An employment contract in Norway must be concluded with each employee who performs certain activities for his employer. As a rule, everyone must be employed on a permanent basis, but there are exceptions to this rule. The signed document should also have certain features to precisely define the terms of employment.
An employment contract in Norway - what should it contain?
The employment contract is the basic document regulating the relationship between the employee and the employer. Such a document should contain, inter alia, job description, date of entering into employment, applicable notice periods, expected length of employment, agreed daily and weekly working hours, including the hourly range. The following elements must also be specified in the contract:
- workplace,
- possible provisions regarding the trial time,
- provisions regulating the issues of the employee's right to leave, as well as the rules for determining the date of leave,
- length of breaks,
- information on possible collective agreements.
Standard employment contract template at Arbeidstilsynet.no >>>
When to sign an employment contract?
An employment contract in Norway should always be in writing. As a rule, it should be drawn up for an indefinite period, although there are some exceptions to this rule. The document regulating the employment relationship should be signed as soon as possible. In the case of contracts concluded for a period longer than one month, they should be signed at the latest at the end of the first month.
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Fixed-term contract
As mentioned above, an employment contract in Norway should, as a rule, be concluded for an indefinite period. However, the law provides for some exceptions to this rule and they are as follows:
- A fixed-term contract may be concluded if required by the specificity of a given job. The performed professional activities must then depend on the regular operation of the enterprise. Such employment relationships are most often concluded in the case of seasonal or project work. However, if the employee is to perform regular activities for the employer, then the employee must be employed for an indefinite period.
- The specified duration of the contract may also appear in the case of internships. These are instructional or apprenticeship jobs.
- A fixed-term employment contract in Norway may also take place if the employee is employed as a replacement. However, there must be actual reasons for replacement, such as, inter alia, illness, holiday or special leave or pregnancy.
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Employment contract in Norway and non-discrimination
The Norwegian Labor Code (norw. arbeidsmiljøloven) it is about the prohibition of discrimination. The employer cannot judge employees based on gender, religion, skin color, national or ethnic origin, political opinion, trade union membership, sexual orientation, disability or age. In practice, this is related to, inter alia, with the prohibition of asking questions about the views of the candidate for the job. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, especially if the company concerned, for example, promotes certain political views. In this case, the employer must, however, include the relevant information in the content of the job advertisement.
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Right of priority
Contrary to Polish legislation, the Norwegian Labor Code guarantees employment priority to people who have been dismissed from a given company due to job cuts. However, this applies to a situation where the employee has the appropriate qualifications for a given job position, and he has been employed in a given enterprise for at least 12 months in the last two years.
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The right of priority also applies to a situation where an employer intends to increase the number of employees and at the same time has part-time employees. However, this applies only if the employee has appropriate qualifications and the increased hourly hours will not cause any difficulties for the workplace.
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Take care of your rights
From the employee's point of view, the most important thing is to ensure that the employment contract in Norway includes all the necessary elements and that it is signed at all. This should be done as soon as possible. In the case of employment for more than a month, this may take place at the latest at the end of the first month of work. An important issue is also the awareness that, as a rule, the employment relationship must be concluded for an indefinite period, and the employer is not allowed to discriminate at the stage of recruitment. An interesting issue, however, is the fact that a dismissed employee as a result of redundancy has the right of priority if a job at a similar position becomes vacant at the former employer. However, he must have the appropriate qualifications to start working.
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