When an employee dies

When an employee dies on the University's premises

• The first step in such events is always to notify the University Security Operation Centre by phone 22 85 66 66.
• Notification of relatives of the actual death is handled by the police, possibly through a priest or religious community. The deceased's name shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the police before relatives have been notified.
• If the death can be linked to incidents at the University, a number of measures must be put in place to follow this up. This is described in more detail in UiO's emergency preparedness plan.

Contact with the family

• The deceased¡¯s immediate superior plays an important role in maintaining contact with the family and next of kin, but notification of relatives of the actual death is taken care of by other authorities.
• Together with employees, the family and next of kin must be given the opportunity to visit the deceased's work place and collect personal belongings.

Information

• When an employee dies, it is natural that the head of the unit informs the staff about this. The need for information iis very often great, especially in the case of sudden deaths directly related to the faculty/department/section. It is easy to forget how pressing the information needs are when accidents and deaths occur. Both students and staff must be informed. They should not receive the news by means of death notices, press headlines, rumours or questions from outsiders.
• It is also important that information about the funeral and memorial gathering ibe disseminated in time, so that those who wish to may attend.

Work responsibilities

• A death will affect the work situation of the deceased¡¯s colleagues. The head of the unit shall assess whether it is appropriate to cancel parts of the teaching, meetings that are scheduled or the like.
• The consequences for projects should be considered by the deceased¡¯s immediate superior, and collaborative partners who are involved should be contacted.

Memorial gathering and funeral

• Consideration must be given to the deceased's beliefs or faith.
• It may be natural to arrange a memorial gathering. If the death has taken place during vacation time, the memorial gathering might be postponed until most colleagues are back.
• The faculty/department/section can arrange a memorial gathering if the faculty/department/section wishes to do so. The gathering should be held at a quiet location. The faculty/department/section is responsible for any refreshments.
• Consideration should be given to wether to send a letter of condolence and/or a floral arrangement to the next of kin. The faulty/institute/section should consider sending representation to the funeral service.
• The Management Support Unit should be contacted with respect to flying the flag at half-mast.

Practical and administrative follow-up

Stop of salary and final settlement

• When an employee dies, this must be registered in the UiO's salary and personnel system (SAPDF?).
• The manager must as soon as possible inform the personnel officer who quickly notifies the Section for payroll, see personnel routine (Norwegian).
• The Payroll Section immediately sends information to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (spk.no), which manages the scheme of benefits in the event of death. See also section 7.3.23 on the benefits of death (lovdata.no) (Norwegian). Dependants should be advised that they may be entitled to a dependent's pension from the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (spk.no).
• The personnel officer or manager fills out the resignation form.  The form is sent to Payroll Section, see personel routine (Norwegian). The Payroll Section pays holiday pay and other benefits the deceased was entitled to. Salary is paid up to and including the month the employee dies, cf. section 9 (7) of the General Agreement for Civil Servants (lovdata.no) (Norwegian).
• The Payroll Section provides an overview of payments to the deceased's estate and sends this overview to the personnel officer. The personnel officer sends information concerning the final settlement to the estate, see personnel routine (Norwegian).
• The manager or personnel officer should inform family of whether the deceased was affiliated with a trade union, as relatives may have rights vis-¨¤-vis the union.

Web pages and contact information

• The manager ensures that the deceased's name is removed from telephone lists and the web directory and that the deceased's voice message on the answering machine is deleted. 
• On the web, the deceased's contact information is removed, ie personal presentation, participation in projects and the like. Information that would not be deleted if the deceased had left UiO, however, is not natural to delete.
• If relatives want access to the deceased's information in the home area, the routine for handing over data (Norwegian) must be followed.

Family

• Family must be given access to take over personal belongings and a copy of the contents of electronically stored material before deletion takes place.
• For processing of material stored on computer systems, see separate Instructions for processing and handing out the user's home area at his death (Norwegian).
• Contact from the unit and follow-up must take place within 3 months after the death.

Advice and support

• When an employee dies, this is perceived as dramatic for people who are close to the deceased. In such a situation, different needs will arise. The family may want to meet with the deceased's colleagues, and colleagues may feel the need to gather to share sorrow, anger, and despair. Close deaths can also trigger thoughts about past losses and own death. In such a situation, it is important to give each other support and follow-up in the workplace.
• In the workplace, the unit itself is the closest and natural to handle the follow-up after a death.
• It will also be the unit that coordinates UiO's overall follow-up.
• In some cases, it may be appropriate to seek advice from other resource persons such as:
  • Psycho-social Adviser, Occupational Health Service Unit, UiO
  • Human Resources Director, Department of Personnel Support, UiO
  • The University Chaplaincy