Requirements for accommodation

Taken from the column Ask the lawyers / Professional traffic issue 3 in 2026

Question:
I have suffered a back injury and am therefore off sick from work. The doctor believes that I could perform other, less stressful tasks for my employer, or that assistive devices would enable me to continue in my position without heavy lifting.

Can I demand that my employer give me other work tasks or necessary aids?

Answer:
The employer has a duty to accommodate under the Working Environment Act. This duty applies "as far as it is possible" for the employer to accommodate. How far this duty goes depends, among other things, on whether the measures are practically feasible, and what burden they will entail for the company and for other employees. If the measures are not practically feasible, or will significantly affect other employees, the employer may have objective reasons to refuse them.

We advise you to demand a dialogue meeting with your employer. You can bring your union representative, your doctor and your case manager at Nav to the dialogue meeting. Before the meeting, you should, in consultation with your doctor, think about specific adaptation measures that you believe will help you return to work. Ask your doctor to write a specific medical certificate, so that you have medical documentation of what may be appropriate adaptation measures.

We also advise you to speak to the shop stewards at your company before the meeting. Shop stewards will be able to help you assess which measures are practically possible to implement.

If your employer does not want to implement accommodation measures, we advise you to request a written justification for this. You can send this justification to us, and we will help you assess your case.