NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Thomas Talén, Øyvind Clausen Bade, Marte Dahl and Marianne Viset, Ro Sommernes Advokatfirma AS
8.5 Multi-Jurisdictional HR Internal Investigations
To provide effective protection against discrimination, Chapter 6 of the Act contains a rule on shared burden of proof. 8.4 Criminal Cases There is no general duty for employers to report crimi - nal offences to the police, but the employer should consider doing so where a notice of concern relates to possible criminal conduct. Where a police investiga - tion is initiated, the internal investigation may continue in parallel, but the employer should be aware that the police investigation may affect the internal process. It may be appropriate to engage in dialogue with the police regarding how to proceed. The employer must also consider whether it is necessary to implement interim measures to protect employees and the work - place whilst the investigation is ongoing. The internal investigation may also affect the seizure of potential evidence in the criminal case. During an HR internal investigation, the privilege against self-incrimination must also be considered. Information obtained in an HR internal investigation may be used in subsequent legal proceedings, such as police investigations. It is therefore particularly important to operate in accordance with the privilege against self-incrimination if the matter is or may be of a criminal nature.
There are no special procedural requirements that an employer must follow in cases involving multiple jurisdictions. However, it is important that employers comply with the rules relating to data transfers across borders (see 7. Data Protection for further information on data protection). For investigations involving employees in several countries, the employer should consider engaging legal assistance in each/all relevant jurisdictions.
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