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Staff regulations

Regulations and local procedures for technical and administrative staff

28.02.2023: Updatet version, from16.06.2021, of the regualtions is only available in Norwegian: Personalreglement


On this page you will find the "Staff regulations including local procedural rules for technical and administrative positions at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)"

Negotiated on 20 June 2019

NOTE: This is an unofficial translation of the Norwegian version of the regulations and is provided for information purposes only. In the event of any inconsistency, the Norwegian version shall prevail.

Norsk versjon: Personal- og tilsettningsreglement for tekninsk-administrative stillinger


Regulations to appointment to positions at NTNU that are subject to the Public Employees Act (Statsansatteloven, abbreviated to sal. in Norwegian), unless specific regulation has been laid down in or pursuant to the Universities and University Colleges Act (Lov om universiteter og høyskoler, uhl.)

Part I General

1. Definitions, general information about the appointing authority, etc.

1.1 The Board of NTNU has resolved that appointment to the following managerial positions is to be undertaken by the Board itself: Rector, Pro-Rector, Vice-Rector, Directors, Deans and Museum Director.

1.2 For positions not covered by Section 1.1, the authority to make appointments is assigned to appointments boards; see Section 9 of the Staff Regulations.

2. Exemptions from the regulations

2.1 Exemptions may be made from sections 3 – 8 for appointments of up to 12 months. Appointments of student assistants with average working hours of less than 15 hours per week at NTNU in total are exempt from the rules in sections 4 – 8. The exemptions are conditional on legal grounds for temporary employment. In these appointment cases, the requirements for public advertisement, nomination and appointment do not apply; see Section 7 Subsection 1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian). In such cases, decisions on appointment may be made by the head of the faculty or unit at the corresponding organizational level, or the person authorized by the head.

The parties assume that this takes place only in exceptional cases, and where it has not been possible to predict the need.

Use of appointments without public advertisement, including justification for this, must be reported quarterly to LOSAM.

2.2 An appointment or extension of the employment relationship that will extend beyond one year (see 2.1 above) must be handled according to the rules in the Staff Regulations on advertisement, nomination and appointment.

Part II Advertisement, nomination and proposal for appointment

3. Advertisement of positions

3.1 Job vacancies, except for those specified in section 2.1 of the Staff Regulations, must be advertised publicly; see Section 4 Subsection 1 of the Public Employees Act[1] (in Norwegian).

Public advertisement currently takes place through nav.no. In other respects, advertisement takes place in the manner considered most appropriate in accordance with the government regulations in effect at any given time. The position must also be advertised internally through NTNU’s intranet. The deadline for applications must be at least two weeks from the advertisement date.

3.2 Public advertisement is to be waived where the position can be filled by a redundant employee or a part-time employee with the right to increase their working hours, or as a result of Inclusive Working Life (IA) initiatives.

3.3 The employer must inform the employees about job vacancies in the organization; see Section 14.1 of the Working Environment Act. Publicly advertised positions must therefore also be advertised internally. This is important to protect the interests of employees who have a preferential right to a position.

3.4 The position must be re-advertised if no qualified applicants have responded. The same applies if changes in the qualification requirements for the position are desired. The position must also be re-advertised if a disproportionately long time has elapsed since the position was advertised or if conditions related to the position have changed significantly.

All applicants must be notified if the position is to be re-advertised. The nominating authority decides on re-advertisement.

3.5 Before advertisement of a position, union representatives for the organizations associated with the faculty/department (LOSAM) must be informed of the advertisement text. The union representatives may require discussion of the salary placement (see Section 2.5.5 No. 1 of the Basic Collective Agreement) and the advertisement text in other respects. Through participation, the employees? at the unit in question must have information and be given the opportunity for participation regarding the text of the advertisement; see Section 9.6 of the adjustment agreement (additional local agreement)to the basic agreement for the civil service [Tilpasningsavtalen til Hovedavtalen].

3.6 The advertisement text is approved by the Rector/Rectorate, the head of the faculty/NTNU University Museum (VM) or the department. Advertisement texts must comply with the guidelines/templates in effect at NTNU with regard to structure and content.

4. Processing of applications

4.1 A public list of applicants must be made available to the applicants as soon as possible after the deadline for applications. An extended list of applicants must be made available to the applicants who request this.

4.2 The general rule is that all applicants are included in the public list of applicants; only in special cases can applicants be exempted on request[2]. This request is dealt with by the nominating authority with the involvement of the advisory group. If the request cannot be fulfilled, the applicant must be informed immediately[3]. In principle, NTNU employees who apply for other positions at NTNU cannot be exempted from public disclosure.

4.3 The nominating authority may choose to accept applications for consideration even if the deadline for applications has passed. In this case, all applications that have arrived until the application in question was received will be considered. Nevertheless, applications received more than 14 days after the application deadline cannot be considered.

