Country Guides

Norway

Quick Find

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Capital

Oslo

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Language

Norwegian

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Remote workers

15.8% of the population

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Currency

kr Norwegian krone (NOK)

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Working hours

37.5 - 40 hours per week

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Public holidays

12 days per year

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Minimum hourly salary

No statutory min salary

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Tax year

Jan 1 - Dec 31

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Date format

DD/MM/YYYY

Misclassification penalties

Up to two annual salaries when misclassifying an employee as contractor.

Fun fact

The sun doesn't set in the summer.

Employer contributions

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    Employer tax: 16.1% - 39.2%
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    Social security: 14.1% (can be lower for some sparsely populated areas)
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    Supplementary pension: 2% - 25.1%

Employee contributions

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    Employee tax: 30% - 47.4%
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    Social security: 8%
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    Income tax: 22% + the following progressive supplements

Income Tax

Gross income: NOK 0 – 190,349

Tax rate: 0%

Gross income: NOK 190,350 – 267,899

Tax rate: 1.7%

Gross income: NOK 267,900 – 643,799

Tax rate: 4%

Gross income: NOK 643,800 – 969,199

Tax rate: 13.4%

Gross income: NOK 969 200 – 1 999 999

Tax rate: 16.4%

Gross income: over NOK 2,000,000

Tax rate: 17.4%

Looking for a quick cost estimate?

Use our calculator to understand what are all the employment costs you have to consider in Norway.

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Employer of Record in Norway

What is an EOR?

While an Employer of Record is the most typical way for legally employing a worker in a different country where the company doesn’t have an entity, an Employer of Record Norway is not possible. Instead, we directly employ your worker. Doing so, we take care of all Norwegian compliance aspects of employment, including payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, written employment contracts and more.

EOR responsibilities

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    Ensuring their employment is compliant with Norway labor laws
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    Processing local payroll
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    Filing employment related taxes and returns
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    Issuing payslips to the employee
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    Distributing salary payments

How it works

  • Company

    Maintains a direct relationship with the employee, allocates them work tasks, and manages their performance.

  • Boundless

    Takes care of payroll, taxes, benefits, ensuring the employee and the company are compliant with all legal regulations.

  • Employee

    Signs an employment contract with Boundless and fulfils all of their obligations as a worker for the company.

Statutory benefits in Norway

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    Medical coverage
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    Supplementary pension
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    Work injury insurance
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    Medical examination

Common non-mandatory benefits in Norway

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    Work from home
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    Life insurance
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    Private health insurance
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    Stock options
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    Free meals
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    Paid relocation
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    Additional payment during parental leave
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    Gym membership
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    Flexible working hours
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Written employment contract

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Payslip

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Workload revision meeting

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Right to receive compensation during a non-compete period

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Whistleblower protection

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Protection from discrimination, harassment and dismissal of some categories of employees

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Working environment committee

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Overtime pay

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Unemployment allowance

Paid leave annually

21- 25 working days

Paid sick leave

52 weeks, requires a medical certificate

Paid maternity leave

12 month and 15 weeks

Paid paternity leave

2 weeks

Parental leave

12 months paid + 12 months unpaid

Probation

The probationary period in Norway is up to 6 months.

Non-compete

Non-compete clauses can be enforced only when necessary to protect the employer and for no longer than one year.

Payment frequency

Employees in Norway are paid monthly.

Payday

There is no fixed date; however, commonly, employees are paid in arrears on approximately the 20th of each month.

Norway has stringent laws that make termination more bureaucratic than most countries. An employer can compliantly dismiss an employee in such cases:

  • Economic reasons (redundancy)
  • Personal reasons (poor performance, gross misconduct)
  • Mutual consent upon signing a termination contract

In case of a temporary need to reduce the workforce, the employer may temporarily impose layoffs.

In a dispute concerning termination, an employee may remain in the post until the courts have legally decided the matter.

Norwegian law does not include legislation on severance pay, but it is customary to offer it as a part of a termination agreement.

FAQs

Hiring in Norway can be done in four ways. You can run payroll from your HQ for short-term arrangements, engage contractors for project-based work, set up a local entity to hire directly, or partner with an Employer of Record. Each option involves different compliance and operational effort. An EOR enables compliant Norwegian employment without setting up your own local entity.

Contractors work well when the relationship is project-based and the person serves multiple clients. If an individual gives their full and undivided attention to your company in Norway, employment is the right structure under Norwegian law, covering entitlements like paid holiday, sick leave, and social security contributions. For project-based contractor engagements, Boundless’s Agent of Record (AOR) service handles classification, contracts, and payments compliantly in Norway.

HR compliance in Norway means your policies and procedures respect all applicable Norwegian employment laws and regulations. When you hire in Norway, this matters both to safeguard employee rights and to reduce employer risk. Compliance covers labour law, sick leave (up to 52 weeks), annual leave (21-25 working days), pay set by collective bargaining agreements, tax credits, and working hours. Following these is fundamental for running the business well.

Norway requires EOR to operate through a dedicated local entity, and Boundless has one. We are the legal employer for Norwegian government, tax, and employment authorities, providing a locally compliant contract, running payroll, filing employment taxes, and administering statutory benefits such as 12 months of paid parental leave and 21-25 working days of annual leave. You manage day-to-day work and fund payroll each cycle.

Boundless partners with employment lawyers and advisers in each country we operate in, including Norway. They ensure employment contracts and onboarding documents comply with the local jurisdiction. We hold detailed discussions on specific norms such as payroll, social protection, data protection, notice periods, and work-from-home regulations. When a sensitive issue arises, our internal team engages the relevant firm promptly.

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