Company claims they don't pay overtime but contract says otherwise. Am I in the wrong?

[Gjest b708f...9a7]

Hi all, I am fairly fresh to working in Norway, and therefore know just the basic laws and regulations for work but not all of them.

I am on working on a rotation contract where I work for 12 hours a day for two weeks (with just the Sunday off) and then I have two weeks off. On my contract it says that I get 50% overstilleg over 50h/week. I work 6x11,5h per week since I have one 30min unpaid break per day so 69h per week. Now from my understanding I should be getting 19 hours of 50% overtime as well as my Saturdays are 100% after 12:00.

My company claims that because I work on rotation I am not eligible for overtime pay and therefore will only get paid for the raw 139 hours I work during the two weeks. Is that correct? And if it’s not does the Saturday overtime stack with the “over 50h per week overtime”?

Help would be greatly appreciated 🙏

P.S Am I allowed to join a union before I get my Fødelsnumber or do I have to wait for it? I only have a D number as of now.

Thank you in advance

Anonymous poster hash: b708f...9a7

[Tussi]

Your employer are correct, the hours  are divided on every week, that is, your work for two weeks are divided unto four, i norwegian we call it "gjennomsnittsberegning" or "calculation of working hours on the basis of a fixed average"

[kremt]

This is quite usual. When working on a rotation basis the hours over 7.5 per day will be saved for use on your spare time so the pay will be equal every second week. So usually work on weekends does not pay overtime. 

[Gjest b708f...9a7]

1 hour ago, kremt said:

This is quite usual. When working on a rotation basis the hours over 7.5 per day will be saved for use on your spare time so the pay will be equal every second week. So usually work on weekends does not pay overtime. 

Thank you for your reply. Does the limit of 50 hours per week not apply to rotational work? The employer does not provide me with accommodation, or transportation. I heard that the law where the average is calculated over 8 weeks is one thing, but is the law where one can only work a maximum of 50 hours per week a separate law that must be followed?

Anonymous poster hash: b708f...9a7

[kremt]

Rotational work have special rules. They have to search to the "Fagforbund" before work can start, and they have to agree on the hours etc. Adjusted for the free time the average work hours per week should be about 37.5. When working rotation the work week can often surpass 80 hours. The 50 hours per week rule is for usual work week where you only have free on the weekends.

No accommodation or transportation included sounds a bit weird. Im sure you can get better terms in one way or another. Maybe check with other companies what they offer and pay.