– It was corona time, everything was chaos, the owner tells news. Shortly before Erna Solberg gave her historic speech that Norway was closed due to corona in March 2020, the man borrowed NOK 650,000 to start a pub in Askim. In the summer he employed a southern European woman. The salary was set at NOK 15,000 a month. She worked six hours a day, six days a week. This lasted for two years. Now, in a historic judgment on wage theft, the Oslo district court has established that the man deliberately paid the woman too little in salary. – It was not theft, there was no money in the till, the man says to news. Besides running for himself, he drove a bus to make ends meet. The Oslo district court did not doubt that he was in a difficult financial situation. But the judgment states that there is no excuse. A big problem – This is a happy verdict, says Lars Mamen He is general manager of Fair play building in Oslo and the surrounding area. They work to fight crime in the workplace. – The judgment states that employees should not tolerate not receiving the wages they are rightfully entitled to. Managing director Lars Mamen of Fair play construction in Oslo and the surrounding area believes that the verdict on wage theft is gratifying. Photo: Håvard Sæbø / Lo media Fair Play construction reviews no one itself. But they advise employees about who can help them make a complaint. Most of the cases they help with are precisely about employees who do not get the wages they should have. Mamen hopes the verdict acts as a deterrent. Four have been reported. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority also hopes that the verdict, together with other future verdicts, can have a preventive effect. – So that it becomes less tempting to steal wages from employees, says section leader Dag Nordhagen Selsjord in the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. This year, they have focused on monitoring wages and working conditions. In 1,800 inspections, they have found violations at 630 companies. Four cases of wage theft have been reported to the police this year. But there could have been far more. – It is not always the wisest thing to report all cases. The police do not have the capacity to investigate all cases where we suspect wage theft. Now they will use the judgment from the Oslo district court to understand what evidence the courts attach importance to. They must use that when they consider reporting new cases. But the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority has several ways of proceeding to ensure that people get the wages they are entitled to: Companies are ordered to pay wages, such as overtime. The Norwegian Labor Inspectorate checks that this is happening by asking for payslips and bank statements. – And then we can issue an infringement fee if the breaches are serious, says Selsjord. The punishment The man who ran the pub in Askim has been sentenced to 30 days in prison. He must also pay NOK 243,000 to the state. The police have already seized the amount in the man’s bank account. – Confiscation takes place because the criminal should not profit from criminal acts, says police attorney Andreas Meeg-Bentzen. He took the case to court. Police prosecutor Andreas Meeg-Bentzen in the Oslo police district was the prosecutor in the case of wage theft. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB The police must now ensure that the southern European woman receives the money in compensation. The pub owner says that the business in Askim has closed down. He is on sick leave and says that the case has taken a toll on his health. When he recovers, he intends to drive a bus again. – Never more business in Norway, he says.
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The owner of a restaurant in Askim is the first to be convicted of wage theft – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
