Public sector labour and employment law
A thorough understanding of how public sector labour and employment law interacts with public law is a prerequisite – together with a good measure of political insight – to advising clients in this area
Norrbom Vinding acts as legal adviser to large parts of the public sector.
Labour and employment law for public authorities and businesses that are wholly or partly publicly owned is a special discipline which requires knowledge of and respect for the rules which are peculiar to public authorities, together with an equal measure of understanding of and respect for public sector culture and for the fact that public authorities and publicly owned businesses play an important role in society and are under political management or control.
We have experience in all aspects of advising public sector employers in our areas of expertise and regularly provide legal opinions to public authorities, undertake investigations and carry out legal inquiries – and, not least, represent them in court.
We have long-standing experience in dismissal cases, cases concerning discrimination and differential treatment, public service law, collective bargaining matters, including negotiation of collective agreements, matters concerning managers and executives, etc.
We are also the law firm that has conducted the greatest number of cases concerning public sector labour and employment law before the Danish Labour Court, industrial arbitration tribunals, dismissals tribunals and the ordinary courts.
We recently
- advised on, negotiated and conducted cases concerning managers and executives, including termination, for public authorities as well as publicly owned businesses
- conducted a large number of cases concerning discrimination and differential treatment for public authorities, including the so-called ”obesity case” for the Municipality of Billund
- conducted cases in the public servants courts and the ordinary courts regarding interpretation of the rules governing public servants, discretionary and disciplinary dismissals, pension, basis for entering into severance agreements for public servants, hiring-out of employees to private sector employers, etc.
- for more than 25 years we have handled the interests of municipal employers (Local Government Denmark) in industrial arbitration cases concerning the interpretation of collective agreements in practically all areas. Likewise, for more than 25 years we have handled the interests of municipal employers in the Danish Labour Court, including in connection with illegal work stoppage as well as cases concerning responsibility of the collective bargaining party, notices of industrial action and implications of industrial action
- conducted a number of investigations and legal inquiries in the governmental and municipal areas and on behalf of publicly owned businesses, including the City of Copenhagen, the Municipality of Frederiksberg, the Capital Region of Denmark, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), the Danish Ministry of Taxation, the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, etc.
Contact
Jesper Oehlenschlaeger Madsen
Associate Partner
Information about Public sector labour and employment law
Styrket beskyttelse af offentligt ansatte i aktindsigtssager – lovforslag fremsat
Justitsministeriet har fremsat et forslag til ændring af offentlighedsloven og forvaltningsloven med det formål at styrke beskyttelsen af offentligt ansatte i sager om aktindsigt.
Det manglende stillingsopslag
Et sygehus burde have slået en ledig stilling som kommunikationskonsulent op i stedet for at ansætte en person, der havde ansøgt om en anden ledig stilling
En aftale er en aftale – skulle man tro …
Højesteret har fundet, at en medarbejder ikke var afskåret fra at rejse krav vedrørende mulig forskelsbehandling grundet alder i forbindelse med en afskedigelse, uanset at hendes faglige organisation og arbejdsgiver – en kommune – forud herfor havde indgået et forlig herom. Kommunen blev dog frifundet, da Højesteret fandt, at medarbejderen ikke havde været udsat for forskelsbehandling grundet alder.
Overlægen, der ville omplaceres
Det var ikke sagligt at afskedige en læge ansat som sektionsleder på grund af omstruktureringer. Lægen skulle have været tilbudt omplacering til en ledig stilling som overlæge.
Mere eller mindre chef
Indenrigs- og Sundhedsministeriet har anmodet Ankestyrelsen om at genoptage behandlingen af fire sager om fortolkning af chefbegrebet i offentlighedsloven.
Tavshed by default?
Offentlige myndigheder kan ikke standardmæssigt indgå fratrædelsesaftaler, som indeholder tavshedsklausuler.
Registration of working hours – changes to the Executive Order on Rest Periods etc. submitted for consultation
Draft amendments to the Executive Order on Rest Periods and the Executive Order on Systematic Working Environment Work have been submitted for consultation. Among other things, it is proposed to align the exemption for the so-called self-organisers.
Extended leave for twin parents – bill adopted
The Parliament has adopted the bill implementing the political agreement on 13 weeks of additional leave with parental benefits for twin parents and adoptive parents.
In, or not in, fertility treatment?
An employee who was planning to undergo fertility treatment but had not yet started the treatment was not covered by the special protection against dismissal in the Equal Treatment Act.
No collective agreement, no shop steward – judgment by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently upheld the Eastern High Court’s ruling establishing that a shop steward’s function ended at the time of a business transfer because the transferee had renounced the collective agreement.
Change in maternity leave terms gave rise to compensation
A pregnant employee was entitled to compensation under the Equal Treatment Act as a result of a material change to her maternity leave terms even though she had not left her position.
Adjustments to occupational schemes under the Aliens Act – bill submitted for consultation
A draft bill to simplify certain occupational schemes under the Aliens Act – including the requirement for a Danish bank account – has been sent out for consultation. The rules are expected to take effect on 1 July 2024.