Service declaration for the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud

The service declaration describes what users may expect from the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud (LDO).

Who are the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud’s users?

LDO shall be a low threshold offer that is easily accessible to users. Anyone can make an enquiry of LDO. You can contact us if you have been subjected to discrimination yourself, would like to support somebody who has experienced discrimination or if you are looking for information about rights and obligations. You can also inform LDO of cases you feel we should become involved in.

Employers, employee representatives and others can get advice and legal guidance about how to prevent discrimination and promote equality.

There is no charge for using the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud.

Who is the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud?

LDO is professionally independent. Administratively, we are associated with the Ministry of Children and Equality.
 
The Anti-Discrimination Ombud Act with its regulations regulates the work of LDO. LDO was set up on January 1, 2006.

What does the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud do?

LDO shall combat discrimination and promote equality regardless of:

• gender
• ethnicity
• disability
• language
• religion and philosophy
• sexual orientation
• age

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud shall:

• Enforce the equality and discrimination legislation
• Pinpoint conditions that prevent equality or contribute to discrimination
• Provide advice and legal guidance on work that promotes equality
• Document and mediate knowledge about equality and discrimination
• Be a national competence centre for equality and discrimination
  

Nationwide offer

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud is located in Oslo, but is an offer for the whole country. If you live a long way away from Oslo you can contact us on the Internet, via e-mail, telephone or letter.

What can LDO do for you, the victim of discrimination?

• Give advice and legal guidance on questions about discrimination
• Receive enquiries/complaints. LDO may issue statements about whether a concrete circumstance is in violation of the law. The statement is not legally binding, but it can be brought before the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Tribunal which in certain cases can make binding decisions. If waiting for the tribunal’s decision will result in negative consequences, LDO can make a so called urgent resolution in the case. Disputes are often resolved just by LDO contacting the party being accused of discrimination.
• Receiving a tip-off about possible discrimination. LDO can take up cases on its own initiative as a result of receiving a tip-off.
  

Advice and legal guidance about equality-promoting work.

LDO provides guidance in relation to the measures employers and others can initiate in order to achieve equality and combat discrimination. There are specially prepared guidelines for employers that employers can have sent out to them. LDO is also developing electronic guidance material that is being made available on LDO’s website. LDO also offers a lecture on this topic.

LDO shall control and review that employers and public authorities work in a targeted, planned and active manner for gender equality.

Mediate information and knowledge about equality and discrimination.

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud shall be en arena for topical debate within our field of responsibility. LDO arrange frequent meetings and seminars where relevant topics are highlighted and debated. Information about equality and discrimination is also available on LDO’s website.

Telephone

You can get advice and guidance by telephone during opening hours. A lawyer should be available who can help with queries about rights.

Visit

It is an advantage, but not necessary, to make an appointment in advance for a visit. In most cases, there is a lawyer available who can help with enquiries about rights.

Accessibility

LDO’s premises facilitate wheelchair users, but we do not have our own car parking spaces.

Communication

We can offer written and oral advice. If you require an interpreter when talking to us, we can provide one if you request it.

LDO’s website is adapted for blind people and the visually impaired.

LDO makes an effort to communicate clearly and simply so that all our users can understand what we say.

E-mail and letters

It is possible to make enquiries to LDO by letter or e-mail. We adhere to the response time stipulated by the Public Administration Act. You are entitled to get a response to your enquiry within three weeks at the most, but we strive to respond as quickly as possible. This does not mean that you can expect the complaint to be fully processed within this time, but that LDO has started working on the case.

Internet pages

LDO is always available for enquiries through our website www.Ldo.no. Some of the things you will find on our web pages are:

• The laws we enforce
• Legal advice on your rights and obligations
• Informations on case processing at LDO
• LDO’s statements and decisions
• Brochures and other publications that can be downloaded or ordered
• Facts on equality and discrimination
• Electronic forms for questions and complaints cases
• News

Public access

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud complies with the Open Files Act, that is, all case documents are, in principle, public. Anyone who makes a request to do so, may gain access to letters, e-mails and other documents sent to or from us. Personal information is bound by confidentiality. Outside parties will not gain access to this.

Your name will not be public if you bring a discrimination case to LDO. Only the parties in a complaints case may receive personal information. A party in such a case will be, for instance, your employer if you feel that you have been discriminated against at work. Then your enquiry will usually be sent to your employer. Correspondingly, all information from the adversary (the employer in this example) will be given to you. This is necessary so that both parties in a case shall be able to check the information and refute mistakes. You can in special cases request anonymity, but in most cases that would limit LDO’s possibilities for pursuing the case.
 
It is illegal for an employer to punish an employee for contacting the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud.

Can I be anonymous? Does the Open Files Act apply?

Everyone can apply to the Ombud and the Ombud will provide guidance even if you do not provide your name and address. If we shall deal with your case as a complaints case, we must have contact information from you.

Since the Ombud is an administrative body, it is bound by the Open Files Act. This means that all letters received by the Ombud and that the Ombud sends out are entered in a public post journal. Anyone who wishes may ask to see the documents that have been entered into the post journal. The Open Files Act stipulates that in some cases access can be denied. This will apply to information regarding personal circumstances, for instance. The Ombud has a confidentiality obligation regarding personal circumstances. “Personal circumstances” are considered to be among other things information about family relationships, physical and mental health, the receiving of public social support etc. – that is, circumstances which one would normally wish to keep to oneself.

If you contact the Ombud and, for instance, write about any problems you have with your employer, this will be considered to be “personal circumstances.” We will therefore remove all information that can identify you if somebody asks to see your letter.

If you however send us an e-mail or a letter asking, for instance, about which rules apply to the withdrawal of parental benefits, or if you draw our attention to a job advertisement that could be against the law, your e-mail/letter and our answer to you will be publicly available.

The main rule is that what is sent in to us will be removed from the public domain if it is related to personal circumstances. In such cases, the case number and the document number along with the first title line of the letter will appear in the journal. Other letters can be read directly from the post journal.

Confidentiality

All employees of the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud are bound by confidentiality.

Media

Media coverage of LDO’s statements and cases is important to make the public aware of rights and obligations. Journalists have access to LDO’s post journal. LDO receives a great amount of media interest in its cases.

LDO does not provide personal information to the media without consent from those involved.

Help to find your way in public life

If LDO cannot help you, we advise you on where to make enquiries.

Complaints of LDO’s service

If you are not satisfied with LDO’s service, we would like you to make contact with us by telephone, e-mail or post.