Employ in Norway with ease.

Remote makes employment in Norway easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

Facts & Stats

The Kingdom of Norway is a Scandinavian constitutional monarchy famous for its rich cultural history, mythology, and economic performance. Norway is one of the world’s happiest, most developed, and wealthiest nations, strengthened by free universal healthcare and education.

  • Capital city

    Oslo

  • Currency

    Norwegian krone
    (kr, NOK)

  • Languages spoken

    Norwegian

  • Population size

    5,391,369

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$$$ (3 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Bi-Monthly/Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    25%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    1.2

Grow your team in Norway with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Norway? Companies hiring in Norway must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Norway on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Norway team. You can also pay contractors now in Norway with Remote.

Risks of misclassification

Like many other countries, Norway treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently. Misclassifying contractors may result in fines or penalties. Understanding Norway’s employment laws can help you avoid these penalties while ensuring your employees and contractors are treated fairly.

If you're worried about whether to hire contractors or employees in Norway or anywhere else around the world, Remote can help. Our Solutions Consulting team are experts in preventing misclassification risks. Download our Contractor Compliance Checklist for a solid overview, then talk to our team about your specific situation.

Employing in Norway

The Norwegian Working Environment Act (Arbeidsmiljøloven) spells out provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights, which apply to Norway’s workforce of 2.8 million. In addition to rights guaranteed by legislation, 50% of Norwegian employees belong to unions, which outline further rules in collective bargaining agreements.

Employees in Norway enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Norway.

Minimum Wage

There’s no government-mandated minimum wage in Norway. Employers are free to bargain with unions and individuals, depending on the role and industry. Despite the lack of a minimum wage, Norway has one of the highest average wages in the world, at around 640,000 NOK, equivalent to over $75,000.

High Average Salaries

The average salary in Oslo, Norway is currently around 31000 NOK per month after taxes as of 2021. That is around 3600 USD per month, and one of the highest average salaries for any European capital.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Norway fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Competitive benefits package in Norway

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Norway are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance

Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Norway

Taxes in Norway

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Norway.

  • Employer

    • 14.10% - National Insurance (Folketrygdloven)

    • 12% - Mandatory Holiday Pay

    • 2% - Mandatory occupational pension scheme (OTP)

    • NOK 1500 - Accident insurance (calculated at 1500 NOK on top of the base monthly salary)

  • Employee

    • 8.2% - Social security contribution

    • 5.1% - Pension contribution (charged to employees aged 17 - 69 only)

  • Personal income tax rates

    • 22% - Income up to 184,800 NOK

    • 23.7% - 184,800 – 260,100 NOK

    • 26% - 260,100 – 651,250 NOK

    • 35.2% - 651,250 – 1,021,550 NOK

    • 38.2% - 1,021,550 NOK and above

Types of leave

Paid time off

Non-union employees are entitled to four weeks and one day of paid time off annually, while unionized 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 vacation days, but whether these are considered paid leave days or not, will depend on whether these are deducted from salary. The annual five week entitlement will have to be deducted from the salary to be considered as paid leave.

For practical reasons, one prescribed way of performing this salary deduction is through a holiday pay distribution in the June of 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 vacation days are deducted from the monthly salary of the employee, and the extra week (to complete the 25 days) is deducted from the holiday pay.

Public holidays

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.

Sick leave

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.

Maternity leave

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.

Paternity/parental leave

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.

Education leave

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.

Work related injury leave

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.

Other leave

  • Hospitalization 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.

Employment termination

Termination process

Employee contracts can be terminated if a just cause is established, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, or any other work-related offenses. Employers are required to discuss the intention to terminate with employees before the decision is finalized.

Notice period

Firstly, a period of 1 months notice period must be provided for all employees regardless of their tenure.

  • 2 months notice: More than 5 years of Employment
  • 3 months notice: More than 10 years of Employment
  • 4 months notice: Employee who is over the age of 50
  • 5 months notice: Employee who is over the age of 55
  • 6 months notice: Employee who is over the age of 60

Severance pay

There are no provisions for severance payments under Norwegian labor law.

Probation periods

Probation periods can last for up to six months under Norwegian regulations.

Discover how Remote can help you grow your global team.