After a series of revelations in news about notifications and errors in the Armed Forces relating to sexual harassment, abuse of power and abuse, the agency has now been investigated by external consultants. The consultancy company PWC was hired by the Norwegian Armed Forces this summer. The company has examined systems and routines, but also looked at over 50 specific cases. Gunnar Holm Ringen from PWC presents a report on notification in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Photo: Martin Leigland / news They have done this to see if the Norwegian Armed Forces handle notifications correctly – and if any objectionable conditions are uncovered, they will receive the consequences they should receive. The report from PWC reveals a number of shortcomings with how the Norwegian Armed Forces handle notifications. – Our main finding is that we believe the defense has a non-uniform practice for alert handling where the risk of deficiencies and errors is too high, says head of the investigation Gunnar Holm Ringen in PWC during the presentation. In several of the cases that news has reported, the lack of consequences for those who have broken the rules and stepped over the line is a consistent theme. Termination package and bonus instead of dismissal The PWC report states that there has been a wrong understanding in the Armed Forces of what is required to dismiss employees. Many managers have mistakenly believed that the threshold for dismissal and dismissal is very high. The defense has not used the full range of possible reactions against those who have done something reprehensible. The span includes everything from a warning to dismissal. The armed forces have refrained from handling cases while they were under investigation by the police or military police. In many cases, severance agreements have been given instead of dismissal or dismissal. The investigations show that some have also been paid bonuses of up to one million kroner, even if they leave the Armed Forces due to objectionable circumstances. Recommends overhaul of the entire system PWC’s experts recommend, based on their findings, to overhaul the entire system for handling notifications in the Armed Forces. PWC has come up with 15 concrete proposals for measures to improve the conditions for notification in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Among other things: Creation of a separate central notification unit. The unit must have specialist expertise and the capacity to handle difficult cases. Creation and strengthening of local notification groups for handling in various parts of the Armed Forces, e.g. in the Army and other defense branches. Less responsibility for handling notifications by the individual local manager. Custody chief Eirik Kristoffersen receives the report from PWC. Photo: Rodrigo Freitas / NTB The proposal to change the system is based on a need for better knowledge and competence among those who will handle notifications. PWC believes that the very many local managers cannot be expected to have knowledge of all the complicated rules relating to notifications and employment law. – We believe that the clearest main finding is that the decentralized handling of whistleblowing cases, combined with the special vulnerabilities the Norwegian Armed Forces have, which gives an increased risk of things going wrong, says Gunnar Holm Ringen from PWC. During the presentation, PWC points out that not having sufficient capacity and expertise to handle dangerous cases locally makes the risk of errors even greater. – There are many of those we have spoken to who handle notifications at local level who struggle with a lack of competence in handling notification cases, says Ringen. They believe that it is more correct if the local managers can request assistance from competence centers and/or a central unit. Cases must be able to be forwarded there for processing. Part of the proposal is also justified by the need to get an overview of all the cases that exist. In its report, PWC has revealed that no one has an overview of which cases exist in the many places where notifications are currently handled in the Norwegian Armed Forces. It is not right to handle cases at the lowest possible level PWC’s review shows that many of the managers in the Armed Forces who today end up handling notification cases do not have the necessary competence. Many of the managers have had little education in the field. The investigators have, among other things, looked at a selection of concrete cases – in excess of 50 cases. They have found several errors: Cases are missing minutes and documents. Not enough information has been given to whistleblowers and other parties involved. Serious cases are sent down to the lowest level. – The notification routines are not sufficiently good and are perceived as unclear. There are some particular vulnerabilities linked to how the Norwegian Armed Forces are set up, says PWC’s head of the review Gunnar Holm Ringen during the presentation of the report. Despite the lack of competence among the local leaders, the Norwegian Armed Forces have had a rule: Notification cases must be processed at the lowest possible level – without unnecessary bureaucracy. The armed forces have systematically sent serious cases down the system. Even if a whistleblower has reported a case to the central notification reception, the case can be sent back down to the local manager. The PWC investigators believe that always sending the cases down is wrong. They point out that in serious cases – such as cases of sexual harassment – there may be too little knowledge and capacity on the part of local managers to handle them well. PWC also points out that there is a problem with small relationships and incapacity. If a whistle-blowing case is handled locally, the manager in charge can know both the whistle-blower and the person accused of objectionable circumstances. They can socialize privately in small places around the country, and they may have studied and had assignments together. PWC nevertheless believes that it can sometimes have its strengths because local leaders know the conditions well. Read news’s cases:
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Recommends overhauling the entire notification system in the Armed Forces – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
