S E C T I O N    A

 

 

Definitions:

 

1.        Statutes:                                   Acts of Parliament or provisions according to such acts issued by governmental authorities.

 

2.        Common law:                          "Common law" is not known in Norway in  

3.        Custom and practice:               the same way as in Anglo-American law.  However, the in­stitute "se­dvanerett" is, to put it short, a combination of common law and custom and practice, and is with varying force regarded as ruling law, especially in the business and profes­sional field.  "Sedvanerett" is in principle laid down by a rather distinct practice over a long period, and has to be generally accepted as binding law.  Further, "sedvane­rett" has mostly been developed through agreements for example between the largest employers' and employees' organisation, gradually being regarded as binding law also outside the specific area of the agree­ments.

 

4.        Employees:                     means any person who performs work in the service of another. If two or more persons jointly for their own account conduct an enter­prise, only one of these persons shall be deemed an employer, the others being regarded as employees.

 

5.        Independent

contractors                              means any person who performs work for his own account, having contractual responsibility for the result of the work, and in principle has a certain degree of freedom to conduct such work.

 

6.        Maternity leave               means the period during which the mother is entitled to be absent from work before the birth of a child.

 

7          Parental leave                means the period during which a parent or foster parent is entitled to be absent from work before and after the birth of a child, adoption of a child, or in the event of a child's or child minder's illness.

 

 

 

 

                                                           S E C T I O N    B

 

                        Legislation and/or common law or custom and practice which

           relates to the pre-employment period or the commencement of employment.

 

1.                  EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

 

1.1                A requirement to enter into Employment Contracts in writing has in 1995 been implemented in Norway.

 

1.2                The Contract shall as a minimum contain provisions regulating:

 

-        The identity of the parties

-        The place of work

-        A description of the work or the employee's title, position or work category

-        The commencement date

-        If temporary; the estimated duration

-        Vacation and vacation allowance, hereunder how the vacation dates are stipulated.

-        The parties' period of notice

-        Prevailing or agreed salary including overtime and extras

-        the normal daily or weekly working hours

-        Any provisions related to a trial period (6 months as a maximum)

-        References to any collective agreements in force

 

 

1.3                To be evaluated and/or included in Employment Contracts for management or executive positions, are among others clauses regarding:

 

-        Commencement

-        Trial period

-        Scope of work

-        Salary and benefits

-        Pension and insurance rights

-        Vacation

-        Sick payment

-        Restrictions to other positions

-        Non-competition

-        Secrecy

-        Termination

-        -  Period of notice

-        -  Termination compensation

 

Arbitration agreements may only be entered into with the General Manager, not with any other employee.

                                                           S E C T I O N    C

 

                        Legislation and/or common law or custom and practice which

                                           relate to the duration of employment.

 

1.                  LEGISLATION

 

1.1                The most significant statute in Norway is the Act of 4th February 1977 relating to Worker Protection and Working Environment (referred to as the Act).  This act, and a number of more specific regulations pursuant to the act, regulates the objectives of the act; requirements concerning the working environment; duties of employer and employees in this respect; responsibility of manufacturers, suppliers, etc.; consent of the Labor Inspection for erection of new buildings, alterations to buildings, reorganization of production processes etc.; safety delegates, working environment committees, safety and health personnel; leave of absence in the event of pregnancy and confinement etc., and in the event of a child's or child minder's illness; employment of children and young people; working hours; wage payments; engagement, notice to leave, dismissal etc.; regulations regarding the Labor Inspection; penalties; and various other related regulations.

 

Further, there are similar acts relating to civil servants, sailors, and also various more specific acts regulating various parts of the labor life.

 

2.                  SCOPE OF THE ACT

 

2.1                The Act has relevance for employees, employers and independent contrac­tors. 

 

3.                  NOTICE OF TERMINATION AND SUMMARY DISMISSAL

 

3.1                Chapter 12 of the Act has specific rules regarding formal requirements as to a notice (certain formali­ties giving the employee information regarding his statutory rights according to the act, has to be specifically stated), period of notice (varying from 14 days to six months depending on the length of employment, the age of the employee and the character of the employment), mass terminations, rules protecting against unwar­ranted notice to leave and unwarranted summary dismissals, rules regulating the procedure of disputes relating to unwarranted notices or dismissals, and rules regulating the consequences of unwarranted notices or dismissals.  Further, the Act has regula­tions protecting against notice during sick leaves and during pregnancy and after confinement, protection against notices in trial periods, preferen­tial claim to employment when an employee is given notice due to lack of work, and rules granting an employee a right to references.

 

3.2                The minimum period of notice is 14 days in a trial period, not to exceed 6 months and to be agreed upon in advance, and one month after the trial period.  After five years of employment, the period is two months, after ten years three months, after ten years and the employee having passed 50 years of age, four months, having passed 55 years of age, five months, and having passed 60 years of age, six months.

 

3.3                The period of notice starts to run the first in the month after the notice has been received by the employee.

 

3.4                As mentioned under 3.1, there are specific particulars having to be included in the notice.

 

3.5                The minimum particulars are information regarding the employees right to ask for negotiations, and the period of which a law suit has to be filed in order to claim the notice as being unjustified, the correct name of the employer (defendant), information relating to the right to remain in the position until the dispute has been finally solved, and the priority right if the notice was based  upon lack of work to obtain re-employment.

 

If so required by the employee, the employer must also include the reason for the notice or dismissal.

