An engineer at Nscale’s data centre in Stavanger, Norway, has sued the British artificial intelligence cloud company and its subcontractor, CloudBrothers, over alleged wrongful dismissal and illegal subcontracting.
The lawsuit, filed on 16 October with the backing of local trade unions, comes as Nscale prepares for a closely watched initial public offering, according to Bloomberg.
The engineer, who was employed through CloudBrothers, alleges that Nscale controlled his daily duties and work shifts, effectively acting as his employer under Norwegian law.
Although Norway permits subcontracting, contractors must independently manage their employees.
Companies that exercise direct control over subcontracted workers may be required to recognise them as full employees and provide the corresponding pay and employment conditions.
The engineer also claims he was dismissed in June after challenging a CloudBrothers warning that employees who submitted holiday requests late would forfeit two weeks of holiday pay.
“You cannot deduct our worked salary,” Stavanger stated.
The engineer said he subsequently contacted Norway’s labour inspection authority and was dismissed by CloudBrothers in retaliation. However, according to the court filing, CloudBrothers said he was fired for repeatedly breaching confidentiality rules.
He is seeking compensation and a court ruling recognising him as an employee of Nscale rather than its subcontractor.
