As an employee, you could experience that your employer fails to pay your salary or your holiday pay on time. Failure to pay can be a criminal offence under the Penal Code.
When your employer fails to pay
A failure to pay is primarily a matter of private law (“privatrettslig”). This means it is a matter between your employer and yourself, as the employee.
The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) cannot help you claim payment of your salary and holiday pay.
Contact your employer in writing as soon as possible after pay day to clarify why you have not received the pay you are entitled to.
Try to reach an agreement on when the payment will be made, and get it in writing. If you cannot agree, you should ask your employer for a written justification for why you have not received the pay you believe you are entitled to.
If you and your employer cannot agree on payment of the outstanding (“utestående”) pay, you need to formally claim payment of the amount you believe you are entitled to.
Consider if you need to seek legal assistance before you start this process.
You can contact your trade union to see if they can help you. Many trade unions offer legal assistance to their members. The Labour Inspection Authority recommends that all workers join a trade union.
See the website of the Norwegian Bar Association (advokatenhjelperdeg.no, in Norwegian) for answers to legal questions and contact information for a lawyer near you.
Gratisrettshjelp.no (in Norwegian) offers free legal advice. This service is provided by law students.
In order to demand payment, you have to issue a formal claim against your employer. The claim must include
- who the claim is against (name, address and organization number)
- who the claimant is
- date and signature
- what the claim is for
- which period you have not received pay for (earning period, “opptjeningsperiode”), and how many hours you worked
- how much your employer owes you (remember to include holiday pay in addition to your outstanding salary)
- that you will initiate legal action if the outstanding amount is not paid by the date specified
- the bank account number you want the payment made to
Give your employer a two-week deadline to pay. This is a requirement for further legal action.
The claim must be made in writing. It is important that you send the claim to the correct e-mail or mailing address. If you send the letter via e-mail, you should include the claim as a separate attachment to the e-mail.
If you mail the claim, you should send it as a registered letter (“rekommandert”).
Send the claim as soon as possible.
Template for how a claim may be set up (PDF, domstol.no, in Norwegian)
If your employer does not respond to your claim, or if they do not pay by the date specified, you can bring the claim to the Execution and Enforcement Commissioner or the district court.
Execution and Enforcement Commissioner (“namsmannen”)
- You can send a petition for enforcement (“utleggsbegjæring”) to the Execution and Enforcement Commissioner to enforce payment of the outstanding amount from your employer. If you and your employer disagree on your claim, you can file a complaint against your employer to the conciliation board (“forliksrådet”) by issuing a formal complaint (“forliksklage”).
- You can also file a demand for payment (bankruptcy notice, “konkursvarsel”) against your employer. The bankruptcy notice will be delivered (served, “forkynnes”) by a chief process-server (“hovedstevnevitne”) (politiet.no, in Norwegian), and the employer will have two weeks to pay from the date on which the notice was served.
Contact the Execution and Enforcement Commissioner for more information (politiet.no, in Norwegian)
District court (“tingretten”)
- If your employer fails to pay or dispute your claim within two weeks of the bankruptcy notice has been served, you can file a bankruptcy petition (“konkursbegjæring”) with the district court. You have to file the bankruptcy petition within four weeks of the bankruptcy notice being served.
- If your employer tells you they cannot pay you, you can send the bankruptcy petition directly to the district court.
Read more about bankruptcy petitions against an employer (domstol.no, in English)
Contact the district court for more information (domstol.no, in Norwegian)
Notify us if you don’t receive the pay you’re entitled to
The Labour Inspection Authority cannot help you claim the outstanding pay from your employer. Please still notify us if your employer fails to pay you. Tip-offs are very important for our preventive work and our effort to ensure safe and legal working conditions. We look into all tip-offs we get and follow up where we can.
Report issues to the Labour Inspection Authority (in English)
In some cases, the Labour Inspection Authority can order your employer to pay outstanding compensation for overtime work. If you work in a sector where a collective agreement has been made generally applicable (minimum wage, in English), we can in some cases also order your employer to pay outstanding pay. If we cannot prioritise your case, you can move forward with demanding payment for outstanding pay and holiday pay on your own, as described above.