– There are many demanding jobs, but they generally do not entitle you to three months’ paid holiday when you quit. Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen at the University of Bergen refers to Raymond Johansen (Ap). He is set to receive NOK 395,000 in severance pay from Oslo municipality before he starts his new job as general secretary of Norwegian People’s Aid. The recently resigned city council leader was clearly upset when news questioned the severance pay. Marthinussen believes Johansen’s severance pay is probably illegal. – The law is very clear that if you have a job offer on the table, you cannot demand to receive severance pay instead, and postpone that job, says Marthinussen. The professor reacts to the fact that Raymond Johansen, of his own accord, starts the new job exactly three months after he retired as a full-time politician. Raymond Johansen lost the election and the job, but is waiting to start his new position. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – The starting point according to the Local Government Act is that severance pay must cover the loss of income during a period when you go from being an elected politician to looking for a job. If the law has been broken, Marthinussen believes that the municipality must demand the money back from Johansen. Regardless of whether the severance pay is legal or not, the professor believes that it is immoral to use the scheme in this way. – You should rather work for an amendment to the Local Government Act that allows for this. This is not a scheme that is meant to let people rest and relax a bit because they have had a demanding job. Follow the rules Raymond Johansen denies that he has broken the law. – I have followed the regulations to the letter. I have applied in the usual way and provided all the information, says the Ap politician. He says it is Oslo municipality that must answer whether the current rules are illegal. news has asked Oslo municipality for an answer, but they have not yet responded to our inquiries. – Then I hear that someone thinks it is immoral to receive this. That may be their opinion. I need a breather, to prepare for something new, says Johansen. The day before he stepped down as Oslo City Council leader, Raymond Johansen announced that he would become Norwegian People’s Aid’s new general secretary. But until this, he will live on back pay for three months. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news If he starts in Norwegian People’s Aid before the three months are up, Johansen will report it to the municipality, so that the subsequent payment is shortened in line with the rules. – Absolutely fine Law professor Marthinussen’s colleague at UiB, Jan Fridthjof Bernt, tells Aftenposten that Johansen has the law on his side. – The way I read the law, the intention is that this provision should make it possible for elected officials who have worked in politics full-time to get a bit of time to settle before he or she enters a new appointment, he says. – It is perfectly fine to receive severance pay even if a new job awaits, as long as the appointment does not take place earlier than three months after you resigned from office as a full-time elected official, says Bernt. Photo: Åge Algerøy / news Bernt believes that the law does not require former elected officials to be active jobseekers, and that they are welcome to postpone taking up a new job. – So this is completely unproblematic? – Yes. Why he chooses to do that is irrelevant, says Bernt to the newspaper.
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