4.4 Candidates who, based on a comprehensive first-hand assessment, might come into conflict with legislation governing exports of knowledge, technology and services will not advance further from the first stage in the recruitment process. Here, reference is made to the Export Control Act.

5. Interviews and obtaining references

5.1 The applicants considered best qualified according to the nominating authority’s assessment are to be invited for an interview, and references must be obtained. No one may be appointed until an interview has been conducted and references have been obtained.

5.2 If any of the qualified applicants state that they have a disability that will require adaptation of the workplace or the employment relationship, at least one of these applicants is to be invited for an interview before a nomination is made (see Section 6 of the Regulations for the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian)).

If any of the qualified applicants state that they have an immigrant background, at least one of these applicants is to be invited for an interview before a nomination is made. Having an immigrant background means having been born abroad and having immigrated, or having parents who were both born abroad (see PM 2010-08 (in Norwegian)).

5.3 New information that emerges in an interview or in any other way, and that is material to the assessment of the applicants, shall be recorded in the case documents.

5.4 If an applicant has requested that no information be obtained from their current or previous employer, and the nominating authority nevertheless wishes to obtain information, the applicant shall be notified so that he or she may withdraw the application.

5.5 To enable a moderate gender quota system, the evaluation shall make it clear whether the qualifications of the applicants in question are approximately equivalent or not if there are applicants of both genders. In addition, the nomination must be submitted to the unit’s gender equality adviser before the appointing body makes a decision on the matter (see the provisions on gender equality in the local pay adaptation agreement (tilpasningsavtalen) (in Norwegian) regarding moderate gender quotas in practice and the organization of equal opportunity initiatives).

6. Nomination, etc.

6.1 The immediate superior designates an advisory group consisting of at least two people. One of the members must be from the work environment to which the vacant position belongs. “Work environment” refers to the department, section or equivalent. At each faculty or department, LOSAM prepares a list of names of persons with appropriate competence who would be able to participate in an advisory group in connection with appointments. The term of office for these people runs concurrently with the term of office for members of the appointments board. However, LOSAM is to add to the list of names every year if necessary. A minimum of one representative in the advisory group is selected from the list of names. Both genders must be represented in the advisory group.

6.2 Representatives from the advisory group must be notified within a reasonable period, and follow the nomination process from the selection of suitable candidates and interviews to preparation of the nomination.

6.3 If there is disagreement over which of the applicants should be selected to continue in the process, the disagreement is to be resolved by the party with the authority to make a nomination. In the same way, disagreement on the nomination itself is resolved by the nominating authority. Disagreement regarding the nomination must be noted in the case documents.

6.4 If there are several qualified applicants for a position, three applicants must normally be nominated or proposed in the order in which they should be considered; see Section 5 Subsection 3, of the Public Employees Act. If fewer than three candidates are nominated, the rationale must be that there are fewer than three qualified candidates.

6.5 For positions that are not covered by Section 1.1 of the Regulations, the immediate superior is to make a nomination; see Section 5 Subsection 1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian).

7. Right of access to information

The right of access by the applicants (the parties) to a formal nomination is governed by the regulations to the Public Administration Act (forvaltningslovforskriften); see sections 14 - 19 (in Norwegian) in the regulations.

Part III Appointment

8. Appointing body

8.1 Government employees who are not covered by Section 1.1 of these Staff Regulations are appointed by an appointments board, except for short-term appointments covered by Sections 2.1 and 2.2.

8.2 The number of appointments boards is determined by the Board of NTNU; see Section 11-1 (5) of the University and University Colleges Act. At the time of establishing these Staff Regulations, there is one appointments board at each faculty, one for the NTNU University Museum (VM), and one joint appointments board for units affiliated to the Central University Administration. In addition, there is one central appointing body for dealing with cases involving preferential rights and redundancies.

9. Composition of the appointments board

Each appointments board at the faculties, the NTNU University Museum (VM), and the Central University Administration consists of 5 members. The chair of the appointments board, two representatives of the employer and two representatives of the employees; see Section 6 Subsection 2 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian). The representatives in the appointments board should have the same organizational affiliation, i.e. the representative’s position should be covered by the same appointments board as the vacant position, unless special considerations indicate otherwise. A maximum of one representative may fall under a different appointments board.

9.1 Chairmanship of the appointments board

The Dean, Museum Director and Director of the Human Resources Division chair their respective appointments boards.

Chairmanship of the appointments board at each faculty and the NTNU University Museum (VM) may be delegated to the administrative manager or head of the HR section at the faculty or the museum.

