The Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion is hereby publishing an assignment for the mapping of:

a) The employers' justifications for using part-time employment.

b) The labour reserve among part-time employees.

The full-time employment culture, part-time employment, and measures to increase the share of full-time employees, especially for some sectors, have been much discussed in recent years. It is relatively well known why employees choose to work part-time, but it is less known how employers assess and justify the use of part-time employment. Furthermore, there is little updated knowledge about how large the labour reserve among part-time employees actually is. The labour reserve among part-time employees is closely linked to the comprehension of the use of part-time employees in the current working life. The balance between predictability and flexibility is a core element in challenges related to part-time employment. A better understanding of both employers' use of part-time employment and part-time employees' labour reserve will be relevant for future measures for a full-time employment culture. The Ministry therefore chooses to publish the survey as an overall project consisting of two parts.

As part of the mapping project, an option is published for expanding the project to also include issues related to the proposed amendments to the Employment Protection Act for the right to full-time employment (Proposition to the Storting 133 L (2021–2022) Amendments to the Employment Protection Act (strengthening the right to full-time employment)). Whether it will be relevant to carry out this part will depend on the consideration of the Proposition and when any changes to the law come into force.

For a more detailed description of the assignment, see annex 1 of the contract (the Contracting Authority’s description of the assignment).