Easter is just around the corner. Then many Norwegians travel to the mountains to ski and enjoy a Quick Lunch in the sun wall.
But not everyone has the opportunity to take the entire Easter week off. Some of us also have to work as usual. Then the usual question arises: What rules apply to working hours?
Because while Monday and Tuesday after Palm Sunday are normal working days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, 1st and 2nd Easter Sunday are red days, the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday and Easter Eve can be a little special.
Easter Eve is not a public holiday.
– Drop this
No requirement for a half (Wed.) day
Simployer’s employment lawyer Camilla Schie-Veslum says that the Wednesday of Easter week is basically a normal working day for employees who work during the day.
– If you work normal working hours from 8am to 4pm, you are not entitled to go home earlier on the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday, based on the Working Environment Act. According to the law, there must be no work from 6pm on the day before Sundays and weekends. This means that if work is to be done after 6pm this Wednesday, the conditions for Sunday work must be met, explains Schie-Veslum in a press release.
For you with regular office work, work will not be permitted after 6pm on the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday, unless “the nature of the work makes it necessary”.
– Some collective agreements give the opportunity to quit at 12 o’clock on the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday, without a reduction in salary. Others may have an agreement to stop at, for example, 1 or 2 p.m., so here you have to check the agreements that apply to the specific business, says Camilla Schie-Veslum.
At the same time, she asks people to be aware that the opening hours in shops are regulated by the Act on public holidays and there are different rules here than in the Working Environment Act.
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What about Easter Eve?
The same rules apply to Easter Eve as on Christmas Eve and Whitsunday, which are also not red days. According to the Working Environment Act, however, it must be free from 3 p.m.
– This means that work after 3pm on Easter Eve is regarded as Sunday work. Thus, it is only permitted to work if the nature of the work makes it necessary, says Schie-Veslum.
And remember: the shops close at 4pm on Easter Eve, and don’t open again until Tuesday morning.