Easily manage employment in Norway

Non-union employees are entitled to four weeks and one day of paid time off annually, while unionised employees are entitled to five weeks of paid leave annually. However, holiday days are not paid in Norway.Every employee is entitled to 25 day holiday days, but whether these are considered paid leave days or not, will depend on whether these are deducted from pay. The annual five week entitlement will have to be deducted from the pay to be considered as paid leave.For practical reasons, one prescribed way of performing this pay deduction is through a holiday pay distribution in June every year. There will be no tax on the holiday pay earned from the previous year. The tax free holiday pay will cover for the lost income. The four weeks of holiday days are deducted from the monthly pay of the employee, and the extra week (to complete the 25 days) is deducted from the holiday pay.

There are 10 public holidays in Norway for which employees receive paid time off. However, employees typically must work during the holiday during the prior year to be eligible for paid leave the next year. Otherwise, the employee is entitled to unpaid time off.

Employees are entitled to paid sick leave starting the first day of an illness and lasting up to 52 weeks. Employers are responsible for paying sick leave from the first to the 16th day of an employee’s illness, after which the employee can draw benefits from the National Insurance Scheme for 50 weeks. During the first 3 days of sick leave it is not mandatory to have a doctor's certificate, after the 4th consecutive day it is a mandatory requirement.

New mothers are entitled to 54 weeks of paid maternity leave, compensated at a rate of 80% of their usual pay, or 100% if the employee exercises only 44 weeks of the leave entitlement.

Partners can share their spouses’ maternity leave entitlement except for the three weeks before and six weeks after delivery. An employee whose partner opts to take 54 weeks of maternity leave can have 22 weeks transferred to them by the partner.

Employees who have worked with the same employer for at least three years are entitled to three years of unpaid study leave, which can be taken in one stretch or broken into smaller time periods.

Occupational injury insurance is mandatory for Norweigan employees. If an employee is injured at their workplace, they must report the injury to the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) with proof that the accident happened at work. An employee is entitled to receive up to 72,662 NOK a year in compensation due to a work-related injury. If the employee is unable to work, they are entitled to disability compensation. This compensation will depend on the percentage of incapacity the employee is able to work.

- Hospitalisation leave: Each parent is entitled to 10 days of annual leave should their child or child care provider fall ill.- Adoption: Adoptive parents can exercise the same leave entitlements available to birth parents.