Skrevet af
Registration of working hours – changes to the Executive Order on Rest Periods etc. submitted for consultation
Draft amendments to the Executive Order on Rest Periods and the Executive Order on Systematic Working Environment Work have been submitted for consultation. Among other things, it is proposed to align the exemption for the so-called self-organisers.
Skrevet af
Christian Thorborg Pedersen
Forfattere
Earlier this year, the Parliament passed a bill amending the Working Time Act which, among other things, introduced a requirement to register employees’ daily working hours. Our article about the bill can be read here.
Employees who are exempt from the rules of the Working Time Act on maximum weekly working hours (the 48-hour rule), night work and daily breaks in accordance with the new exemption for self-organisers, and who are also exempt from the 11-hour rule and the rule on weekly rest days under the Executive Order on Rest Periods, are exempt from the requirement to register working hours. Currently, the conditions for exempting an employee as a self-organiser under the two sets of rules are not identical, but it is proposed to align these conditions.
Draft amendments to the Executive Order on Rest Periods and Rest Days etc.
In the draft amendments sent out for consultation, the Ministry of Employment proposes to align the conditions for exemption as a self-organiser from the 11-hour rule and the rule on weekly rest days under the Executive Order on Rest Periods with the conditions for exemption as a self-organiser under the new rule for self-organisers in the Working Time Act. If the new executive order is issued without changes, the following conditions for exemption as a self-organiser will thus apply to both sets of rules:
An employee can be exempted if
1) the length of the employee’s working hours cannot be measured or determined in advance, or the employee can organise their own working hours; and
2) the employee can make independent decisions, or the employee performs managerial functions.
If the employee can be exempted as a self-organiser under these conditions, the employee will thus also be exempt from the requirement to register working hours.
In both sets of rules, it is a condition that the general principles regarding the protection of employees’ health and safety can be observed regardless of the exemptions.
The draft amendments also aim to adapt the rules on rest periods to recent case law from the ECJ and the Danish courts, so that 1) on-call shifts at the workplace cannot constitute rest periods, 2) on-call shifts outside the workplace cannot constitute rest periods under certain circumstances, and 3) compensatory rest periods must be taken immediately following the work periods that trigger the right to compensatory rest periods.
Draft amendments of the Executive Order on Systematic Working Environment Work
The Executive Order on Systematic Working Environment Work contains rules on what must be included in the collaboration on health and safety in the workplace. It is proposed to add a requirement for employers to ensure that information on rest periods based on the working time registrations to be made from 1 July 2024 must be included in the collaboration on health and safety in the workplace. This collaboration is organised in different ways depending on the size of the company.
The draft amendments do not provide conditions for how the information should be included in the working environment work. For example, if the employer has opted for a system for recording working hours where only the total daily working hours are registered (as opposed to the time of day at which the work is performed), it may be limited what insight the working time registrations will provide into the rest periods taken.
Effective date and process going forward
It is proposed that the new executive orders will take effect on 1 July 2024, i.e. at the same time as the amendments to the Working Time Act regarding the registration of working hours, exemption for self-organisers and the possibility for collective agreements to opt-out of the 48-hour rule in relation to on-call shifts.
Norrbom Vinding will follow the consultation process and provide updates when there is more information about the new executive orders.
The content of the above is not, and should not be a substitute for legal advice.
Forfattere
Extended leave for twin parents – bill adopted
The Parliament has adopted the bill implementing the political agreement on 13 weeks of additional leave with parental benefits for twin parents and adoptive parents.
In, or not in, fertility treatment?
An employee who was planning to undergo fertility treatment but had not yet started the treatment was not covered by the special protection against dismissal in the Equal Treatment Act.
No collective agreement, no shop steward – judgment by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently upheld the Eastern High Court’s ruling establishing that a shop steward’s function ended at the time of a business transfer because the transferee had renounced the collective agreement.
Change in maternity leave terms gave rise to compensation
A pregnant employee was entitled to compensation under the Equal Treatment Act as a result of a material change to her maternity leave terms even though she had not left her position.
Adjustments to occupational schemes under the Aliens Act – bill submitted for consultation
A draft bill to simplify certain occupational schemes under the Aliens Act – including the requirement for a Danish bank account – has been sent out for consultation. The rules are expected to take effect on 1 July 2024.
Registration of working time – bill adopted
The bill, which introduces a requirement for registration of working time for each individual employee and provides the opportunity to derogate from the 48-hour rule for certain employees, has been adopted.