(1) An employee shall have at least 11 hours of continuous off-duty time per 24 hours. The off-duty period shall be placed between two main work periods.(2) An employee shall have a continuous off-duty period of 35 hours per seven days.(3) The employer and the employees' elected representatives in undertakings bound by a collective pay agreement, may agree in writing upon exceptions from the provisions of the first and second paragraphs. Such an agreement may only be entered into if the employee is ensured corresponding compensatory rest periods or, where this is not possible, other appropriate protection. Off-duty periods shorter than 8 hours per 24 hours or 28 hours per seven days may not be agreed upon. The limit of 8 hours shall not apply when work in excess of agreed working hours (cf. section 10-6, first paragraph)or work in connection with call-out during standby duty outside the workplace is necessary to avoid serious disturbances to operations. At undertakings which are not bound by a collective pay agreement, the employer and the employees' representatives may conclude a written agreement on the same terms to the effect that overtime may be worked during the off-duty period when this is necessary to avoid serious disturbances to operations.(4) Off-duty time as referred to in the second paragraph shall as far as possible include Sundays. An employee who has worked on a Sunday or public holiday shall be off duty on the following Sunday or public holiday. The employer and the employee may agree in writing to a working-hour arrangement that ensures that the employees will be off duty on average every other Sunday and public holiday over 26 weeks, provided, however, that the weekly 24-hour off-duty period falls on a Sunday or public holiday at least every fourth week.(5) The Ministry may by regulation provide a distribution of off-duty days that departs from the provisions of the fourth paragraph.
