Exceptions and right to take leave. Under special circumstances, when it is necessary to protect items of value, a work session may be extended to as many as 16 hours, in which case, without exception, a rest period of 11 hours shall be granted immediately following the work, without any reduction of the employee’s right to regular wages for daytime work. When special circumstances make it unavoidable to deviate from the daily rest period, in accordance with the authorisation in the Working Hours Agreement between the Icelandic Confederation of Labour (ASÍ) and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers (VSÍ) from 30 December 1996, the following shall apply: If employees are specially asked to report for work before the 11-hour rest period is up, then the rest period may be postponed and granted later, in such a way that a right to take leave in the form of 1½ hours (of daytime working time) accumulates for every hour by which the rest period is shortened. It shall be permitted to pay ½ hour (of daytime working time) of the leave entitlement if the employee wishes. In no case may 8 hours of continuous rest be reduced. If the employee works for such a long time preceding a holiday or weekend as to make it impossible to have 11 hours’ rest before the normal beginning of the working day, the situation shall be handled in the same way as above. If the employee reports for work on a holiday or weekend, payment at overtime rates shall be made for the time worked without further additional payments. However, the above provisions shall not apply in the case of organised shift work, in which the rest period may be reduced to as little as 8 hours. Accrued leave-taking entitlement shall be stated on the employee’s pay slip, and leave shall be granted in half and whole days outside the peak periods in the company’s activities in collaboration with the employee, providing that the accrued leave-taking entitlement amounts to at least 4 hours. Settlement in respect of the employee’s unused leave-taking entitlement shall be made on termination of employment, with the entitlement counted as part of the period of engagement. Work may not, except with the agreement of the employee, be so arranged that accrued leave is taken during periods when the employee is travelling on behalf of the employer or is engaged in work away from his home/ residence except in the normal continuation of such accrual.
