Nav handles religion differently

Unemployed people who say no to work because it is contrary to religious beliefs risk being discriminated against by Nav, new research shows.

Some Adventists may have religious qualms about working on Saturdays. Some Muslims may find it problematic with work that involves the sale or serving of pork and alcohol, writes Vårt Land.

But do they have the right to say no to paid work for religious reasons and then receive financial support from Nav? New research shows that there is a large gap in Nav employees’ handling of religious reservations.

– “While some Nav employees refused to provide unemployment benefits to those unemployed with religious reservations, others accepted their justification. At the same time, both felt that they were following the guidelines. I believe that a clarification of the current regulations is needed,” says religion scientist Ragnhild Laird Iversen at the University of Southeast Norway (USN) to Vårt Land.

She is a former Nav employee and is behind the study “Religion in Nav”, where she has conducted in-depth interviews with seven employees in Nav in Eastern Norway about how they experience, interpret and assess religious reservations from those that are unemployed.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today