Employment Law
Tofte Hald’s employment law team has comprehensive experience of assisting both employers and employees in a wide range of cases. We are well acquainted with the complex regulations that apply in modern working life and know that the best solutions are achieved through co-operation and good communication.
With experience from both sides of the table, we can offer our clients effective and tailored advice. Our team consists of skilled and experienced lawyers with a passion for employment law. With advice and guidance from our lawyers, employees and businesses of all sizes find the confidence to resolve difficult and/or demanding situations in the workplace.
The types of issues we can help you with include:
- Drafting and conclusion of employment contracts
- Questions related to collective agreements
- Hiring of independent contractors and temporary employment
- Design and establishment of incentive and bonus schemes
- Issues related to changes in working conditions, including restructuring and downsizing
- Temporary layoffs
- Handling of labour disputesand sickness absence cases
- Assistance in the event of a need for reprimands or written warnings
- Termination of the employment relationship through resignation or dismissal
- Negotiations and conclusion of severance agreements
- Litigation and dispute resolution before the courts
- Issues related to non-competition clauses, as well as advice and disputes about unfair competition
- Issues related to data protection in the labour market
- Advice in cases concerning control measures
- Occupational injuries and compensation
FAQs
Is the dismissal legal?
It is a general requirement when dismissing an employee for the dismissal to be objectively justified. This follows from Section 15-7 of the Working Environment Act (NW: Arbeidsmiljøloven). The dismissal must be objectively justified by either the enterprise's, employer's or employee's circumstances, and extensive case processing requirements apply. Certain groups of employees also have stronger protection against dismissal. This applies, among others, to employees who are unable to perform work due to illness and pregnancy. The same applies to employees who are on maternity leave, care leave or parental leave. Employees on leave due to military service also have special protection. We recommend employers who are considering terminating one or more employees to contact a lawyer or other advisor for assistance in the process.
Is the employee entitled to compensation?
If a dismissal is declared invalid by the court, it is not uncommon for the employee to be awarded compensation. This is provided for in Section 15-12 of the Working Environment Act(NW: Arbeidsmiljøloven). The compensation is primarily intended to cover the financial loss suffered by the dismissed employee. In certain situations, the employee may also be awarded financial compensation for non-financial loss, so-called compensation for "pain and suffering". In many cases, the case between the employee and the employer is resolved through negotiations by the employee receiving an agreed compensation (severance pay).
Can the employer change employees' positions?
The framework for an employment relationship is generally determined by the employment contract. Through the so-called managerial prerogative (in short, the employer's right to organise, manage, distribute and/or control the work), the employer has the opportunity in certain cases to unilaterally change the content of an employee's position. The employer can make relatively extensive changes, but cannot impose or implement changes that change the "basic character" of the position. If the employer wishes to make changes that are outside this management prerogative, a so-called "change termination" must be carried out. This is a formal termination of the existing employment contract, with the offer of a new employment contract. Such a redundancy notice must be factual and justified by the circumstances of the enterprise, employer or employee, in the same way as an ordinary dismissal.