Joséphine’s employer refused to pay her sick pay: – I cried for two days

Ragnhild Heyerdahl

foreignworkers@lomedia.no

Sissel M. Rasmussen (photo)

– I was sick. I was a foreigner. And I was treated like dirt.

Joséphine Morel walks down Thorvald Meyers gate in Oslo and repeatedly glances over at the other side of the street.

That’s the location of her former workplace: the Backstube bakery at Schous plass. Morel looks in through the window to see if she can spot anyone she knows.

This is the first time in a long while that she has walked past the bakery. Recently she has chosen different routes to avoid it. The thought of running into one of her former bosses stresses her out.

Recently arrived in Oslo

It all started out so well.

Joséphine Morel arrives in Norway in April 2023 and immediately feels at home. The 27-year-old from Normandie has a master’s degree in marketing.

Her plan is to find a job that pays enough for her to live on while she looks for employment better suited to her education.

In July, she gets a part-time job with the Backstube chain of bakeries. The hours give her the flexibility she needs.

She has always enjoyed working. The level of activity at Backstube suits her.

Chronic illnesses

Unfortunately, later that autumn Morel falls ill. In November, she contracts Covid. She also suffers other health-related challenges.

The 27-year-old has two chronic illnesses that at certain times cause her a great deal of pain.

Morel does not wish to share details of the state of her health with the wider public, but FriFagbevegelse is aware of her medical diagnoses.

During this period several of her health problems flare up at the same time.

She needs to take strong medications, and the doctor has difficulty finding the right dosages. Furthermore, in early January it becomes clear that she will need another operation.

At the same time, members of her immediate family are also struck down by serious illness. The entire situation imposes a considerable strain on her, both physically and mentally.

A DIFFICULT TIME: Joséphine Morel still becomes emotional when she talks about what happened at Backstube.

Sissel M. Rasmussen

Criticised for going to A&E

What’s more, things are not going smoothly in her new job.

Morel reacts to a number of events. Such as when she needs to go to A&E and informs her boss that she won’t be able to work her next shift.

According to Morel she is reprimanded for breaking the rule requiring a minimum of six hours’ notice to be given before the start of a shift.

Later, she raises this and several of other incidents in a meeting with the bosses. She draws their attention to what she sees as a lack of empathy on their part for a situation in which she was very poorly.

This criticism and Joséphine Morel’s allegations have been put to Backstube.

They are reluctant to comment on a personnel matter, according to Backstube’s Head of Sustainability, Communications and Public Relations, Sofie Oraug-Rygh.

The move to a new store

Early in the new year her health problems worsen. When she consults a doctor on 10 January she is told that she should not work. She has physical as well as mental health issues.

She is signed off sick for 15 days. This doctor’s certificate is subsequently extended.

On the very same day that she is signed off sick she is informed in writing that she is to be transferred to a different store.

Morel is so ill that she lacks the energy to respond to the notification for some days. Five days later she replies to the e-mail.

She writes that she is surprised at this decision. She also asks when she is due to start at the new store, whether she will be compensated for having to travel further to work, and what shifts she will be allocated. She closes the message with the words «Thank you in advance for your reply! Have a nice day».

Confined to bed

Morel is now confined to her bed for much of the time. She has pains, cramps and is exhausted.

What’s more, her condition means that she is unable to carry anything. Going to work is out of the question.

Barely two weeks after she is signed off sick the HR Coordinator asks to meet Joséphine to discuss her sick leave.

Joséphine Morel replies that she is too ill to attend in person but that she is able to take part in a video meeting.

She assumes that the meeting will be about when she can return to work and how much work she would be able to do.

However, during the video meeting Morel discovers that the bosses have a very different agenda.

FriFagbevegelse does not know the details of what was said at the meeting, but we have seen the emails that were exchanged later.

According to Morel, the boss noted that she sent a written notification instead of phoning in when her sick leave was extended and that this was a breach of the in-house regulations.

Furthermore, according to the manager, she had been spotted at a different Backstube store drinking coffee with friends.

Morel makes it very clear that the bosses know nothing about her health condition and that whatever she may or may not have done while she was on sick leave is none of their business.

Morel says that she refuses to continue the meeting unless a representative of her trade union is present. Then she hangs up.

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Her employer intends to contest the sick note

A week passes before she hears from her employer again. Morel receives a further call from the HR Coordinator.

It’s 30 January and pay day for Backstube employees. Morel’s sick leave has just been extended.

Her phone rings but she does not take the call and shortly afterwards a message rolls into her inbox.

The message is from the HR Coordinator and reads: «The reason I called was to let you know that we (Backstube) will not be paying you sick pay for the next 16 days and that we are accordingly contesting your sick note. In our opinion, you do not fulfil the preconditions for receiving sick pay».

In the e-mail she notes that Morel was signed off sick just a few days after a «follow-up meeting» and shortly after having received written notification of the change of workplace.

Both of the above are given as grounds for Backstube’s doubts about whether she is really ill.

Overwhelmed and scared

Joséphine Morel is panic-stricken. She had no idea that it was possible to contest a sick note. Neither did her boyfriend or her Norwegian friends.

In their opinion, what Backstube is doing is against the law.

But that is not the case. As Joséphine Morel is soon informed by Nav, contesting a sick note is entirely lawful.

