Transfer of undertaking and pension rights
Supreme Court judgment 18 January 2021, HR-2021-61-A, (case no. 20-070378SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
Læringsverkstedet AS (Counsel Stein Kimsås-Otterbech) v. Overføringsavtalens Sikringsordning (Counsel Andreas Nordby)
Justices: Skoghøy, Falkanger, Noer, Ringnes, Thynes
A private kindergarten, whose employees were enrolled in a municipal occupational insurance scheme, was transferred to a new owner after the agreement with the insurance company had been terminated. The transfer agreement did not mention the obligation to pay adjustment premiums under section 4-5 of the Insurance Activities Act, for the terminated pension. These were then covered by Overføringsavtalens Sikringsordning. The Supreme Court found that the obligation to pay an adjustment premium had to be considered under section 16-2 subsection 1 of the Working Environment Act. The new owner was thus responsible for future adjustment premiums for the affected employees. According to general legal principles, Overføringsavtalens Sikringsordning was also entitled to recourse against the new owner for the adjustment premiums it had paid.