Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Working patterns

In Norway, full-time work is considered to be 40 hours across 7 days. Most working days are 9 hours long, though employees cannot exceed 13 hours of work in any 24-hour period. Overtime is rare, and employees cannot request it regularly. When overtime does happen, unless the employer and employee come to an agreement, the pay is set to 140% of the employee’s hourly wage. Employees cannot take more than 10 hours of overtime a week, and they can work no more than 200 hours of overtime each year.

Annual leave

There is no paid leave in Norway. Instead, Norwegians get holiday pay for at least 25 days a year. Employers must set aside 10.20% of their employees’ salaries for holiday pay. This is raised to 12.50% for employees aged 60 or over. Employees accumulate holiday pay the year before they take their leave, and it’s usually paid on the payday immediately before they’re due to take their holiday. This arrangement means that new employees cannot take paid holiday leave. They’re free to take time off, but they won’t have accumulated any holiday pay.

Sick leave

When it comes to sick leave, employers must cover sick pay for the first 16 days of an illness. After this, sick pay is covered by Norway’s National Insurance scheme.

Maternity and paternity leave

Mothers can take up to 54 weeks of maternity leave. Maternity leave pay is also covered by National Insurance. If employees take all 54 weeks of their entitlement, they’ll get 80% of their regular pay. But if they take just 44 weeks, they get 100% of their regular pay. There are no specific rules for paternity leave. Instead, male employees can take parental leave – an arrangement that splits the maternity leave between the mother and father.