Employee lawfully waived re-employment rights

Over the course of seven years, an employee left and was rehired by the same company multiple times due to redundancy. Each time, he signed a severance agreement that kept his preferential right to re-employment.

In his final termination, things were different. The severance agreement was written in English rather than Norwegian, and this time, he waived his re-employment rights. When a new position became available a few months later, he wanted to use his preferential right to be rehired.

The Norwegian Court of Appeal ruled that the employee had lawfully waived this right. The severance agreement was enforceable, so the company was not required to rehire him. The Court also emphasised that the use of English did not affect the outcome. English was the company’s corporate language, and the employee described himself as fluent. Overall, the agreement was fair and reasonable.

IUNO’s opinion

It is common for employees to waive their re-employment rights as part of a severance agreement. However, this case shows that companies should ensure that employees understand what they’re agreeing to.

IUNO recommends that companies generally design agreements in a way that is easy to understand. If the corporate language is English, and the employee has expressed they understand it, there is usually no need to write the agreement in the local language. Most importantly, employees should always be encouraged and given time to seek legal advice before signing.

[The Norwegian Gulating Court of Appeals’ judgement LG-2024-160104 of 1 July 2025]