Report a health and safety issue

You can report any wrongdoings to Arbeidstilsynet, either in your own workplace or in another workplace. You can use the reporting tool for the following situations:

• Conditions in your own workplace: When an employee reports about something in his/her workplace that is breaking health and safety laws, this is known as a notification pursuant to Chapter 2A of the Working Environment Act (whistleblowing).
• Conditions in another workplace: If you are concerned about the health and safety of employees in another workplace, you can use the reporting tool to tell us.

If you have witnessed hazards or problems in the working environment, you should first report them internally, usually to your immediate supervisor. You can do this by for example submitting a report of non-conformance or a notification in accordance with the guidelines in your company’s HSE system.

You can also report it by notifying an employee representative (union) or safety representative, or you can contact bedriftshelsetjenesten (the occupational health service) if the company is associated with an approved occupational health service.

Some of the reports we receive are part of private law. In such issues the final decision can only be made by the court-system. Arbeidstilsynet has no authority to interfere in such matters, but we can give you and your employer general information about what the law says about such matters.

Examples of issues of a private law nature:

• unpaid salary in sectors without statutory minimum salary
• unpaid holiday pay
• the size of salary in sectors without mandatory minimum wages
• dismissal with notice (oppsigelse)
• temporary redundancy (permittering)
• disagreements about holidays and holiday pay
• the right to leave of absence (permisjon)

Arbeidstilsynet does not cover every work-related matter. In the following issues other authorities are responsible: 

• Reports about undeclared work should be sent to Skatteetaten (The Norwegian Tax Administration) (skatteetaten.no).
• Suspicions about trafficking or violent crime must be reported to Politiet (the Norwegian Police) (politiet.no).
• Unpaid sick pay (sykepenger) or conflicts with the employer regarding terms relating to absence due to illness, must be reported to NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) (nav.no).
• Reports about the quality of food or animal health must be sent to Mattilsynet (the Norwegian Food Safety Authority) (mattilsynet.no).
• Reports relating to the quality of services, e.g. education or health services, must be reported to the appropriate supervisory authority – for example Statsforvalteren (the County Governor) (statsforvalteren.no).

If you live near a construction site and are disturbed by noise or dust, you should contact the local authorities (kommunen).

You can choose to remain anonymous when using the reporting tool to report an issue.

You may access the anonymous digital dialogue platform when reporting, regardless of whether you choose to remain anonymous or not. If you do so, you will be able to have an anonymous dialogue with us after your report has been submitted.

Arbeidstilsynet registers all reports we receive. We assess whether we should follow them up, and if so, how. In some cases, we may contact the company directly and demand that they rectify the censurable condition.

We won’t always be able to follow up a report with an inspection. In some cases, this may even apply to serious health and safety issues. If there is an imminent danger to life or health, you should contact the police.

When you report something to Arbeidstilsynet, you have no formal right to claim that the matter is followed up in a particular way. Nor do you have the right to be informed about how or if we follow up your report, nor can you complain if we choose not to follow up your report.

Arbeidstilsynet receives more than 10 000 reports each year.

Arbeidstilsynet has a duty of confidentiality regarding the identity of anyone who reports potentially illegal matters. Generally, this duty of confidentiality means that you will not receive a reply from us, except the initial receipt you get when reporting the issue.