Permittering is a benefit for people who have been temporarily released. However, this does not mean the final termination of the employment contract. In practice, permittering means that the employee is released from the obligation to report to work, and the employer relieves the employer of the obligation to pay remuneration for a specified period of time.
Who is eligible for permittering?
You must meet all conditions to receive permittering entitling to the granting of unemployment benefit. In the case of periodically dismissed persons, the following circumstances must additionally occur:
- periodic dismissal must be caused by factors beyond the control of the employer,
- the employer has made every effort to avoid temporary redundancies,
- the release must be given for a certain period of time.
Read also: Sickness benefit in Norway - special conditions >>>
Persons who are the only employee in their own company
As a rule, a person employed, for example, as the president of a company, meets all the criteria of the definition of an "employee". Theoretically, this means the right to, for example, a temporary unemployment benefit. This also applies to companies that employ only one employee. The pardon of this situation is the fact that then the president of such an organization appears before NAV both as a periodically dismissed employee and as an employer who has to document the situation in the company.
As an employer, you are required to explain to NAV what you have done to avoid periodic layoffs. You should also present when there was a need for periodic layoffs and what steps have been taken to counter this. You are also required to explain how you intend to look after the interests of the company during the temporary layoff.
Read also: Unemployment benefit for foreigners - how to do it? >>>
NAV may refuse
NAV may invalidate the periodic release and not grant you an allowance. Especially when, as the only employee in the company, you have reduced your working time by more than 80%. In such a case, the Office may have doubts as to whether the company is taking appropriate measures to counteract the crisis. From the point of view of officials, such action is more like a termination of activity than temporary layoffs.
Permittering - how long?
NAV permittering can last up to a maximum of 30 weeks over an 18-month period. The exception is the fishing industry, where this period can last up to 52 weeks. The periodic dismissal is calculated from the date in which the employee was registered as unemployed. Permittering is also closely related to a specific employer. In practice, this means that if an employee has used 30 weeks of periodic leave with one entrepreneur, it does not mean that I will not be able to use this period with another, if necessary.
Read also: Sickness benefit in Norway for employees >>>
Obligation to control
During the period of temporary leave, in which the employer does not pay your salary, the employer is obliged to control the expiration of permittering. He is also responsible for checking when he will be required to pay his wages again. In turn, it is the employee's duty to inform the enterprise of any circumstances that may be relevant to the period of temporary dismissal.
Permittering - separate rules
Applicants for permittering rights must also comply with separate rules, in particular the following:
- The employee must be willing to take up alternative employment. A person who is temporarily unemployed does not have such opportunities to take up a new job as if he had been permanently dismissed. Nevertheless, NAV may refuse the right to the benefit if it finds that the employee has rejected the job offer for a shorter period than the permittering period.
- The employee must be ready to change their place of residence.
- If a job offer conflicts with periodic dismissal, NAV may consider whether the rejection of the job is justified.
Read also: Nav in Norway - what help can you count on? >>>
Who is not eligible for permittering?
There are occupational groups that are not entitled to unemployment benefits during the temporary leave period. These are the following professions:
- external employees, on call and freelancers - if they do not have a signed employment contract, they cannot be temporarily dismissed,
- employees of the public sector and cultural institutions - with the exception of entities organized and run according to the same rules as private economic activity.
Read also: Auxiliary income in Norway - what is it? >>>
To apply for unemployment benefit, you must first register as unemployed. The easiest way to do this is through the Ditt NAV portal. It is worth remembering to inform the Office immediately about any changes that may affect our rights to social benefits.
Permittering - is it worth it?
Obtaining the permittering right has certain advantages. First of all, you can get a steady income despite the fact that you temporarily lost your job. The amount of the allowance is 62,4% of gross income earned in the last year or in the last three years. At the same time, your contract of employment does not expire, therefore this period is included in the length of service. You are also entitled to benefit from the Norwegian health system as you are still employed.
The issue of the possibility of receiving benefits is not without significance. Permittering can be combined with, for example, a care allowance or parental benefit. If you collected them during your employment, you do not lose your rights to them during the period of temporary release. You keep these privileges even if you are not in Norway, but only if you work on a rotational basis, e.g. 4 weeks at work and 2 weeks at home.
