Free legal assistance: Your most important membership benefit

It can happen to all of us: One day you run into problems in your employment and need help. Or you are affected by restructuring and cutbacks and want to fight back.

If you are in need a lawyer, good legal advice is expensive. One of the biggest advantages of being a member of Forskerforbundet is the possibility of free legal assistance.

Our team of five experienced attorneys and a trainee lawyer are ready to help.

Head of our legal department, Mariann Helen Olsen, who is a lawyer with the right to appear before the Supreme Court, explains what it takes to get help and what kind of assistance you as a member can get.

– Free legal assistance is a significant benefit for our members, says Olsen.

Can prosecute all the way to the Supreme Court

Forskerforbundet's members can get help in legal matters related to their main employment relationship.

– These can be matters related to, for example, restructuring that leads to dismissal, dismissal cases, conflicts, discrimination or the like, Olsen explains.

She adds that it is important to be aware that there is a waiting period of three months after you become a member. In other words, you cannot register as a member to get assistance for an ongoing case, just as you cannot wait to take out insurance until you have a compensation claim.

– Our working methodology is also such that all matters are first submitted to the local union representative, as we have good experience that most matters are best resolved locally, says Olsen.

If a solution is not reached, fortunately we have experienced attorneys who can prosecute cases all the way to the Supreme Court.

Can cover all legal costs

When Forskerforbundet assists with lawsuits, the members have the opportunity to have all legal costs covered, including imposed legal costs.

The attorneys assess whether the case is suitable for proceedings and whether there is an opportunity to win the case.

New in 2024 is that the state has had to cover legal costs where our cases about dismissals have led to victory.

Sometimes, good advice come costly. There is also a difference between being right and getting right.

– In this sense, good advice can sometimes be that you do not have a case here. Otherwise, this could easily become a "disservice" to the members, Olsen continues.

Succeeds in preventing many redundancies

The knowledge sector has currently hit hard times, characterized by restructuring, redundancies, and downsizing.

In this difficult situation, our attorneys work to achieve good solutions for the members. We are successful in many cases, and we prevent many dismissals.

Olsen says that precisely dismissals are one of the main reasons why members are now contacting us.

– The biggest fear for individuals is of course losing their job. It is compared to being in a breakup or some other type of life crisis. It is quite dramatic, says Olsen.

In such situations, the legal department often comes in to assess the cases of individual members.

–  We look at whether the dismissal is factual or not, and if it is not, we use the legal means we have to secure the member's rights.

After further cuts were announced for the knowledge sector in 2025, the team has been working to get the legal department involved as early as possible in redundancy cases – which can be crucial to the outcome.

–  This has meant that we have already succeeded in preventing a good number of redundancies in the state sector, and we are very happy about that, Olsen explains.

Encourages you to join a trade union

– Regardless of cuts in the sector, you should be a member of a trade union because you never know when you may encounter obstacles in your employment. Then you have a safety net that you would not otherwise have had.

She gives an example:

– If you want to take a dismissal case to court yourself, the price can quickly rise to between NOK 500,000 and one million, often even more. The sums speak for themselves, Olsen explains.