Terminated illegally during the protection period

" Unscrupulous employers are difficult to relate to and require a lot of resources. This has been a long torture for the member and a demanding case, says NITO lawyer Marianne Kjellsen.  

She has assisted a NITO member who wishes to remain anonymous, in a difficult process over several years. This member was a recent graduate in engineering and got a job as a project manager in a slightly smaller company.

After two and a half years with far too much responsibility, they hit the wall and are on sick leave. The follow-up from the employer is completely absent. After ten months, they are fired, on the grounds of long-term illness. 

This is very illegal.

- If you become ill, your employer must follow up on you. Here there was not a peep from the employer. We at NITO also reacted to this.  

There was no dialogue, except when the member himself contacted the employer, and pointed out that forms from NAV had to be filled in.

The NITO lawyer was shocked by how the employer as a professional party handled its own employee.

- First give the new graduate far too much responsibility, then ignore the person during the sick leave, and finally terminate the employment contract during the protection period and justify it with illness.

- In addition, before the dismissal, a discussion meeting was not held, as it should. The dismissal also did not follow the formal requirements for a dismissal, such as informing about the right to demand a negotiation meeting or go to court, she explains. 

NITO tried to clear up a negotiation meeting with the employer.

The goal was to reach an agreement on a proper final settlement, with a certificate of termination, a correct termination that was issued after the protection period and was formal, and payment of holiday pay. But it turned out to be difficult to solve the case through dialogue.  

This was demanding for the member who was sick and tired, had lost his job and on top of it all had to be in a court case.  

NITO won on all counts. 

The company was ordered to pay the member a total of NOK 650,000 in compensation, of which NOK 100,000 was compensatory damages. A happy ending for the member, but before the verdict was a fact, the company that was liable for damages was declared bankrupt.

"The administrator said that there was not a penny left," says Kjellsen.  

All the funds had been transferred to another company in the same group. 

In the company to which the money had been transferred, the same person was the owner. This person wore many hats, and was also chairman of the board, general manager and had personnel responsibility for the NITO member.  

Through the Limited Liability Companies Act, NITO was able to hold the owner personally liable and took out a new lawsuit against the owner, chairman of the board and the general manager's own wallet.

Before the personal liability case came up in court, the case was resolved outside the court system.

NITO is a large organization that has the resources to pursue unscrupulous employers who can make clear legal claims more difficult. NITO has followed up the case in two courts, before the case was closed. This shows that NITO's lawyers are willing to help despite the rocks in the sea along the way. 

If the member had not had legal assistance through NITO, he or she would only have had to make do with work assessment allowance that amounts to between 60-66 per cent of the salary.  

The member is now healthy, runs his own company and has a full-time job. They have read this article and state the following:

"It's been a struggle and a struggle from the first second, and I could have chosen to take the 'easy' road and just accept being treated unseriously and unfairly, but I'm so happy that I stood up for myself, and hopefully made it easier for others who come after me.

"Everyone deserves to be supported and appreciated no matter where you work, and who you are employed by.