The government will have stricter penalties for wage theft

The government will increase the penalty from three to five years in prison for wage theft.

– It is completely unacceptable that some dishonest employers do not give employees the salary to which they are entitled. A separate penalty provision for wage theft and stricter penalties for work-related offenses will facilitate the repression of this fraudulent behavior.

This is what Acting Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Henrik Asheim (H) says in a press release.

The government is submitting a consultation proposal to introduce a separate penalty provision for wage theft. It will also strengthen the sanctions framework for work-related offenses.

In addition, the government proposes to ban cash wage payments.

Points to “gross wage theft” in the oil services industry

Aftenposten recently wrote about the IMO Offshore staffing agency. The company blamed the previous owners and the crown for deducting wages and withholding vacation pay.

While more than 80 employees waited for millions, the management started new companies. There, the new employees are now waiting for payment.

Fellesforbundet and LO believe that the employees have been subjected to “gross salary theft”.

John Henrik Grinde Larsen is a former president of the company. He says management thought there was a written agreement when the moves were made.

He says the company ran into cash flow problems in the winter of 2020. Management did what it could to save the company, he argues.

Need better control

According to Asheim, it is difficult to estimate the extent of the wage theft.

– But we see several examples of the type that Aftenposten has highlighted, he says. And add:

– Not paying the salary that you must have by agreement, it must be prohibited.

– Does it only help to sharpen the punishment? Isn’t it part of the problem that too many cases are not detected?

– Absolutely. We will present an updated strategy in February to combat work-related crime. There, controls become important.

Among other things, the flow of information will be better, Asheim promises.

– It should be possible to share more of what is confidential lighting to combat work-related crime.

Pay the salary, then retire

Wage theft is used for situations where the employer in one way or another enriches the employee’s salary or other compensation.

Among other things, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority has uncovered cases of “double contracts” to hide the fact that widespread wages are not paid.

They also provide information on “payback” cases, that is, where the employee is paid the correct salary, but where part of the salary is returned to the employer.

– We need stronger tools to end work-related crime. The proposals we are now submitting for consultation will be able to provide us with new tools in the fight against rogue actors, while also clearly indicating how harmful serious work-related crimes are, says Asheim.

The consultation deadline for the proposal is set for December 10, 2020.