Received NOK 300,000 in compensation after dismissal

NITO member Jan Roger Olsen was not paid a salary and was dismissed on the day. After three years of fighting in the legal system, he finally got an important victory against his former employer.

Was dismissed on the day

After being unemployed for over a year, Olsen was overjoyed when he got a relevant engineering job in July 2018. He was then 59 years old.

However, the joy was short-lived. Already in September, the same year, it became clear that he was not getting paid for all the hours he had worked. Nor was any pension scheme established for him. When he brought up the shortcomings, he was thrown out the door.

Fully upheld, but the employer went free

On behalf of Roger Olsen, NITO took legal action against the employer due to the unfair dismissal and the lack of wages, and demanded compensation.

When the case came up in the district court, Olsen was fully upheld on all counts, but in the meantime the company had gone bankrupt. There was not a penny in the bankruptcy estate. Olsen thus received nothing, and his employer went free.

What do you do when you are not paid salary or holiday pay?

The general manager had to pay out of his own pocket

NITO then chose to sue the general manager/owner and chairman of the board, personally. This was one and the same person. There was a new round in the district court, which this time partially ruled in favor of Olsen. He was compensated for part of the deduction in salary, but received no compensation for the unfair dismissal.

NITO appealed the case, and a unanimous Borgarting Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the NITO member on all counts. In December 2021, more than three years after the dismissal, the final verdict was announced.

The Court of Appeal ordered the general manager to cover the loss Olsen had suffered as a result of non-payment of salary and lack of grounds for dismissal. In addition, the general manager had to pay legal costs before the district court and the court of appeal, in addition to his own legal costs.

- It was never an option to fight this case on our own and with our own means. The legal part of labour law is too complicated, and the outcome of a court case is uncertain when the cost amounts to several hundred thousand kroner.

Olsen greatly appreciated the compensation, but it was almost as important that the responsibility was placed where it belongs, with the general manager.

The owner is always responsible

"This judgment is important because it sends a clear signal to industries that speculate on the exploitation of weak workers," says Marianne Kjellsen, lawyer at NITO.

- Even if the company goes bankrupt, you as the owner, general manager and/or chairman of the board of a bankrupt company, may be personally liable for the loss you have caused employees when you led or had board responsibility in the company. This means that a general manager may have to look up from his or her own wallet, to pay salaries or pensions to former employees.