relationship to the municipality as an employer. The issues rela-
ted to management staff’s responsibilities and duties therefore
actually deal with who is the employee and who is the employer,
or rather the employer representative (Glavå, 2001). The relation-
ship between various management levels is normally considered
as the relationship between the employer and employees. How
ever, it is not always clear as to who is the employer or employee
in an employeeemployer relationship. Here one can speak of
labour law, which is an umbrella term for the rules that govern
working life.
There is normally some form of employment agreement that
regulates the relationship between the employer and employees.
The employment agreement is a form of collaboration where the
employee places his or her labour at the disposal of the employer.
The collaborative form is based on what is called subordination,
i.e. a superiorsubordinate relationship. This is expressed by the
employee performing labour on behalf of the employer, in comp-
liance with the employer’s instructions and under the employer’s
leadership. Moreover, this interaction is ordered in a societal con-
text. Such an employment agreement is thus based on loyalty. In
this context, the employee shall (Glavå, 2001):
- Perform work for or on behalf of the employer
- Work under the employer’s leadership
- Be reimbursed for labour (salary or equivalent)
Collective labour agreements regulate a large portion of the con-
ditions at a workplace. A collective labour agreement is an
agreement that deals with, among other things, salaries, work
ing hours and holiday compensation. Collective labour agree-
ments entail that everything can be improved but nothing
worsened. At each workplace, the employee may improve his
or her conditions through local negotiations. Similarly, an em-
ployer can always provide better conditions for his or her em-
ployees. The collective labour agreement does not regulate
how good a workplace can be, but rather how good it must be. Col-
lective labour agreements also make working life more effective
- no unnecessary negotiations are needed in matters that one is
already in agreement on.
Through employment, employees perform tasks that are stipula-
ted by the employment agreement and the other agreements that