What formal requirements apply to the termination of an employment relationship?

A dismissal issued by an employer must be made in writing. This follows from Section 15-4 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act.

The notice of dismissal must be delivered personally to the employee or sent by registered mail to the employee’s stated address. It must contain information regarding:

a) the employee’s right to demand negotiations and to initiate legal proceedings;
b) the employee’s right to remain in the position pursuant to Sections 17-3, 17-4 and 15-11 of the Working Environment Act;
c) the applicable time limits for demanding negotiations, commencing legal proceedings, and remaining in the position; and
d) the identity of the employer and the correct defendant in the event of a dispute.

Where the dismissal is based on circumstances relating to the undertaking, the notice must also contain information regarding the employee’s preferential right to re-employment under Section 14-2 of the Act.

Obligation to provide reasons upon the employee’s request

If the employee requests it, the employer is obliged to state the circumstances relied upon as grounds for the dismissal. The employer is therefore not required to provide the reasons for dismissal on its own initiative. The employee may also require that the reasons be provided in writing.

The reasons given may serve as evidence

If the employer provides written reasons for the dismissal, those reasons will carry evidentiary weight in any subsequent legal proceedings. The assessment of whether the dismissal complies with the protection against unfair dismissal under Section 15-7 of the Working Environment Actwill generally be based on the reasons stated by the employer. Conversely, if no reasons are provided, this is often regarded as a strong indication that the employer may not have had sufficient objective grounds for the dismissal. A failure to provide reasons may also be relevant when the court determines legal costs.

Consequences of formal defects in a dismissal

If the employer’s notice of dismissal is not given in writing, or does not contain the information required by Section 15-4 of the Act, and the employee initiates legal proceedings within four months after the dismissal was given, the dismissal shall, as a general rule, be declared invalid unless special circumstances make such a result clearly unreasonable.

The employee may claim compensation

If the dismissal is declared invalid, the employee may also claim compensation. The same applies where the dismissal is defective but the employee does not seek a judgment declaring it invalid, or where such a judgment is not granted because special circumstances make invalidity clearly unreasonable. The amount of compensation shall be determined at the court’s discretion based on what is considered reasonable, taking into account the employee’s financial loss, the circumstances of both the employer and the employee, and the circumstances of the case as a whole.