For appointments to positions where these persons have authority to make a nomination or are disqualified, they withdraw from the meeting during discussion of the matter and are replaced by the Director of the Human Resources Division or the person authorized by him/her. For appointments to positions where the Director of the Human Resources Division has authority to make a nomination or there is a conflict of interest, he or she withdraws from the meeting during discussion of the matter and is replaced by the Rector or the person authorized by the Rector.

The chair of the appointments board appoints the deputy chair from the other representatives of the employer. The deputy chair enters the board if the chair is absent and then has the deciding vote if the vote is tied.

9.2 Representatives of the employer

Two representatives of the employer with personal deputies are appointed by the Dean, Museum Director, and Director of the Human Resources Division to the appointments boards at the respective units. The appointment applies for 4 years at a time, with the possibility of one reappointment (a maximum of 8 years).

9.3 Representatives of the employees:

Two representatives of the employees with personal deputies are appointed for 4 years at a time with the possibility of one reappointment (a maximum of 8 years).

Employees’ trade unions that have a right to participate in negotiations at the faculty, NTNU University Museum (VM) and Central University Administration to which the appointments board applies jointly appoint representatives with personal deputies to the appointments board. Once they have been appointed, the employee representatives do not represent their own union, but must safeguard the interests of all applicants.

If the unions cannot agree, the representatives with their deputies are to be appointed as follows:

  1. If two employee unions each represent at least 25 % of the employees who belong to unions in the area of authority for the relevant appointments board, the unions each appoint their representative to the appointments board.
  2. If several employee unions each represent at least 25 % of the employees who belong to unions in the area of authority for the relevant appointments board, the two unions with the largest membership in the board’s area of authority each appoint their representative to the appointments board.
  3. Primary organizations in the same union confederation combine their membership numbers in relation to the rules in 1) and 2).

10. Administrative procedures for the appointments board

10.1 The appointments board makes the decision on who is to be appointed – see Section 6 Subsection 1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian); on exemptions from the trial period – see Section 15 Subsection 1 of the Act (in Norwegian); and on disciplinary measures, suspension, notice of dismissal and summary discharge – see Section 30 Subsection 1 of the Act (in Norwegian).

10.2 The appointments board is to make decisions in meetings. In exceptional cases, matters may be dealt with through circulation of documents if the board members agree on this. If at least one of the appointments board members requires a meeting in a specific case, or the written procedures show disagreement, the matter must be decided in a meeting.

10.3 In public government administration, participation in an appointments board is generally an official duty. The board members may not prevent decisions by failing to participate in the procedures or refusing to sign the minutes of a meeting. However, if some of the board members do not participate in the procedures for a case or do not sign the minutes of a meeting, the board has a quorum if at least half of the members participate and sign.

10.4 Appointments boards are independent administrative bodies with the aim of contributing to independent and satisfactory administrative procedures. Among other things, this entails the duty to ensure that there is sufficient information about the case before a decision is made; see Section 17 of the Public Administration Act (in Norwegian). The appointments board may therefore decide that people other than the members may also attend in order to shed light on a specific case. Such people leave the meeting when the actual decision in the case is to be made. Members of appointments boards are not subject to instructional authority. All members of the appointments board may ask questions that are necessary to obtain further information about the case, including questions about assessment of qualifications, legal authority for temporary appointment and applicants with special rights. If the opinion of a majority of the appointments board members is that the information bout the matter is inadequate, the matter can be returned to the nominating authority for a new assessment.

10.5 The nomination submitted by the nominating authority must be comprehensive enough to provide the appointments board with an adequate basis for assessment. If a member of an appointments board or other board wishes to appoint an applicant who has not been nominated, a written assessment of the applicant must be obtained from the person who submits the nomination; see Section 6, third paragraph of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian).

10.6 The final appointment decision is included in minutes signed by everyone or approved electronically. The matter is decided by ordinary majority vote; if the vote is tied, the chair has the deciding vote.

11. Notification of appointment

11.1 The person who is appointed must be notified of the appointment in writing in the form of an offer of employment. An employment contract in writing must be made in accordance with sections 14-5 and 14-6 of the Working Environment Act. The time limit for the person in question to confirm the offer must be indicated in the offer of employment.

The offer of employment must also include provisions relating to a trial period, if applicable. The person appointed confirms in writing that such information has been received by signing the employment contract.

11.2 In the case of temporary appointments, the offer of employment and the employment contract must also state the duration of the appointment or specify the assignments to be carried out. The legal authority for a temporary appointment (under Section 9 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian)) must be stated in the offer of employment and the employment contract.

11.3 The other applicants shall be notified as soon as possible that the position has been filled. The notification must include the name of the applicant who has been appointed to the position (see Section 27 of the Public Administration Act (in Norwegian)).

