Norway: The Upper Limit for the Labour Inspection Authority’s Violation Fee Increased
In June 2024, the Supreme Court delivered a ruling that clarifies and underlines that, in principle, an employer may be obligated to offer the employee other suitable work even in the case of dismissal due to circumstances related to the employee.
The case involved a healthcare worker in the Oslo municipality who was dismissed after the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision revoked his authorization. The healthcare worker argued that the dismissal was unfair because Oslo municipality had not offered him another suitable position. However, the municipality contended that there is no obligation to offer another suitable position in cases of dismissal based on circumstances relating to the employee.
Pursuant to the Working Environment Act, a dismissal based on circumstances relating to the undertaking is not objectively justified if the employer has other suitable work in the undertaking to offer the employee. In cases of termination based on circumstances related to the employee, the Working Environment Act does not explicitly state that the employer has a duty to (try to) relocate the employee first. The Supreme Court addressed whether there nonetheless exists an obligation to offer other suitable work in cases of dismissal based even on circumstances related to the employee.
The Supreme Court assessed that, depending on the circumstances, there may be a limited and situation-specific obligation to offer other suitable work. In this assessment, the employer’s interest in terminating the employment relationship should be given consideration. The employer’s interest may prevent it from being relevant to offer another position, for example, in cases of serious breaches of duty that result in the employer no longer having trust in the employee. Consequently, the core area of this obligation is cases where the employee is not to blame for the dismissal.
Furthermore, the assessment will depend on whether the employee’s interest in continuing in another position within the company is particularly strong. This might be the case, for example, when there are significant social considerations that make it difficult for the employee to find new employment.
Additionally, an obligation to offer other suitable work requires that there is another appropriate position available within the undertaking.
The Supreme Court stated that the threshold for deeming a termination as unjustified due to the lack of an offer of another suitable position will be high.
The Supreme Court in this case concluded that the employer was not obligated to offer the healthcare worker another suitable position, and that the dismissal was objectively justified.
