The Labour Court can decide cases about flex workers outside the collective agreement

In a recent decision, the Labor Court dealt with the question of the court’s competence to decide cases about employment relationships where the employer has not signed a collective agreement, but where a collective agreement pursuant to legislation nevertheless has an impact on salary and working conditions.
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The case in brief

The decision concerned two flex workers who through their trade union had made demands for additional payment of, among other things, salary.

It complies with the Act on active employment initiative, that employment of flex workers outside the collective agreement areas takes place based on a collective agreement, which is comparable and applies to the same work area in which the flex workers are to be employed.

It also complies with the Act that the Labor Court has jurisdiction to deal with any disputes regarding pay and conditions of employment that may arise from this.

In this case, no decision has been taken on the question of a relevant collective agreement at signing the employment terms. The employer, therefore, contested that the Labor Court has jurisdiction to hear the case.

The Labor Court did not agree with this and referred to the fact that there was at least one relevant collective agreement that the parties could – and should – have taken when signing the terms of employment. The Labor Court, therefore, found that it has jurisdiction to hear the case, as the collective agreement via the Act on Active Employment initiative, applied to the terms of employment.

Lund Elmer Sandager’s comments

The decision shows that when hiring flex workers, it is a good idea to obtain advice on pay and conditions of employment that apply to the terms of employment so that they are clear in advance for both the employer and the flex worker.

If you would like advice on this or other labor and employment law matters, please feel free to contact our employment law specialists; associated partner Julie Flindt Rasmussen or attorney David Bar-Shalom.