The pay is agreed between the employer and the employee as part of the written employment contract. Even if we have no statutory minimum wage in Norway, some industries have implemented a minimum wage through general application of collective agreements.
Pay
How should payments be handled?
The general principle is for your employer to deposit your pay into your bank account. Failure to pay is considered wage theft and is a criminal offence under the Penal Code.
Read more about payment in Section 14-15 (2) of the Working Environment Act.
When should you receive your pay?
Payment intervals shall be specified in the contract of employment. It is common in Norway to receive payment once a month.
Evening, night, weekend and holiday premiums
Your pay can also include premiums for unsocial working hours in the evening (evening premium), at night (night premium), on Sundays (Sunday premium) and on holidays (holiday premium). Such premiums are also agreed between the employer and the employee and must be specified in the employment contract. They are also often specified in internal workplace agreements or in collective agreements. The employment contract must specify the different payment elements separately.
1 May and 17 May are public holidays and are considered equivalent to Sundays.
Pay on 1 May and 17 May
On 1 May and 17 May, every employee who is ordered to work is entitled to ordinary pay as well as a premium. This right is established in the Act relating to 1 May and 17 May and the regulations relating to pay on 1 May and 17 May.
You are entitled to full pay for 1 May and 17 May if it ordinarily would have been a workday for you and you have been employed by your employer for at least 30 days before 1 May or 17 May, or if you were employed later and your work lasts at least 30 days.
If you work on 1 May and 17 May, you are entitled to both your ordinary pay and a premium. The premium for 1 May and 17 May is the same as the one paid for work on Sundays. If there is no agreement or regulation in place defining this premium, the premium shall be at least 50% of your ordinary pay.
You are not entitled to pay if the two holidays fall on days your workplace would ordinarily be closed, and you would ordinarily not be working.
If you are on holiday leave on 1 May and 17 May, you are entitled to pay for these days. You may demand to extend your holiday leave if 1 May or 17 May falls on one of your holiday leave days.
Performance-related pay and piecework
Performance-related pay or piecework are types of pay based on performance. It is often used in sales, where the seller earns a certain sum per unit sold. In some industries, this is combined with time rates to generate motivation for higher efficiency and better results.
The Working Environment Act requires that the use of performance-related pay be organised in such a way that the employees are not exposed to adverse physical or mental strain, and that due regard is paid to safety considerations.
Your pay could be regulated by a collective agreement
Many enterprises are bound by collective agreements. Collective agreements are agreements concerning pay and other rights established between employers’ associations and trade unions. If you are employed by an enterprise that is bound by a collective agreement, you, as an employee of this enterprise, may also be bound by this agreement. If the collective agreement was concluded by parties external to the enterprise, the contract must also specify who the parties to the collective agreement are.
You should always receive a payslip
When you get paid, your employer should also give you a payslip that specifies your pay, tax withholdings and any other deductions made. If you do not receive a payslip, you should speak to your employer.
Can my employer make deductions from my pay or holiday pay?
Normally, your employer cannot make deductions from your pay or your holiday pay. Deductions from pay may only be made if these are authorised by law, follow from a collective agreement or have been agreed in writing. This could be relevant if there has been a payment error, or if the employee has caused material or economic loss.
Three requirements must be met for your employer to make deductions from your pay:
- The employer’s right to make deductions from your pay and/or holiday pay must be agreed in writing, e.g. in your employment contract. This general right alone is, however, not sufficient for your employer to make deductions from your pay.
- In addition, your employer must be able to justify the deduction in the specific circumstance (e.g. correcting a payment error) in a so-called deduction agreement where the employee consents to the deduction.
- Deductions from pay should also not harm the employee financially. The deductions must therefore be limited to what the employee has left after paying necessary expenses. This amount will vary from person to person, and it could therefore be an option to split the deduction across multiple payments.
A deduction agreement is an agreement between the employer and the employee about ta specific situation that may be used as a basis for a deduction, e.g. a specific payment error.
In a deduction agreement, the employee accepts liability and consents to the deduction. The deduction agreement should also include information about how the amount is to be reimbursed, e.g. that the deductions shall be split across multiple payments.
If the employee refuses to sign the agreement, the employer must initiate legal action.
An employer may make deductions without the employee’s consent or a court order if the employee resigns in violation of rules and the employment contract, e.g. if the employee quits their job and does not continue working until the end of their notice period.
What happens if I don’t receive pay or holiday pay?
As an employee, you could experience that employer fails to pay your pay or your holiday pay on time. The reason could be either that your employer doesn’t want to pay, or that your employer can’t pay.