Norway’s labour inspectorate, Arbeidstilsynet, has completed an inspection week in the hospitality sector with a high rate of violations: at least one regulatory breach was found in 78 percent of the 188 inspections of restaurants and other food-service establishments in Oslo, Norway.
Inspection week in Oslo reveals frequent violations
Inspectors visited the businesses in March 2026 during a targeted enforcement week. “We find regulatory violations at many of the businesses we inspect,” says Arbeidstilsynet department head Aylin Garnås. According to her, these are usually not serious violations, “but they are matters we expect businesses to have under control.” Notably, at one location an employee ran off as soon as the inspectors arrived. The reason is unknown, but Garnås says such behaviour often indicates that things are not in order. Earlier inspections in the sector also turned up many of the same violations. “We have been monitoring the industry for some time, and we see that there is still room for improvement, for instance around employment contracts,” Garnås says.
Employment contracts and safety representatives most often lacking
Almost all employees had an employment contract, but something was missing from its content in more than half of the inspections. A safety representative (Norway’s “verneombud”) — an employee-elected representative for working conditions — was also frequently missing. Since 1 January 2024, the main rule in Norway has been that businesses with five or more employees must have such a representative; smaller businesses can agree on a different arrangement. Garnås stresses that simply appointing someone is not enough: the safety representative must also be given the scope to actually do the job. Arbeidstilsynet also found incomplete recording of working hours, violations of working-time rules, and cases in which employees were not paid the wages they were entitled to. The sector in Norway is covered by a minimum wage made generally binding by law.
Mostly orders, hardly any fines
The inspections resulted in 246 pålegg: binding orders to correct a violation within a set deadline. A more severe sanction, the overtredelsesgebyr (administrative fine), has so far been announced only once. Most businesses comply with the orders. “That doesn’t mean the businesses are necessarily acting in bad faith,” Garnås says. Arbeidstilsynet will continue its efforts in the sector in 2026 and wants to offer guidance alongside enforcement, including through online sessions for managers, safety representatives and union representatives.
Context
Elsewhere in Europe, too, hospitality inspections produce similar findings. In a joint action coordinated by the European Labour Authority (ELA) from 10 to 16 June 2024 in Cyprus, Lithuania and Romania, 48 inspectors — including observers from other participating member states and ELA staff — checked 50 hotels, restaurants and catering businesses and spoke with 423 workers. Seven member states took part in total. The suspected violations included undeclared work, pay below the minimum wage, cash wage payments and breaches of occupational safety rules. In Cyprus, 10 of the 45 businesses inspected received a notice of infringement, with fines expected to total more than €86,000.
For HSE professionals worldwide, both actions show that in hospitality it is often the basics that fall short: complete employment contracts, reliable working-time records, correct pay, and a worker representative who can genuinely fulfil their role. Anyone responsible for working conditions in the sector would do well to check these points periodically themselves, regardless of whether an inspection authority comes calling.
Source: Arbeidstilsynet on persistent regulatory violations in the hospitality sector, 15 October 2026
Additional research: European Labour Authority (ELA), joint hospitality inspection Cyprus/Lithuania/Romania, 1 July 2024