 

 

 

4.                  VACATION

 

4.1                An employee's entitlement to paid holidays is governed by the Vacation Act of 29.04.1988. 

 

4.2                An employee’s minimum entitlement to annual leave is 25 working days (six working days per week).  Employees having passed sixty years of age have the right to six extra working days.

 

4.3                The Vacation Act does not regulate Public Holidays, as these are regulated by specific acts.  Employees having positions, which require them to work on such days, normally get higher payment, subject to individual or collective wage agreements.

 

4.4                The Vacation Act regulates beyond the length of the vacation period, payment (10,1 % of the annual salary), stipulating the vacation date, vacation during sickness and period of notice etc. and various other regula­tions.

 

5.                  TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP

 

5.1                Transfer of ownership of an undertaking does not in itself represent a legal basis for termination of employment contracts, unless there exists another basis, for example a restructuring or similar.

 

5.2                Formally, if the ownership of an undertaking is transferred (in an other way than through the sale of shares), the old employment agreement is terminated in combination with entering into a new agreement.

 

Through collective agreements, an employer may have further obligations to inform the employees' represen­tatives in an agreed manner. 

 

6.                  MATERNITY AND PARENTAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE

 

6.1                Regulated in the Worker Protection and Working Environment Act

 

6.2                a)       Pregnant employees are entitled to leave of absence for up to 12 weeks during pregnancy.  In principle the mother shall have leave of absence for the first six weeks following the birth of a child.  In connection with the birth, the father has a right to leave of absence up to two weeks if living together with the mother and child.

 

Further, parents are entitled to leave of absence during the first year of the child's life, provided however, that leave of absence does not exceed one year as a total for both parents jointly.  This right may be executed also as a part-time right.

 

b)      Law against having their positions terminated through such leave protects parents using these rights.

 

c)       A mother having her maternity leave is granted payment through our social security system.  Parents having leave of absence up to one year during the first year of the child's life, has no right to payment during that period, but the partial leave system may be combined with payments from the Social Security.

 

d)      A nursing mother is entitled to claim the amount of time off, necessary for this purpose, at least 30 minutes twice daily, or to claim that her working hours be reduced by up to one hour per day.  Unless otherwise agreed, the mother has no right to payment for such leaves.

 

7.                  EQUAL RIGHTS

 

7.1                When employing, the employer may not request any information as to the applicant’s views on political, religious or cultural issues. 

 

Further, The Penalty Act generally prohibits discrimination as to race, religious faith, color, national origin or homosexuality.

 

 

7.2                Norway has an Equal Rights Act of 09.06.1978 with the purpose of securing both sexes equal rights to work (as well as all other rights in the society).

 

The «Ombudsmann» for equality governs this act.

 

Further, in our Penalty Code, we have regulations banning discrimination based on sex, color, ethnic origin, sexual attitudes or religion.

 

7.3                In principle the Equal Rights Act secures the same payment for the same work.  In practice in Norway, as probably in most other countries, this objective has not been reached by today. 

 

7.4                By violating the Act, the violator is subject to penalty and economic liability. 

 

7.5                In addition to the "Ombudsmann" for equality, emplo­yees' rights are guarded by the Labor Inspectorate, in addition to the regular courts. 

 

 

8.                  DISPUTE SOLVING INSTITUTIONS

 

8.1                The main institutions dealing with disputes arising from employment legislation, are beyond the Labor Inspectorate, the regular courts.   However, there are certain procedural rules regulating disputes regarding unlawful termination.

 

Further, there is a special court dealing with disputes related to collective agreements.

 

9.                  INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

 

9.1                Briefly, the entitlement to relief or protection under the provisions of the legislation referred to in sections C and D, are restricted to employees, exempting independent contractors, with the exceptions relating to technical requirements as to the work space, organizing of the work etc..  Independent contractors are not guarded by the legislation relating to unlawful notices of termination.

 

Further, the legislation is restricted to employees between, as a main rule, 15 years of age to 67 years of age, which is the regular pension age.  Persons under the age of 15 are in principle not allowed to work, with some exceptions from 13 years to 15 years of age.

 

                                                           S E C T I O N    D

 

                        Legislation and/or common law or custom and practice which

                           relates to the termination of employment by the employer

 

1.                  As mentioned earlier, the legislation regulating such rights is found in the Worker Protection and Working Environment Act.

 

2.                  The main rule is that employees may not be given notice, unless this is warranted by circumstances connected with the undertaking, the employer or the employee.

 

Further, it is stated in the Act that an employer may dismiss an employee with immediate effect, if the employee is guilty of a gross breach of duty or other material breach of the employment contract. 

 

Notice to leave due to curtailed operations or rationalization measures is not warranted if the employer has other suitable work to offer the employee in the undertaking.  When deciding whether curtailed operations or rationalization measures warrant any lay-off, the needs of the undertaking shall be weighed against the inconvenience such lay-off involve for the individual employee.

 

Conveyance of an undertaking from one owner to another does not in itself warrant any lay-off.  In a case of lay-off by the new owner, importance shall be attached to whether such lay-off would have been warranted even had no conveyance taken place.

 

Employees who wish to claim that a notice to leave is unwarranted, may demand negotiations with the employer.  If the dispute is not settled by negotiations or if negotiations are not conducted, the employee may within eight weeks from the conclusion of negotiations or from the time notice was received, open legal proceedings pursuant to the rules laid down in the Worker protec­tion and working environment Act.