Part IV Other provisions

12. Impartiality

Impartiality must be considered in accordance with sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Public Administration Act (in Norwegian). The appointing body decides whether a member has a conflict of interest. The person in question does not take part in this decision. If possible, the member of the appointing body is to be replaced by their deputy member when the member has a conflict of interest. The members are obliged on their own initiative to inform the appointing body of circumstances that may be material to the question of impartiality.

13. Duty of confidentiality

Practice regarding the duty of confidentiality is in accordance with Section 13 of the Public Administration Act (in Norwegian). The members of the appointing body have a duty of confidentiality regarding information of which they become aware in connection with an appointment case. Those who are involved in appointment cases in other respects are subject to the same duty of confidentiality as the members of the appointing body.

14. Trial period

14.1 For the first six months, all employees serve a trial period according to Section 15 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian), unless the appointing body has expressly decided that the trial period will not apply.

14.2 If a trial period is imposed in connection with the transfer from one position at NTNU to another, it is a prerequisite that the earned entitlement to protection against dismissal and periods of notice is maintained.

A condition for application of the provisions of the Public Employees Act regarding dismissal in the trial period is that the employee has received regular follow-up with feedback, etc.

14.3 In the calculation of the employment period in terms of Section 23 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian), all uninterrupted service at NTNU is to be used as the basis, including the length of service at previous organizations that have been incorporated in NTNU through transfer of undertakings.

15. Leaves of absence in connection with training, transfer to another position, etc.

15.1 Time off duty in connection with academic development, courses and similar initiatives for development of competence is granted in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the State “Særavtale om permisjon og økonomiske vilkår ved etter- og videreutdanning, kurs mv.” (in Norwegian) [“Special agreement on leave and financial terms for continuing and further education, courses and the like]”. Also see the provisions on study leave in Section 12-11 of the Working Environment Act.

15.2 In connection with transfer to another position, an application for leave of absence must be decided after weighing the interests of the applicant and the employer.

15.3 NTNU wishes to stimulate greater internal mobility to contribute to the individual’s professional development and optimal use of the university’s human resources.

15.4 The period of leave in connection with transfer to another permanent position should normally not exceed one year.

15.5 The decision on leave of absence according to the above mentioned rules is made by the immediate superior.

16. Appeals body

If, in accordance with the Public Administration Act, a government employee appeals against a decision on termination of employment, disciplinary measures, suspension or dismissal, the appeal body is the Board of NTNU in cases where decisions are not made by the Board of NTNU itself. Where the Board of NTNU has made the decision, the appeals body is the ministry for the sector.

17. Other provisions

18. Entry into force and revision

18.1 These staff regulations have been negotiated between NTNU and the following union confederations: the LO Stat group of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Unio (the Confederation of Unions for Professionals), Akademikerne (the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations) and the YS Stat group in the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS). The Staff Regulations cover the conditions that are specified as subject to negotiation in the Public Employees Act and are in accordance with the requirements in Section 2 Subsection 4 of the Act (in Norwegian).

18.2 When the Regulations refer to statutory provisions, the purpose is to provide consistency in the text. The references are not intended to create rights or obligations beyond those laid down in the statutory provisions themselves.

18.3 The Staff Regulations enter into force on 1 July 2019 in accordance with what the parties have agreed; see Section 2 Subsection 1 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian) and Section 19 no. 2, letter d of the Basic Collective Agreement (in Norwegian).

18.4 Each of the parties in the institution and the specialist department may at any time require that revision of the staff regulations be considered; see Section 2 Subsection 5 of the Public Employees Act (in Norwegian). The parties agree that an evaluation of the Staff Regulations is to be carried out by the end of June 2020.

The Parties

NTNU, 20 June 2019

  1. Arne Kr. Hestnes, Director of the Human Resources Division
  2. Morten Mørch, Parat, affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS Stat)
  3. Sturla Søpstad, The Norwegian Civil Service Union (NTL), affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO Stat)
  4. Gry Eva Sinkaberg Alterskjær, Forskerforbundet (Norwegian Association of Researchers) (Unio)
  5. Rune Sætre, Tekna (the Norwegian Society of Graduate Technical and Scientific Professionals) (Akademikerne)

Footnotes

[1] The obligation to advertise relates to the qualifications principle, which states that the person who is best qualified according to a comprehensive assessment of relevant education, experience and personal suitability is to be appointed. The positions must therefore be advertised to ensure free competition by giving all potential candidates the opportunity to register their interest (Section 2 of the Public Employees Act).

[2] In the evaluation, emphasis must be placed on the interest that the public has in access to the case, especially if a higher post is involved. Considerations related to recruitment and protection of personal privacy must also be taken into account. The latter must be emphasized if disclosure of the application may have financial consequences for the applicant. In the same way, if the applicant has a leading post in operations undergoing restructuring where disclosure may lead to concern in the organization, this must be taken into account.

[3] In such cases, the applicant must be given the opportunity to withdraw the application.