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annual report 2013
interests. It is therefore important that the guidance given by the industrial
injuries authorities on the possibilities of reopening a case is both correct and
relevant in relation to the individual case.
The Ombudsman found that correct and relevant guidance on the possibilities
of reopening a case should include guidance on both any statutory rules as well
as the general non-statutory rules pertaining to the possibilities of reopening a case. Furthermore, correct and relevant guidance must be tailored to the
individual case. Consequently, the Ombudsman did not consider it correct or
relevant to the specific case to give guidance on the possibilities of reopening
rejected industrial injury cases when the case concerned an injury which had
been recognised as an industrial injury.
The fact that the guidelines of the National Board of Industrial Injuries were
located in an electronic system of standard texts which made it difficult and expensive to tailor guidance to the individual case could not in the Ombudsman’s
opinion lead to any other conclusion, as the use of standard texts requires that
the authority assesses whether or not the content of the standard text is true and
fair in each individual case.
The Ombudsman notified the National Board of Industrial Injuries and the
National Social Appeals Board of his opinion, adding that he assumed that
correct and relevant guidance would in future be given on the possibilities of
reopening a case.
2013-11. Availability requirement at the time of early
retirement
A man had received half-time disability pension for just over two years while
working as an upper secondary school teacher with reduced hours when he
applied for early retirement benefit with effect from his 60th birthday. At the
time of his application, the man had worked as a teacher at the same upper
secondary school for more than 30 years and had apparently not at any time
received unemployment benefit.
The man’s application was refused because the authorities did not find that he
fulfilled the requirement of being fully available for work at the time of his 60th
birthday.
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