Packaging of Red Caviar

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It’s important to know which of your employees needs a work visa and what option would work best. If your employees are from the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), or one of the Nordic countries, they can come to Norway without a work permit. However, all citizens from other countries need a residence and work permit. It’s important to obtain a residence permit first, as working without it can lead to imprisonment and fines.

Most professional expats moving to Norway for a job will want the skilled worker visa. However, different occupations have various exceptions, from journalists and researchers to tour guides with foreign travel companies and more. Always check on these exceptions before applying for a permit on behalf of your employee.

Before an employee can get a work permit in Norway, you need to provide an official employment offer, which will allow your employee to apply for a residence permit. You can apply on behalf of your employee as long as they give you written consent. Residence permits are renewable, and we recommend having employees renew theirs one to three months before the expiration.

Skilled worker permits have specific requirements related to education, employment, and more. For example, applicants must have at least one of the following:

• Completion of a three-year vocational training program at an upper secondary school level

• A completed education or degree from a university or college

• Special qualifications through long work experience

Employment requirements include a concrete job offer from a Norwegian employer, a full-time position in which the applicant meets the qualifications, and pay and working conditions at or above the normal level for Norway. Other requirements for all types of visas include a valid passport, a completed application, two recent passport photos, and proof of accommodation. Keep in mind that all documents must be in English or Norwegian. If they aren’t, they must be officially translated and certified.

Norway’s labor laws are considered among the most generous in the world, and it is consistently recognized as one of the best countries in the world in which to work. Norway’s work culture is generally very supportive of employees, and puts a strong emphasis on balancing the demands of employee work and home life.

Norwegians are known for being humble and highly egalitarian. It is considered rude to draw attention to one’s self. The communication style tends to be direct and honest, and exaggeration is not received well. Bring lots of facts and data to meetings to support your proposal, and be sure to arrive on time. The management style in Norway is similar to the U.S., and while consensus is sought, the decision rests with the boss. Pro tip: don’t talk about Norwegians as being like Swedes and Danes; they won’t appreciate it.

When negotiating terms of an employment contract and offer letter with an employee in Norway, it may be useful to keep the following standard benefits in Norway in mind:

A written employment contract is legally required and should be entered into within one month following the commencement of employment. It’s also very common for an employment relationship to be governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The major collective organizations in Norway are the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Employment contracts should spell out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An employment contract should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in Norwegian Krone rather than a foreign currency. The employment contract template is part of the service with Globalization Partners; no need to draft a separate template if you use our employer of record and PEO service in Norway.

The standard workday is 9 hours per day, with one hour included for lunch. Exceptions are often made for parents with small children, personal appointments, and sickness.

Any hours worked in excess of 9 hours per day and 40 hours per week are considered overtime and employees must be paid at a premium rate of at least 40% over the normal rate, or provided time off in lieu.

Work hours should not exceed more than 10 hours of overtime per week, 25 hours of overtime per ever 4 weeks, and 200 hours of overtime per every 1 year.

Norway celebrates 8 national public holidays for which employees are given the day off, including:

• New Year’s Day

• Maundy Thursday

• Good Friday

• Easter Monday

• Ascension Day

• Whit Monday

• Christmas Day

• Boxing Day

Though not considered public holidays, employers may choose to offer time off work for Labor Day, Constitution Day, Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.

The Norwegian Holidays Act provides for a 25-day annual holiday entitlement. Employees over the age of 60 are entitled to 31 days of annual leave. However, most Norwegian companies provide 5 weeks of vacation either based on the CBA, employment contract, or as part of the employer’s policy.

Holiday pay must be 10.2% of the annual remuneration if the employee is entitled to the statutory minimum annual holiday and 12.5% for employees over 60 years old. These are typically paid out every June.

In general, employers pay for the first 16 calendar days of sick leave. The Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service (NAV) pays from the 17th day forward unless different terms are stated in the employee’s contract or CBA.

Employees must notify their employer if they are absent due to illness. A certificate from a doctor is required for periods longer than 3 days.

Unless otherwise negotiated with the employer, sickness benefits are limited to six times the National Insurance basic amount per year.

Female employees are entitled, if they choose, to take up to 12 weeks of leave during pregnancy. From the first day after giving birth, the mother is obliged to take maternity leave for six weeks unless they produce a medical certificate stating that it is better for them to resume work. The father is entitled to two weeks of unpaid paternity leave in connection with childbirth to assist the mother.

Male employees have the right to 15 weeks of full pay.

