The audit gave Espresso House three months

11 months after the meeting between Arbeidstilsynet and Espresso House at Frogner in Oslo, there is still no report or account of the status of the coffee chain.

The meeting was held in October last year, at the invitation of Espresso House, and came after several cases at E24 and Dagens Næringsliv about working conditions in the chain, where employees spoke about extreme pressure, sick leave and unpaid overtime.

During the meeting, Espresso House’s own manager, Torodd Gøystdal, presented a three-month action plan to address the issues. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority approved the plan and gave the coffee chain time.

Espresso House has it.

The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority informs E24 that they have not yet followed up on the plan or working conditions at Espresso House.

– The follow-up inspection has been postponed due to covid-19. We plan to roll it out during the fall of 2020, says Trine Elise Hammer, who is the national accommodation and catering coordinator at the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority.

Torodd Gøystdal writes in his text message to E24 that the dialogue with the Authority has been good.

– We have had a good dialogue with the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority at all times. We invite them to a follow-up meeting no later than this summer and we will most likely have a meeting before the turn of the year, Gøystdal writes.

I got the acceptance of his own plan

Gøystdal previously told E24 that he was very sorry to hear the allegations that have appeared in the media about the coffee chain and that he took the stories seriously.

At the same time, he emphasized that employee surveys at Espresso House clearly showed that the majority of employees enjoyed their work and that he did not recognize the stories of the company.

The minutes of the October 23, 2019 meeting indicate that “Espresso House states (…) that they have developed an action plan for the next three months to address issues that employees report through the media and to implement measures “.

When the meeting was mentioned in November last year, Trine Hammer of the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority said they would give Espresso House the time they requested “to address the issues mentioned in the media.”

– In our subsequent follow-up, we will conduct a follow-up audit of Espresso House centrally during the first quarter of 2020, where we will then review the issues raised at the orientation meeting we had in October, Hammer said at the time.

– Changed due to pandemic

According to the plan proposed by Espresso House, the coffee chain should therefore use the time until the end of January to address any problems that may have existed.

Trine Hammer from the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority writes in an email to E24 that the follow-up has been postponed as a result of covid-19.

– What circumstances with covid-19 made it impossible to track Espresso House before?

– The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority will participate in the workday to limit the spread of the infection, and the corona pandemic has meant that the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority had to significantly reduce its supervisory activity for a period . In March and until the end of April, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority only carried out physical inspections when there was a danger to life and health. When we re-intensified inspection activity throughout the spring, we preferably conducted inspections that could be carried out outdoors. This is in part because it’s easier to keep your distance outside, writes Hammer.

– As the audit activity had to be reduced for a period due to the crown, several audits have been postponed. This also applies to the follow-up audit with Espresso House. The implementation of this audit is central and the monitoring of Espresso House has been moved and will take place during the fall of 2020.

– What other possibilities besides physical assistance does the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority have when it comes to following up on players in the restaurant industry?

– The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority has the opportunity to conduct postal inspections and digital inspections. This is not always so relevant for monitoring the catering industry, as it is often necessary to examine the facilities and physical working conditions. It should be considered in each individual case whether it is possible to carry out the postal inspection or digitally if it is not possible to carry it out as a traditional physical inspection.

– Torodd Gøystdal at Espresso House claims he invited the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority to a meeting no later than this summer. [Hva var] the reason why a meeting was not held?

– It is true that they took the initiative of a meeting. We believe that it was positive that the company took the initiative to follow up on the case. But as an authority, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority wants some formality in our follow-up and we have chosen to follow the planned procedure. Therefore, we advise that we will conduct a follow-up inspection during the fall, writes Hammer.

Stories from Sweden

It was Sweden’s Aftonbladet that in October 2019 first mentioned the working conditions at the German-owned coffee chain.

The newspaper listened to employees who reported threats of personal fines if the chain received fines from the Tax Agency, or if they forgot to give customers a receipt. Others said they were asked to remove overtime from work hours and that work pressure made them sick.

Later, current and former Norwegian employees also told E24 about their experiences at Espresso House.

The stories prompted the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority to hold what they call a routine internal meeting to discuss what to do with the case.

Espresso House manager Torodd Gøystdal also invited Arbeidstilsynet and Fellesforbundet to a meeting at the coffee chain’s headquarters in Oslo.