The opportunity to hire temporary personnel to the same extent as temporary employment in order to cover a temporary need has been repealed. This means that there will no longer be access to hire employees from staffing companies on the grounds that the work is of a temporary nature. Hiring from a staffing company will, after the entry into force of the amendment act, only be legal in the case of temporary replacement workers, work as a trainee, work in connection with sports, labour market measures and by agreement with the elected representatives for companies bound by a collective wage agreement with a major trade union (trade union with a right of nomination).

The right of hired employees to permanent employment with the hirer is strengthened by giving hired employees the right to permanent employment with the hirer after having been continuously hired for more than three years. This amendment applies to hiring contracts that commence after the entry into force of the amendment act. The period of hire under existing hiring contracts will be included in the calculation basis that forms the right to permanent employment.

A new fifth paragraph is further adopted in Section 14-12 that is intended to set out and clarify the legal boundary between hiring and contracting. This amendment will mean that more assignment agreements on service purchases must be classified as hiring, and that more employees will thus be covered by the Working Environment Act’s rules on hiring, including the rules on equal treatment.

Two exceptions have been made, where the Ministry may issue rules on time-limited hiring of health personnel and on time-limited hiring of specialist advisory- and consultancy services within a clearly defined project.

The new amendments to the Working Environment Act enter into force on 1 April 2023. For specific agreements that are in place at the time of entry into force of the amendment act the amendments to the Working Environment Act will take effect as of 1 July 2023.