NHO calls for scrapping of agency worker ban in Norway

On 1 April 2023, the rules on hiring workers from staffing agencies were tightened. It became illegal to hire workers for construction jobs at building sites in Oslo and in the counties of Akershus, Buskerud, Østfold and Vestfold.

Read this article in Norwegian on Arbeidsliv i Norden

A new report from the Institute for Social Research (ISF) and the Frisch Centre evaluates the consequences for the labour market during the two years following the reform.

Read the report here (in Norwegian)

The report was financed by NHO.

Project leader Marte Strøm at ISF presented the report’s findings during a breakfast meeting on 16 April. She concluded that the ban has had the following consequences:

• A large fall in the number of staffing agency workers
• The fall is largest in the Oslo area and in the construction sector.
• Staffing agencies have not increased permanent staff numbers but use more overtime and temporary workers.
• Outcomes for former agency workers vary. More are now in permanent jobs outside the agency sector, but more are also in temporary work, self-employed or out of work.

Representatives for the government, NHO and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO were invited to comment on the report. 

NHO’s director of labour relations, Nina Melsom, believes the findings confirm NHO’s view that the ban on agency workers is not working as intended and should be removed. 

She points to the report’s conclusion that the ban has led to more overtime use and more temporary workers. She also says the report shows people who were employed by agencies before the rule change are, overall, overall, less likely to be in work after the reform.

“That’s a shame and says something about how important the staffing industry is for many seeking a way into working life,” says Melsom.

Jonas Bals has been working with agency worker issues and labour market crime in the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions and LO. He believes the report shows that the new regulations do work as intended. 

“I hope the regulations mean that employers who used to hesitate to hire foreign workers in particular, will now do so,” he said.