We strive to promote involve our employees in the development of DNV.

DNV has a broad geographic employee representation in the governing bodies including the Board of Directors and the Council.

Senior management shall work constructively with employee organisations through the Global Employee Forum (GEF), regional and local work councils, and in the daily operations. The GEF ensures that employee representatives worldwide are informed and consulted regarding major activities and strategies affecting them.

All employees worldwide have the right to express their views and concerns in good faith, for example with respect to their working conditions, without fear of reprisal. They also have the right to join a union and participate in organised activities.

Employee representation in governing bodies
The Board of Directors and the Council are the two main governing bodies of DNV. Both have employee representation.

Board of Directors
There are ten members of the Board of Directors. Six are externally elected by the DNV Council to represent various sectors in which DNV operates; they are chosen according to criteria such as professional experience, internationalism, gender, and personal qualities. Four members and ten deputies are elected by and among DNV employees: 2 members and 4 deputies from Norway, 1 member and 3 deputies from Europe (outside Norway), and 1 member and 3 deputies from the Worldwide constituency (outside Norway and Europe). The Board of Directors provides a unique arena for active participation by employee representatives in the governance of DNV. The employee representatives are elected for two-year terms. The Board of Directors, being the supreme governing body of the Foundation, has delegated specific parts of its authority to the Council as made possible through the Norwegian Foundation Act.

The Council
The Council currently has 40 members and one honorary member. Six members are elected by and among DNV employees worldwide. The majority of the members of the Council are appointed by external organisations. Seven members are appointed by the Council itself. These members represent stakeholders, users, customers and other parties interested in DNV services. They come from the marine insurance, shipping, oil and gas and other industry sectors.

Employee forum, associations, and national employee councils in DNV

Global Employee Forum
A Global Employee Forum (GEF) has been established to ensure input to major cross-border processes and in particular the strategy process. The GEF facilitates that the employees within DNV worldwide are informed and consulted on major activities and strategies of what will have a significant impact for the employees.

The representatives in the Global Employee Forum are appointed by and amongst the representatives in the regional forums.

Regional forums
Regional forums are set up to secure employee input to the strategy process, as well as contribute to the enhancement of employees’ understanding and commitment of global/regional processes, and provide the Executive Committee with employee input to such processes.

The representatives are elected by and amongst the employees in countries with more than 50 employees. The forums meet with DNV management once a year.

The current regional forums in DNV are:
AmEF Americas and Africa Employee Forum
AsEF Asia, Pacific and Middle East Employee Forum
EWC European Works Council
VEFF Veritas Employee Association

EWC - European Works Council
The DNV European Works Council has been established in accordance with the European Economic Area (EEA) regulations and Norwegian law. The council is to work for the improvement of communication and consultation between employees and management in multinational companies operating in at least two EEA member states. The European Works Council normally meets twice a year, and events and questions of major concern for the employees in two or more countries, are natural topics at the meetings. Topics that are not included in the scope of the EWC are staff terms and conditions like salary and employee benefits, as well as local matters concerning each member state.

VEFF (Veritas Employee Association)
Veritas Employee Association represents all employees in Norway and Denmark. VEFF's objective is;

• to contribute in securing the individual workspace and develop this in line with societal development
• to represent and protect the interests of individual members or group of members towards the employer
• to secure, promote and coordinate the members economic, tariff, social and working environmental issues
• to assist individual members to the extent that VEFF considers this obvious

National Works Councils
There are legally appointed Works Councils in a number of DNV countries which meet with local management, typically represented through the Country Chair and members of the Shared Service Centre, on a regular basis to address a number of the same topics as mentioned in the previous section.

Approximately 30% of permanent employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. See the latest Annual Report for details.

Contact: Ola Sannes, People Processes, Corporate HR and Organisation