The relationship between the employer and the employee during a transfer of undertaking
Supreme Court judgment 26 June 2020, HR-2020-1339-A, (case no. 19-152294SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
I.
ISS Facility Services AS, The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) (third-party intervener) (Counsel Kurt Weltzien), The Employers' Association Spekter (third-party intervener) (Counsel Tarjei Thorkildsen) v. Oløf Gunnlaugsdottir mfl. (Counsel Alexander Salvatore Cascio), NTL (third-party intervener) (Counsel Edvard Bakke)
II.
Oløf Gunnlaugsdottir and others (Counsel Alexander Salvatore Cascio), NTL (third-party intervener) (Counsel Edvard Bakke) v. ISS Facility Services AS, The Confederation of Norwegian Enterpris (NHO) (third-party intervener) (Counsel Kurt Weltzien), The Employers' Association Spekter (third-party intervener) (Counsel Tarjei Thorkildsen)
Justices: Indreberg, Falkanger, Arntzen, Høgetveit Berg, Thyness
In connection with a transfer of a part of an undertaking in 2016, see section 16-2 of the Working Environment Act, the employer's responsibility for cleaners who were previously employed with Forsvarsbygg, was transferred to ISS Facility Services AS (ISS) after it had been decided that the cleaning of the buildings of the Norwegian Armed Forces was to be put out to tender. The Supreme Court found that the reference in the cleaners' employment contracts to the periods of notice in the Civil Service Act was legally binding and thus comprised by the transfer of rights to ISS under section 16-2 of the Working Environment Act. ISS had declared its existing collective pension scheme applicable towards the cleaners. This implied that their former right to special old age pension and to early retirement pension (AFP) was lost in accordance with section 16-2 subsection 3 second sentence of the Working Environment Act.