longer today?
- Can you take an extra Saturday shift?
- Can you stay a few hours longer today?
One extra shift turns into another, and after a few months it turns out that you are formally still working part-time, but in practice you have significantly more hours.
Are all these hours overtime?
Not always.
Merarbeid and overtid – what is the difference?
There are two important concepts in Norway.
Merarbeid means additional hours beyond what is stated in your contract, but still within the limits of normal working hours.
Overtid means overtime within the meaning of Norwegian regulations.
In a typical situation, normal working hours should not exceed 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week, although limits may be lower in some professions and working-time arrangements.
Therefore, a person employed, for example, in a 60 per cent position may work more than their contract provides for, but some of those hours will still be treated as merarbeid, not overtid.
This is a common misunderstanding. An employee sees a 60 per cent position in their contract and assumes that every hour beyond that level is overtime. In practice, you need to check not only the employment percentage, but also the number of hours worked, the contract and any collective agreement.
When are you entitled to an additional 40 per cent?
For work classified as overtid, an employee is entitled to at least a 40 per cent supplement to their regular pay rate.
However, this does not mean that a person in a 50 or 60 per cent position receives that supplement as soon as they exceed their contracted hours.
It is also worth checking the contract and the tariffavtale (collective agreement), as more favourable rules apply in some companies.
Example:
You have a contract for a 60 per cent position and, under it, work approximately 22–24 hours a week. In one week, your employer asks you to take several additional shifts, and you ultimately work 32 hours.
As a rule, those additional hours are merarbeid – work beyond the hours stated in the contract, but still within normal working hours. This does not automatically mean entitlement to the statutory 40 per cent supplement.
Overtid only arises after the limit of normal working hours is exceeded.
As standard, Norwegian regulations specify a maximum of:
- 9 hours of work in a 24-hour period,
- 40 hours of work in 7 days.
In some working-time arrangements, such as shift work, night work or rotation schemes, the weekly limit may be lower.
If you do not know whether your additional hours have been settled correctly, also read our guide “Your pay does not add up: how to read a lønnsslipp and when a matter becomes legal”.
Part-time on paper, more hours in practice.MojaNorwegia - AI illustration
Have you been working more for many months? Check the past year
This is where a very important legal provision comes into play.
If, over the past 12 months, you have regularly worked more than your contract states, you may be entitled to an increased position.
Example:
You have a 50 per cent contract, but for most of the year you actually work around 70–75 per cent.
In that situation, you may check whether you have grounds to apply for a larger position.
This is not about a few isolated cover shifts. What matters is whether the additional work was regular and recurring.
If additional shifts occur consistently for many months, it is worth analysing the entire past year. It may turn out that the actual extent of work has long been greater than what is stated in the contract.
An employer may refuse to increase the position if they can demonstrate that the additional need for work no longer exists.
This issue may be particularly important for people working as vikar or ringevikar. We wrote more about such contracts here: “Working as a vikar, ringevikar or through an agency. What rights does an employee have in Norway?”.
Why does Norway want to change the rules?
The current system has been challenged at the European level.
The problem is that a part-time employee often has to work significantly more hours beyond their contract before they begin to receive the overtime supplement.
In other words, a full-time employee reaches the overtime threshold sooner, while a part-time employee must first “make up” the missing hours to reach full-time hours.
Such a solution may lead to unequal treatment of part-time employees.
That is precisely why Norway is working on changing the rules.
The report is ready. But there is no agreement
On 15 September 2026, a special working group submitted to the Norwegian government a report concerning merarbeid and overtid for part-time employees.
The main conclusion?
It was not possible to agree on a single common solution.
Employee and employer representatives differ in their assessment of what the future rules should look like.
The employee side believes that, following rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union, part-time workers should be better protected against unequal treatment when additional hours are settled.
Employer representatives are more cautious and point out that not all European judgments can be directly applied to Norwegian conditions.
The Norwegian government has already begun analysing the report and preparing for further legislative work.
However, this is very important: the new rules have not yet entered into force.
For now, the existing rules on merarbeid and overtid apply.
At the same time, there are increasing indications that the Norwegian system will be changed.
According to estimates presented in connection with the report, the new rules may have significant financial implications for both employees and employers.
Can you already claim money now?
There is no single answer for everyone.
The following may matter:
- the employment contract,
- the tariffavtale (collective agreement),
- the number of additional hours,
- how they were settled,
- the period during which the employee performed additional work.
Therefore, it cannot currently be said that every part-time employee automatically has the right to a 40 per cent supplement for every hour beyond their contract.
At the same time, it is worth reviewing your own situation, especially if the additional hours have occurred regularly over a longer period.
Keep your schedules and lønnsslipp payslips
If you often work beyond your contracted position, do not rely on memory alone.
Keep:
- schedules,
- timesheets,
- lønnsslipp payslips,
- SMS messages and messages from your supervisor,
- information about additional shifts,
- the employment contract and addenda.
These are the documents that may later show how much you actually worked.
In such cases, documentation is extremely important. Schedules, hour summaries and lønnsslipp payslips can show both the actual extent of work and how the additional hours were settled.
When is it worth consulting someone about the matter?
Problems with part-time work often do not begin with a conflict.
First there is one additional shift. Then another. Over time, the employee still has a 50 or 60 per cent position on paper, but in practice works much more.
That is why it is worth knowing when additional hours are merarbeid, when they become overtid, and when regular work beyond the contracted level may provide grounds for increasing the position or making pay-related claims.
If you work part-time and regularly take additional shifts, actually work significantly more than your contract provides for, have doubts about supplements, or your employer refuses to increase your position, contact the law firm Advokatfirma Nierzwicki & Bluszko AS.
The firm assists Poles living and working in Norway, among other things, in matters concerning pay, merarbeid and overtid, increasing employment levels, working-time settlements, dismissals and other issues under Norwegian labour law.
In such a case, the most important evidence may include schedules from the past 12 months, lønnsslipp payslips, working-time records, messages concerning additional shifts and the content of the contract.
The sooner the documents are secured and reviewed, the easier it is to determine whether the employee is entitled to a larger position and whether the additional hours were settled correctly.
Information current as of 16 September 2026.
Advokatfirma Nierzwicki & Bluszko ASAdvokatfirma Nierzwicki & Bluszko AS
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