Legal Assistance Guidelines
If you need legal assistance in questions about pay and working conditions, you can contact NITO lawyers as a NITO member. The terms and conditions for such assistance can be found here. If you have a union representative at your workplace, we recommend that you contact them first – the union representatives know the local conditions.
1. When do you get legal assistance?
NITO provides legal assistance and guidance to members in matters concerning pay and working conditions that members have against their employer in their capacity as employees.
Members who want legal assistance should contact NITO's secretariat. The member may at any time waive legal assistance from NITO. Notification must be given in writing or confirmed in writing by NITO.
The assistance is provided by NITO's lawyers/advisers. NITO's secretariat decides which lawyer/adviser will provide assistance to the member. In special cases, NITO may decide to assign the case to an external lawyer.
NITO provides assistance in accordance with Norwegian law and jurisdiction. NITO does not provide assistance in cases before foreign courts or under foreign law.
2. Restrictions on development assistance
NITO does not take over cases initiated by external advisers/lawyers. If a member incurs expenses for a lawyer and other advisers on their own, the expenses will not be covered by NITO. In exceptional cases, NITO may decide to take over such cases. If this happens, the member and the former lawyer/adviser must confirm in writing that the case has been handed over to NITO.
NITO does not provide legal assistance to members who are simultaneously represented by another lawyer/adviser, and will terminate the assistance initiated if the member also uses an external lawyer/adviser.
If the member has waived legal assistance from one of NITO's lawyers, the member also loses the right to legal assistance from NITO in the same case.
In cases that require special legal or technical expertise, NITO may limit its assistance to only apply to certain aspects of the case/case.
3. When must the case have arisen – waiting time
NITO does not provide legal assistance in cases that have arisen (actualized) before the last date of registration in the organization, and legal assistance is in any case not provided for cases that have arisen before after three months of membership. Legal assistance is not provided to members who have resigned from NITO.
4. The member must not owe membership fees
Legal assistance is not provided if the member owes membership fees to NITO. If the membership fee is not forthcoming, the assistance that has been started is terminated.
5. Exclusions
After a more detailed assessment, NITO may, in exceptional cases, extend the assistance to also apply to cases that are indirectly related to the employment relationship, or where the member does not meet the conditions for receiving legal assistance pursuant to sections 1 to 4 of these guidelines.
6. Right of reversal and appeal against refusal of legal assistance
Refusal of legal assistance pursuant to sections 1 to 5 of these guidelines may be appealed. The member can request a reversal of NITO's rejection within 1 week from the decision on the rejection has been made. The request for reversal is addressed to NITO by the head of the legal section.
The member can appeal the reversal decision within 1 week after the decision has been made. The complaint is addressed to NITO by the Secretary General.
A rejection decision has a suspensive effect, and is maintained until the rejection is set aside.
7. Scope of legal aid
As a general rule, NITO provides assistance from the time the secretariat is contacted until a negotiated solution.
In cases where out-of-court solutions are not reached, it is NITO's secretariat that decides whether the case should be tried before a court of law, another dispute resolution body or one of the ombudsmen. The decision is made by the responsible lawyer after consultation with the head of the legal section and the head of the legal team. The responsible lawyer prepares a confirmation of assignment for the assignment.
8. Free legal assistance
As a general rule, legal assistance is provided at no cost to the member. The member does not pay fees for legal assistance or other expenses NITO assumes on behalf of the member.
If the member is ordered to pay the opposing party's legal costs in a case where a lawyer from NITO assists the member, NITO will also cover these legal costs.
If NITO terminates legal assistance for reasons stated in section 9, NITO will not cover the opposing party's accrued or future legal costs.
9. Requirements for participation and consequences of lack of participation
The member must provide all relevant case information and contribute in the best possible way so that the lawyer/adviser can make a comprehensive assessment of the case. If the member does not follow the advice and recommendation of a lawyer, the lawyer/adviser can resign from the case. In such cases, NITO reserves the right to stop the assistance and withdraw the case. The same applies if the member provides incorrect or incomplete information about the case or there are other special circumstances that make cooperation between the member and the lawyer difficult.
In the event of cessation of assistance on this basis, the lawyer is obliged to ensure what is necessary to prevent the member from being exposed to loss of rights.
10. The Lawyers' Regulations
NITO's lawyers are subject to the rules in the Regulations for Lawyers (lovdata.no), including the rules on good legal practice. It is possible to complain about the performance of the assignment.
More information about the complaints system can be found at the Norwegian Bar Association (advokatforeningen.no).
11. Duty of confidentiality
The lawyers at NITO are subject to rules on confidentiality. In order to achieve the best possible result for the member, NITO's lawyers reserve the right to discuss cases among themselves.