- Phase
- Act on the obligation to pay wages during temporary redundancies; National Insurance Act
- Native name
- Lov om lønnsplikt under permittering (permitteringslønnsloven); Folketrygdloven
- Type
- Working time flexibility
- Added to database
- 08 May 2015
Article
3, 3a (Act on the obligation to pay wages during temporary redundancies); 4-3, 4-7 (National Insurance Act)
Description
Conditions for temporary lay-offs are established in basic agreements between the social partners and in case law. Access to unemployment benefits during temporary layoffs is regulated in the National insurance act (4-7) and accompanying regulations, while the obligation to pay wages is regulated in a separate act. Public sector employees are generally not qualified and temporary layoffs are not to be used in the public sector (with certain exceptions).
An employer can temporarily lay-off employees if there is a justifiable basis for this and provided that the enterprise has made reasonable efforts to avoid layoffs and that permanent dismissal is not indicated. Justifiable reasons may be a low influx of orders, financial problems, the need to repair machinery and so on.
The employer has to pay the temporarily laid-off employees for 15 days (from 2019). If the need to reduce the workforce is due to fire, accidents or nature, the duty to pay wages for 15 days does not apply. After the 15 days, the employer is exempt from paying salary in the period of temporary lay-off. This period can last up to 52 weeks (normally 26 weeks) during a period of 18 months. After this period, the employer must resume paying the employees' salaries or dismiss the employee.
Employees who are temporarily laid-off are entitled to unemployment benefits in accordance with the National Insurance Act. This implies that employees also partly cover the costs of the temporary lay-off, as the unemployment benefits do not equal their usual salary. Employees shall be given in writing 14 days' notice of temporary lay-offs.
Before temporary lay-off is decided, the employer should notify the public employment authorities.
There is also the opportunity to use part-time layoffs, for instance by reducing working hours. The conditions for doing so are the same as for full-time temporary redundancy and there is not any limitation on the number of hours it can be reduced to. However, if working hours are reduced by less than 50%, the employee will not be entitled to unemployment benefits.
Sources
- Permitteringslønnsloven
-
Folketrygdloven
-
Basic agreement 2018-2021 LO-NHO
-
Svalund, J. & Oldervoll, J. (2018) Fullt og helt, ikke stykkevis og delt?
-
NHO permittering
-
lauwaert, S. and Schömann, I. (2013), The crisis and national labour law reforms: A mapping exercise. Country report: Norway, ETUI Working Paper, European Trade Union Institute, Brussels.
-
Olberg, D. (2013), Bruk av permitteringer 2012 - omfang og reguleringer, Fafo-report 2013:08.
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Svalund, J. (2013), The impact of institutions on mobility, labour adjustments and cooperation in the Nordic countries, Phd-dissertation, Fafo-report 2013:56.
-
Nergaard, K. (2010), Temporary layoffs – saving jobs or delaying readjustments?, Peer Review on 'Employment measures to tackle the economic downturn: Short time working arrangements / partial activity schemes', France, 27 - 28 September 2010.
Citation
Eurofound (2015), Norway: Working time flexibility, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin,
https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/working-time-flexibility/norway