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What is a collective agreement
Collective bargaining agreements are a comprehensive set of rules concluded between employer and employee organisations. The central government and the municipality of Oslo are separate collective bargaining areas, while the KS-agreement covers the country's other municipalities. In the public sector, the main collective agreement entails special rights in the event of occupational injury and illness. Approximately half of all employees in the public and private sectors are covered by supplementary agreements in the event of occupational injury, but here we will only look at the public agreements in the state and municipality.
The state is a self-insurer. In the municipal sector, however, it is common for the municipality to enter into a separate collective agreement with an insurance company that insures both the Act on Occupational Injury Insurance and occupational injuries under the main collective agreement. In such cases, the injured party's rights are also governed by the Insurance Contracts Act.
The content of these agreements in the public sector has strong common features. They cover compensation, disability and death. All the agreements also use the National Insurance basic amount (G) to specify the sums insured, and the levels currently appear similar. This agreement serves as a supplement to the Act on Occupational Injury Insurance for Employees in the Public Sector.
In the event of an occupational injury, the injured party is entitled to full pay for two years under the main collective agreement. This right is not insured even though it follows from the same agreement and is limited to occupational injuries. In such cases, the employer is liable to the injured party directly under the collective agreement.
The main collective agreement in central and local government applies for two years at a time, and minor deviations and clarifications may occur between the various collective agreements and tariff periods.
The most important characteristics of occupational injuries under the collective labour agreements
In addition to the right to full pay for 2 years, the content of the occupational injury rights can be summarised as follows:
- Compensation between 1-3 G,
- 15 G at 100 % disability
- 15 G on death.
Both occupational injuries and occupational diseases are covered.
Injuries sustained while travelling directly between home and work are covered as occupational injuries.
No age adjustment at settlement.
Commitment to NAV
A practically important part of the collective agreement is the link to NAV's assessments and decisions. This ensures harmony between what NAV approves and what the insurance companies must approve. If NAV has recognised an injury as an occupational injury, the injured party is entitled to have the injury recognised under the collective agreement in the municipality. In the state, this binding principle is only advisory.
Coordination at the settlement
The collective agreement provision on occupational injuries in the state and municipalities predates the Occupational Injury Insurance Act. When the Occupational Injury Insurance Act was introduced in 1990, a coordination principle was also introduced in the collective agreement. The injured party should not lose out on the introduction of the Occupational Injury Insurance Act. It is generally assumed that the «package for package» principle applies to this coordination.
The complexity of calculating compensation in a coordinated settlement with a collective agreement can be great. Several settlements may have to be calculated, various comparisons may have to be made, and you have to be sure that you have the right contractual basis, use the right G, and can handle interest issues correctly, etc. There is tax on the payment of interest and a small loss of income, which in turn raises some new questions.
Injury on direct journey between home and work
Unlike today's statutory provisions on occupational injuries, the original collective agreements considered injuries on the journey between home and the workplace to be occupational injuries. This means that injuries on the direct «journey to and from work» (and other business trips) can have a special value and their own independent protection under the collective agreements. NAV will never recognise an occupational injury on the way to work, so the link to NAV decisions does not apply here. In practice, questions often arise about what constitutes a «direct journey» between home and work.
Important protection for those aged (50)-55 and over
An important group that receives rights under the collective agreement is older employees. The reason for this is that the basic sum of 15 G in the collective agreement is not reduced with increasing age, as is the case with occupational injuries under the law. The exact cut-off point will vary from case to case, but is usually in the range from around 50-55 years and upwards. The consequence is that people over the age of 55 will in many cases receive a better compensation settlement under the main collective agreement compared with a settlement under the Occupational Injuries Insurance Act. However, if several years have passed since the workplace accident and a major loss of income has occurred, the settlement under the Occupational Injuries Insurance Act will apply for a correspondingly longer period.
