Where are the rules about your working hours?

In your employment contract must be stated, among other things, what your working hours are.

Working hours are also regulated

• in the Working Hours Act where it is missing collective agreement
• in the Work Environment Act and the regulations on the organizational and social work environment
• in the working time agreements where there is a collective agreement

Working hours according to the Working Hours Act

The Working Hours Act primarily regulates the length of working hours, ie regular working hours and overtime, as well as rest periods – breaks in working hours, such as breaks, breaks, 24-hour and weekly rest.

In the Working Hours Act, for example, there are rules that say how long a 24-hour rest period you must have and how much overtime you may work. Ordinary working hours are a maximum of 40 hours per week.

You are entitled to a schedule at least two weeks in advance and the employer must keep notes of on-call time, overtime, and extra time. The total working time (ordinary working time and overtime) may not exceed 48 hours per week on average over four months.

All employees must have at least eleven hours of night rest (continuous leave) every day and at least 36 continuous hours of weekly rest without standby time each week. The Working Time Act also gives the right to breaks and breaks. You may work a maximum of five consecutive hours without a break. How Long Is One Business Day?

• Rest and break

Compensation for work outside normal working hours is not regulated in the Working Hours Act

Please note that the Working Time Act does not contain any rules on the right to receive extra pay. Collective agreements contain rules on compensation for, for example, overtime work, on-call, and standby. If there is no collective agreement at your workplace, you must agree with your employer about compensation yourself.

Working hours according to the regulations on the organizational and social work environment

In the section on working hours in the Swedish Work Environment Agency’s regulation called Organizational and social working environment (AFS 2015:4) it appears that the employer must do what is necessary to ensure that the arrangement of working hours does not lead to ill health among the employees. The regulations, which are often abbreviated OSA, give the club opportunities to try to prevent negative effects that can arise, among other things, from more flexible working hours.

Availability outside regular working hours and outside the workplace

Being able to work almost anywhere and anytime can be convenient, but sometimes this becomes a problem. The requirements for accessibility look different in different workplaces. To make it clear what applies, it can be good to have an email and mobile phone policy in the workplace that regulates when you are expected to be available to your colleagues.

• This is how you can work with accessibility in your workplace

Working hours according to a collective agreement

Collective agreements regulate what constitutes regular working hours and what constitutes overtime in the industry, as well as how work beyond regular working hours is compensated. Ordinary working hours for officials is a maximum of 40 hours per non-holiday week according to most collective agreements, but it is common with company agreements with shorter working hours.

Collective agreements also regulate which compensation applies to overtime work, on-call time, and standby as well as work at inconvenient working hours.

• Overtime
• Duty hours
• Preparedness
• Work at inconvenient working hours

Working hours without a collective agreement

Agree with your employer on the length of your normal working day and how it is laid out before you sign your employment contract if there is no collective agreement at your company.

Also, agree on which overtime compensation and compensation for inconvenient working hours you receive before working overtime at a company that does not have a collective agreement.

Influence working hours

Talk to your manager or supervisor in the first instance if you experience problems connected to your working hours. Your manager or supervisor has an obligation to investigate and remedy or prevent the health risks that exist. Refer to the Work Environment Act, the regulations on the organizational and social work environment, and the Working Hours Act. You can also contact your work environment representative(protection agent) or the Union for Support and Assistance.