Q&A - Questions and Answers
Regulation, executive orders and guidelines are available via our website https://offshore.at.dk/, under “Regulations on offshore oil and gas activities”. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Working hours, rest and leisure periods
Your company deducts 1 hour each day from your working hours for dinner break and morning/afternoon coffee. During these breaks, you are asked to not bring your mobile, in order to avoid being at your employer's disposal. However, you will still be available for emergency response (alarms, etc.). How does the the Danish Working Environment Authority handle this situation?
Legislation contains only very general rules for working hours. It is up to the social partners to agree on the more detailed rules within the legal framework.
If you are not available during your breaks, except for emergency responses alarms (emergency), your breaks - by law - should not be included in your working hours.
Breaks will normally be regulated by the collective agreements between employers and employees and by your employment agreement.
In connection with transportation to and from the facility, your working hours are only recorded from check-in to arrival - outbound and home. If the trip is cancelled or delayed, your working hours will stop until the next check-in. This can result in very few working hours over several days if there are multiple delays/cancellations. How does the Danish Working Environment Authority handle this situation?
Legislation contains only very general rules for working hours. It is up to the social partners to agree on more detailed rules within the legal framework.
If you are not available during your transport time, except for emergency responses, your transport time - by law - should not be included in your working hours.
Transport time will usually be regulated by collective agreements between employers and employees and by your employment agreement.
Is there a definition for "qualified rest" in connection with offshore work at an installation?
There is no legislative definition of "qualified rest" nor "undisturbed rest and restitution".
Night workers arrive at facilities offshore at 13:00, 17:00 or later in the day (if arrival is delayed), and must report for work at 19:00 the same day and work until 07:00 the following morning. The night shift shares - in connection with "qualified rest" or "undisturbed rest and restitution" - a room with employees who begin work at 08:00 and work until 20:00. How does the Danish Working Environment Authority handle this situation?
Legislation states that installations must contain a sufficient number of bedrooms for each of the overnight persons to be allocated their own cabin. Accommodation on the installation must therefore have a number of bedrooms adapted to the number of people who are expected to spend the night in connection with normal operation and maintenance of the installation (however, there is a possibility of exemptions). On older offshore installations (from before 1988), two people can use one bedroom at the same time. However, men and women may not be accommodated in the same bedroom.
Is an armchair in a public space at a facility offshore sufficient for "qualified rest" or "undisturbed rest and restitution"?
As a general rule, the Danish Working Environment Authority does not believe that an armchair in a public space on an offshore installation - according to the Offshore Safety Act - is sufficient for "qualified rest" or "undisturbed rest and restitution".
How many days in a row are you permitted to have night shifts at an offshore facility?
Legislation does not include detailed rules for how many days in a row you can have night shifts at an installation.
Education and competences
I have just been elected as a security representative. Am I entitled to attend a health and safety training programme
The operator and the owner, respectively, must register new members of the Safety Group for training in safety and health conditions within four weeks of the election or appointment. The training must be completed as soon as possible and no later than 5 months after the election or appointment.
I have just been elected as an alternate safety representative. Am I entitled to attend a health and safety training programme?
Regulation on occupational safety and health training apply to members of the safety organisation. It is therefore necessary to determine whether the alternates are members of the safety organisation.
The use of alternates depends on the specific agreement on cooperation on safety and health (e.g. for all employers and employees in connection with offshore oil and gas activities). For example, it may have been agreed that:
- The alternate must attend if the representative is not able to participate in a meeting. In this case, the alternate has joined the safety organisation and must have the training.
- The alternate becomes a member of the safety organisation if a representative resigns from it(e.g. in connection with the end of employment). In this case, the alternate only joins the safety organisation when a representative resigns. Therefore, the requirement for training only applies from the date of the alternate's entry into the organisation.
What has been agreed upon with the alternates is therefore the determining factor.