Parents are entitled to a total of 12 months’ leave in connection with the birth and after the birth. These 12 months include the mother’s right to leave for up to 12 weeks during the pregnancy and six weeks of leave reserved for the mother after the birth. Immediately after the end of this period of leave with benefits, each parent is entitled to up to 12 months, per child, of additional parental leave without pay or benefits. Lone parents are entitled to up to 24 months of additional parental leave.

Unless stated in the employment contract, employers are not obliged to pay parental leave to employees while on leave; parental benefits are paid by NAV.

• If parents opt to receive the full parental benefit (100%), their combined benefit entitlement period is 49 weeks per child. Of the benefit period, 15 weeks are reserved for the mother (of these, the three weeks before and six weeks after the date of the birth) and 15 weeks are reserved for the father.

• Where 59 weeks of parental leave is taken, the parental benefit will be limited to 80% of the salary at the time of birth.

• Where 49 weeks are taken, parental leave will be paid at 100% of the salary at the time of birth.

• Parents taking partial parental leave (that is, continuing to work part-time) have a full benefit entitlement but distributed proportionally over a longer period.

• Instead of taking all or some of their parental leave on a full-time basis, parents may choose to take partial leave, while continuing to work part-time, for a period of up to three years after the birth.

• For adoptive parents, the combined parental benefit entitlement is 46 weeks at the full rate or 56 weeks at the 80% rate.

• The National Security does not pay parental benefits for salaries above six times the Grunnpensjon or “G” amount. As of 2021, this limit is currently about NOK 638,394.

• Employment contracts will usually state the employee’s entitlement to parental benefit payments from the employer if the employee’s salary is higher than this limitation (The limit is currently as of 2021 NOK 638,394).

• Employers typically pay ordinary or agreed salaries, and they get reimbursed from the National Security up to the 6 “G” limit.

All residents of Norway are entitled to healthcare at public hospitals at no cost. For treatment in a private clinic which does not have an arrangement with the public health system, the full cost falls on the patient. EU members are entitled to the same level of care as Norwegian citizens. Private health insurance is growing, but only covers about 5% of the healthcare services, and the vast majority of those are elective services. The care level is excellent, but there can be long wait lines that sometimes lead to residents seeking out of pocket care in other countries. 

It is common for salaried employees in higher positions, consultants, and those in management to receive stock options. Generally, we recommend budgeting 20% for benefits on top of the gross salary to allocate the total employer’s cost including benefits in Norway. 

Probationary periods in Norway are typically between 3 and 6 months. It is common to agree to 14 days’ notice of termination for employees during the probationary period.

The statutory notice period for an employer when dismissing an employee varies between 1 and 6 months, depending on the term of employment, age and length of service with the company. It is most common to agree to 3 months’ notice.

Employees giving notice normally have to observe notice periods as agreed to in the employment contract, but these cannot be longer than 3 months.

Before an employee is dismissed, an employer must call for a meeting with the employee to discuss the possible termination of employment.  The employee can bring an adviser to the meeting.

• Notice of termination should be made in writing and contain specific information as required by law, and must be presented to the employee in person or sent by registered post to the employee’s home address.

• If demanded by the employee, the employer must also arrange a consultation meeting with the employee, after the notice of termination is provided.

• Employees have strong protection against dismissal in Norway.  Employers must have just cause for terminating the employment contract.

The National Insurance Scheme system is partly financed by social security contributions from employers and employees, and partly by taxes. The scheme consists of:

• retirement pension

• disability pension

• unemployment benefits

• sick leave benefits

• other social benefits

Employees in Norway must pay a national insurance contribution of 7.9% of gross wage income.  The contribution rate is 11.1% for self-employed individuals. Employer contributions are assessed as a percentage of wages paid, but as a general rule, the employer’s contribution rate is up to 14.1%. This rate increases for employers to 19.1% for incomes exceeding NOK 750,000.

It is compulsory for all employers that are taxed in Norway and who have a minimum of one employee to provide for a supplementary pension scheme.  The pension scheme can be one of the following:

• a defined contribution scheme (where the actual payable pension is the pension contribution plus a return on the contribution)

• a company pension scheme (where the actual pension is similar to a certain level of the employees’ terminal payment).

Both types of pension schemes can be funded or insured in a life insurance company.

Norway has adopted a dual-income tax. Under the dual income tax, income from labour and pensions is taxed at progressive rates, while capital income is taxed at a flat rate. The ordinary income tax rate in Norway is 22% in Norway as of 2020.