Update on new regulations

Combining unemployment benefits with education and training
Tribunal solution for retaliation cases
Extension of access to membership in pension schemes

A great deal of recent activity in Parliament has led to the enactment of several new legal provisions. Here is a brief summary.

Combining unemployment benefits with education and training

Under current law, unemployment benefits are not granted to persons undergoing education or training. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs nevertheless has a narrow legal basis for issuing regulations on exceptions to this rule. From 1 July 2021, the regulatory competence has expanded, meaning that the ministry has a general right to issue supplementary regulations on when unemployment benefits can be combined with training or education. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is no longer bound by statutory restrictions, such as the fact that training must take place outside normal working hours.

Tribunal solution for retaliation cases

If an employee has given notice of objectionable conditions in the employer's business and considers themself exposed to illegal retaliation, the employee must now take legal action and have the dispute clarified in court. As of 1 July 2021, the Discrimination Tribunal has the authority to rule on disputes regarding retaliation after notification.(1)

Extension of access to membership in pension schemes

The amendments to the Corporate Pensions Act, the Defined Contribution Pensions Act and the Occupational Pensions Act, which give employers the opportunity to decide that temporarily laid-off employees shall continue as members of the pension scheme, have been extended to 30 September 2021.

For further information on this topic please contact Ole Kristian Olsby or Nina Elisabeth Thjømøe at Homble Olsby | Littler by telephone (+47 23 89 75 70) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Homble Olsby | Littler website can be accessed at www.homble-olsby.no.