Norway: Redundancy ruled void because employer had not offered vacant suitable position

According to Norwegian law, a termination of employment due to curtailed operations or rationalization measures is not objectively justified if the employer has other suitable work in the company to offer the employee. In a recent judgement from the Norwegian Supreme Court an employee won a case against his previous employer, concerning if the redundancy was unjust and should be ruled void. In the case, the employer had downsized one part of the company, and at the same time hired new employees in another part of the company. The Supreme Court noted that when a company is downsizing in one part of the company, the duty to offer the employees other suitable work concern the entire company. The court found that the employer should have considered if the employee was suitable for the new vacant positions in the other part of the company, and if so offered him such position, before giving him a dismissal. This judgement means that employers who are up-sizing one part of the company at the same time as they are downsizing another part, need to see the two processes together.