Until the new year, it has been possible for kindergartens to be organized under a single company, even if they consist of many different kindergartens, or do other things. But from 1 January this year there have been changes. The law now states that each individual nursery school must be a single company. In this way, the government believes that it will be easier to see how the billions allocated by the public to the private kindergartens are actually used. But this is where the problem for the 51 kindergartens run by congregations around the country starts. The challenges have been so great that the employers’ organization for church businesses, KA, says that the process of separating the nurseries into separate companies has now come to a complete halt. – It doesn’t feel good at all. We feel that there is great uncertainty among our members. That’s what Jens A. Bjelland says to news. He is a special adviser at the employers’ organisation. The case has previously been discussed in the trade magazine barnehage.no. The law makes it difficult The problem is complex, but briefly it can be summarized as follows: Today, the employees in the kindergartens have the same pension agreement as all the other employees in the church. They could also continue this when the kindergartens become their own company. The only problem then was that the local parishes had to guarantee the costs if the kindergartens went bankrupt. And the law puts an end to that. Because a parish cannot guarantee the financial obligations of others. So isn’t it just then to negotiate your own, new pension agreements? If we are to believe Bjelland, it will not be quite that simple. Today, private kindergartens receive money for pensions from the public sector. But this grant does not cover the expenses for all the kindergartens. This allows them to apply for more money. The problem then is that the agreement must be concluded for 2019 in order for them to be able to apply at all. – If we had sat down and hurriedly negotiated a new pension agreement with the unions, we would have lost the right to apply for additional grants. It is crucial for us to have that opportunity. We have high pension costs today, says Bjelland. As a result, several of the church’s nurseries operate in violation of the law. Demands that the government take action Bjelland believes that the ministry has not done its job when the law was passed. – The duty to investigate has been breached. It says that when the Storting adopts laws, it must be clear what the consequences may be. That obviously hasn’t happened. – But haven’t you made any input in the consultation rounds? – We have sent a response to the consultation, and said that the pension issue was going to be difficult. But it has not been clear what all the consequences were going to be. It is also not KA’s task to ensure that the government complies with the duty of investigation. Jens A. Bjelland says the church’s kindergartens are in a difficult situation. Photo: KA Asked for a meeting – has not received a reply State Secretary Kjetil Vevle writes in an e-mail to news that the legislative work has been carried out in line with the usual requirements. He states that the ministry became aware in the autumn that some kindergartens would have problems organizing themselves into their own companies. – Unfortunately, this problem was not disclosed during the consultation process. We understand that the transition requires time and work for some of KA’s member nurseries and note that not everything was in place by the New Year. Before Christmas, KA asked for a crisis meeting with Minister of Education Tonje Brenna. But they haven’t heard anything. To news, State Secretary Vevle says that KA will now be invited to a meeting on the matter. KA, for its part, is clear about what needs to be done. – One option is to say that it was too poorly investigated, and make an exception provision where the parish nurseries are exempted from the requirement of an independent legal entity. The second is to make an amendment to the regulations that allows for kindergartens that are forced to change their pension scheme due to changes in the law, to also apply for additional grants to cover pension costs. But it is not quite that simple, we are to believe the state secretary. Because the law that has been adopted does not allow for the creation of new exceptions or transitional rules. – We will take the input from KA with us in the further work with management and financing of private kindergartens, he says. Can ultimately be closed So what could the consequences be? According to the Norwegian Directorate of Education, it is the municipality that is responsible for checking whether the private kindergartens comply with the law. They can demand that the nursery do what they have to in order to comply with the law. If the nursery school chooses not to do this, the municipality can decide that the nursery school must close. – Now in the first phase, guidance on the regulations is an important tool, says Vevle. – What do you think about the fact that several private kindergartens are not separated as independent legal entities, as required by law? – We understand that the transition to separate legal subjects is extra time- and labor-intensive for kindergartens that need to clarify the relationship with other legal areas. We take note that in certain such cases it could happen that you did not get everything in place by 1 January 2023.
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Runs kindergartens in the same company – news Nordland
