Working Hours Regulation in Collective Agreements

Nation-wide industrial organisations have wide powers to agree upon exceptions to the regular working hours provided by the Working Hours Act. According to the Working Hours Act, a non-organised employer is also entitled to comply with all provisions in respect of regular working hours in the applicable generally binding collective agreement. The employer is entitled to do this even when the provisions in the agreement are less favorable to the employee than those set out in legislation. Most collective agreements provide that the maximum of 8 hours for regular daily working hours is not applicable.

Collective agreements may also give companies wider powers to locally agree the working hours within the company.

It is advisable to take a closer look at the applicable collective agreement when considering the working hours within a company.