A Board member and attorney in the law arm of PwC Norway, Cecilie Pande Aas, sat in a meeting where the National HR Director used the threat of a formal warning to discourage an employee from speaking with the safety officer.
When the employee described the event as a breach of the law, attorney Aas secretly produced coverup “documentation” that the event never took place.
The words, however, were captured in a speech recording.
PwC Attorney Cecilie Pande Dramstad Aas and National HR Director Kristin Hesla Halvorsen were informed of the coverage and asked for interviews, but did not respond.
PwC National HR Director tried to stop speaking with safety rep
National HR Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Norway, Kristin Hesla Halvorsen (→), tried to discourage an employee from speaking with the safety representative, a position mandated by law.
Four people took part in the meeting: Director Halvorsen, attorney and Board member Cecilie Pande Aas, a HR assistant, and the employee. A screenshot of the calendar event is available.
Halvorsen asserted, in response to a clear question, that a formal warning would be considered if the employee spoke with the safety representative.
The employee met privately with board member Aas shortly after, and stated that the threat was a breach of the Working Environment Act. Aas immediately reject this.
Board member Aas secretly produced “documentation” as coverup
Secretly to the employee, attorney Aas thereafter wrote an e-mail explicitly meant to “document” the events. In the e-mail, attorney Aas claims that the employee had never been discouraged from speaking with the safety rep:
He then made an issue out of you actively advising him against this [speaking with the safety rep], which was a breach of various regulations.
I was clear that I disagreed that you had advised him against this (..)
I just wanted to document this as I fear the last word is not said from him about this matter.
– Board member and attorney Cecilie Pande Aas, email to HR assistant, translated
Contrary to the Board member’s mail, the threat was captured in a speech recording.
Further whistleblowing through the formal channel
Aas was correct in assuming that the last word had not been said. The employee raised the event through the internal whistleblowing channel, quoting the references to the safety representative and that disciplinary action would be considered.
The whistleblowing was rejected – Attorney and partner Gunnar Holm Ringen wrongly claimed that the employee had never been threatened with disciplinary action for speaking with the safety rep.