Nav (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) is the government agency in Norway that pays out sick pay if you are on sick leave for longer than 16 days.

– I think I cried for two days. I was scared. Overwhelmed. It was really difficult.

She is in a very bad place, both physically and mentally. She is sick, she has bills that need to be paid, and she doesn’t know who to turn to for help.

HAD TO BORROW MONEY: having no income was very difficult, says Morel.

Sissel M. Rasmussen

Has to borrow money

Because the employer refused to pay sick pay Nav also stops its payments. Joséphine Morel’s situation is critical.

With no income in a new country she is in dire straits. The rent has to be paid. Her student loan has to be paid. And she needs money for food and groceries.

On top of all this, Morel also has high health care costs to cover, including expensive consultations with medical specialists.

– It was like being kicked when I was already down.

Morel has no choice but to borrow money from her partner, friends and family.

Is your boss refusing to accept your sick note? This is what you must do

Trade union steps in

After a time, she contacts her trade union, Fellesforbundet (The United Federation of Trade Unions). They decide to take on her case.

Help comes from the union rep at Backstube, Tom Vaughan, and Fellesforbundet’s Terje Dahl.

With the help of Fellesforbundet she files an appeal with Nav. And at a meeting with Backstube they ask the company to retract its rejection of the sick note.

The bosses decline to do so.

Morel, however, is not prepared to take this lying down. At the outset, she phones Nav more or less every day.

The doctors tell her that she needs to rest and that everything will be fine. They are convinced that Nav will find in her favour.

But for Morel, time is of the essence. She can’t go on living without an income.

A breakthrough

The doctors would be proved right.

On 18 April Morel receives the result she had been waiting for: Nav reject the employer’s refusal to accept her sick note.

Nav write that they have assessed the medical documentation and have concluded that her illness means that she cannot work during the period in question.

– We have therefore concluded that your employer is legally obliged to pay you sick pay.

After three months and ten days without an income she finally receives her money.

Intends to stand up for others in her situation

For Joséphine Morel, however, this is not the end of the matter.

Although she would prefer to leave Backstube, she stays put. Because Joséphine Morel has a plan.

She starts back in a 20 % full-time equivalent position with 80% FTE sick leave.

She has now been transferred to a different store. She never hears from her former bosses.

– They never contacted me. They’ve never apologised for anything, and I have not received any kind of explanation, she maintains.

Together with Fellesforbundet union reps she requests a meeting with Backstube.

She wants an apology, and she wants Backstube to learn a lesson from this matter – «so that nobody else ever has to go through the hell I went through».

– This isn’t just about me, says Morel.

She says that people from all over the world work in the Backstube chain of bakeries. Many of them are young and in their first jobs.

They are not aware of their rights, they don’t know who to turn to for help and they are frightened to speak out about unfairness for fear of not finding new jobs.

– These are just some of the reasons that I wanted to do this.

OSLO: Joséphine Morel has long avoided passing the bakery where she used to work. The thought that she might encounter one of her former bosses stresses her out.

Sissel M. Rasmussen

Too much sick leave

Even so, Morel does not receive the apology she was hoping for.

According to union representative Tom Vaughan, Backstube’s HR manager apparently claimed that absence due to sickness in Norway is high.

– But that has nothing whatsoever to do with Joséphine’s case. It seems to me that they completely overlook the fact that they are dealing with real people, says Tom Vaughan.

Following the meeting Morel writes a sharp email to Anna-Lena Fritzen, Head of Operations at Backstube.

«I came to this meeting hoping to be able to put all this behind me. Instead, all I encountered was people who don’t care enough about their employees or are not clever enough to understand when it’s time to shoulder responsibility. To take responsibility for all the pain, the stress and the fear I had to endure because of Backstube, at a time in my life when I needed support.»

Finally, Backstube apologised.

«I understand that this situation has caused you a great deal of worry and I apologise for the miscommunication that contributed to this situation», Fritzen writes in an email to Morel.

REPLY: Anna-Lena Fritzen, Backstube’s Head of Operations, replies to Morel by email.

Sissel M. Rasmussen

Horrifying

According to Tom Vaughan, Morel’s case was not the only time that Backstube has disputed a sick note.

Since Morel fell ill, he has assisted in two other cases, he tells us.

– It’s very disappointing to see this happening again, says Vaughan.

Terje Dahl of Fellesforbundet says that Backstube’s handling of this matter was horrifying.

– Instead of initiating a dialogue and following up our member properly they chose this course of action, he says.

He adds that Joséphine Morel was never given the opportunity to prove that she was actually ill.

Backstube refuses to respond

FriFagbevegelse have asked Backstube whether their head office has issued instructions stating that personnel managers should question sick notes submitted by employees.

We have also asked what procedures Backstube has in place for situations in which a manager doubts the genuineness of a sick note.

The company has declined to answer any of our questions.

Applying for jobs

Some three months have passed since the last meeting with Backstube. Joséphine Morel has recently undergone an operation and is now applying for jobs in Oslo.

She was in serious doubt about whether she wanted to go public with her story.

– But I’ve concluded that if an employer refuses to employ me because I stand up for my rights then that’s not somewhere I want to work.

– Nobody should be allowed to do this kind of thing to an employee, says the 27-year-old.

Translated by Robert Lovering 

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