The Supreme Court of Norway has, for the first time, considered whether an employee holds a \u201cparticularly independent position\u201d and is therefore exempt from the working time rules in Chapter 10 of the Working Environment Act. The Supreme Court takes as its starting point the wording of the Act and the statements in the preparatory works that the exemption for a \u201cparticularly independent position\u201d is intended to cover employees who do not have managerial functions but who nonetheless hold senior positions with significant responsibility. According to the preparatory works, it is not sufficient for the employee to control their own working hours or to have flexible working hours. The employee must also be able to decide for themselves what is to be done and how. Based on the statements in the preparatory works, the Supreme Court proceeds on the basis that this is a \u201cnarrow exemption\u201d, but that an overall assessment must be made, in which the key considerations are whether the employee can decide for themselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court does not mention other potentially relevant factors, such as whether the employee has particular responsibility, for example professional responsibility or risk-taking, whether the employee has particularly complex duties or specialist expertise, or the level of pay. This is probably because these factors were not relevant in the case at hand, and we believe that these and other factors remain relevant in other types of cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the central question is whether the employee decides over their own tasks and working hours, the Supreme Court holds that an employee who is in practice governed by their surroundings and other circumstances is not sufficiently independent. The Supreme Court clarifies that a concrete overall assessment must be made of the framework conditions the employee has to operate within, both internal framework conditions (that is, conditions set by the employer) and external framework conditions (that is, conditions set by customers or other third parties). The significance of external framework conditions has long been debated, including in legal literature. The Supreme Court has now established that external framework conditions, such as customer requirements and externally imposed deadlines, cannot be disregarded and must form part of an overall assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is nevertheless important to note that the fact that the employee has to operate within certain framework conditions does not preclude the position from being particularly independent. According to the Supreme Court, the decisive question is whether the framework conditions limit the employee\u2019s ability to decide over their working hours \u201cto a decisive degree\u201d. The judgment offers little guidance on what is required for an employee to be regarded as governed by framework conditions \u201cto a decisive degree\u201d, and thus, on an overall assessment, not particularly independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In its specific assessment of whether the project manager in this case was \u201cparticularly independent\u201d, the Supreme Court takes as its starting point the district court\u2019s and the court of appeal\u2019s descriptions of the facts, which characterised the employment relationship as involving a relatively high degree of freedom and responsibility. The Supreme Court did not, however, agree with the specific assessments made by the lower courts, and referred only briefly to the fact that the employee:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first-voting justice therefore found that, overall, the employee did not have genuine freedom to decide the scope and timing of his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the description of the facts and the specific assessment in the case are very brief. The judgment therefore provides limited guidance for drawing the line in other cases, and raises a number of questions, including what is required for an employee to be genuinely able to say no to a task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As before, it is important that employers have good procedures for complying with the working time rules, including the use of the exemptions for \u201cmanagerial\u201d and \u201cparticularly independent\u201d positions. In light of the judgment, employers should review their policies and practices for using these exemptions. More specifically, we recommend that employers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We expect increased focus on the use of the \u201cmanagerial\u201d and \u201cparticularly independent\u201d exemptions in light of the judgment, and other types of cases requiring further clarification from the courts may arise in future.<\/p>\n\n\n Published: <\/p> Partner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n Partner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n Partner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n
The case concerned a project manager at a construction company. Contrary to both the district court and the court of appeal, the Supreme Court found that the employee was not particularly independent. The judgment places particular emphasis on the employee\u2019s ability to control their own workload and sets a strict standard for applying the exemption. In light of the judgment, employers should review their policies and practices on which positions are exempted from the working time and overtime rules.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wiersholm.no\/content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/11\/dommerklubbe-02-16-9-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nEmployment Law<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\nThe starting points for the assessment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The significance of internal vs external framework conditions for the employee\u2019s independence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The specific assessment of the project manager position<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What should we as employers do now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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08.11.2026<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nKey Contacts<\/h2>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\t Christel S\u00f8reide<\/h3>\n\t
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\t Kurt Weltzien<\/h3>\n\t
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\t Eli Aasheim<\/h3>\n\t
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