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WORKING IN NORWAY

EXPLAINED: What you should know if you want to quit your job in Norway

Leaving a job is always a challenging decision to make. However, if you decide to take that route, it helps to be familiar with the resignation rules in Norway and the potential impact it could have on your residence rights.

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In most cases, your employment will not end on the day you quit. Photo by Rodeo Project Management Software on Unsplash

In Norway, an employment relationship ends when either the employee or the employer submits a written notice of termination to the other party.

There are strict rules in place that regulate what this termination of employment should look like and how it should take place for both sides involved.

In most cases (if we’re talking about standard, indefinite employment contracts), your employment will not end on the day you resign.

You’ll need to fulfil your obligations in line with your notice period, which is set forward in your employment contract or your collective agreement (if one applies to you).

In this guide, we will cover all the key things you should know both before and after quitting your job in Norway.

READ ALSO: The probation period rules new employees in Norway need to know

The notice period

For most employees in Norway, the resignation process is governed by the Working Environment Act (Arbeidsmiljøloven). However, if you’re a government employee, some parts of the Civil Service Act (Statsansatteloven) will also be relevant.

In Norway, there are no formal requirements that relate to employee resignations, except for the fact that the resignation must be submitted in writing.

However, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) advises employees to hand in their resignation notices to their employer in person or by registered post. By doing so, you’ll avoid any uncertainty in the future about your resignation date or notice period.

As for the notice period, its duration changes based on how long the employee has been employed and the age of the employee.

The notice period regulations also apply to temporary employees if they end their employment relationship before the end of the contract. If your contract doesn’t set forward guidelines on the duration of the notice period, the following timeframes will apply:

Notice period

The standard duration framework for the notice period in Norway. Screenshot: Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority

If you resign on your own accord, know that the notice period will always be at most three months.

Generally speaking, the notice period runs from the first day of the month following the month in which you give notice to your employer.

So, if you submit your resignation notice to your employer on August 15th, the notice period will run from September 1st.

You can find more details on the specifics of notice periods in Norway on the webpage of the Labour Inspection Authority.

Can I apply for unemployment benefits?

Even if you quit your job, you’re allowed to apply for unemployment benefits in Norway.

It’s important to be aware of several restrictions:

Ideally, you should apply for unemployment benefits one week before the last day you’re entitled to get a salary from your employer. In order to avoid losing days on unemployment benefits, you must, at the latest, apply for them on the day when you’re no longer entitled to a salary at your old workplace.

As the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) points out on its website, if you had reasonable cause to resign from your job (such as being unable to continue in your job due to health issues or having experienced harassment in the workplace), you’ll get unemployment benefits from the first day you’re eligible for them.

However, if you did not have reasonable cause to resign from your job, you will not get unemployment benefits for the first 18 weeks after quitting.

In any case, you’ll need to apply for unemployment benefits. After you apply, the NAV will assess whether you had reasonable cause to resign (know that they will require documentation supporting your claim of reasonable cause).

Am I entitled to a reference?

By law, once you carry out your notice period, you’re entitled to a written reference from your employer.

As a minimum, the reference should state your name, date of birth, the nature of the work you carried out, and the duration of your employment.

What to do if a dispute arises?

In the event of conflict or disagreement regarding your resignation or notice period, you should seek legal assistance. If you’re a member of a labour union, it’s also a good idea to consult them.

If you need general guidance on the regulatory provisions that apply in your case, you can also contact the Labour Inspection Authority.

Could it impact my residency? 

If you hold a work permit there are a number of steps you will need to take after you leave your job. The first step is to notify the police in your area within seven days. After that, you can stay in Norway for up to six months to look for a new job.

If you already have a new role lined up, you may need to apply for another work permit. This is if the role and duties are different to the job you initially held. 

If you succeed in getting a new job but are going to work in the same type of position as before, you do not need to apply for a new residence permit.

Still, you need to notify the police in your area within seven days after you start working at the new job.

Other residence types are largely unaffected by a potential resignation. If you are unsure about how a change of jobs could affect your residence contact the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). 

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For members

ECONOMY

Fact check: Is Norway really better off than Sweden right now?

Norway’s finance minister said Wednesday that consumers in Norway had enjoyed better economic conditions than their Swedish counterparts. So, does this claim hold up?

Fact check: Is Norway really better off than Sweden right now?

Ahead of a meeting of the Nordic countries’ finance ministers on Wednesday, Norway’s finance minister, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, said that things had been easier for Norwegians than for Swedes when it came to the economy.

“Since the last finance minister’s meeting last year, we have had a difficult time in Norway, but in Sweden it has really been rough. There, purchasing power has fallen much more than here, and unemployment is much higher,” the finance minister told the Norwegian newswire NTB.

Vedum’s interview was intended to rally optimism in Norway. He pointed to factors such as an expected real wage increase, cuts to childcare costs, and a bump to pensions and student loans as cause for optimism.

Does Vedum’s claim hold up?

Consumers’ confidence in the Norwegian economy has been low over the last few years, and market research company Opinion’s most recent survey showed there were still more people who viewed their personal finances and the economy negatively than positively.

Norway’s consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, rose by 3.6 percent between April 2023 and April 2024, according to the latest figures from the national data agency Statistics Norway.

The figures for April marked the fourth consecutive month in which inflation slowed in Norway.

Inflation in Norway is also considerably lower than the peak of 7.5 percent between October 2022 and October 2021.

Prices in Sweden, meanwhile, were up 3.9 percent between April 2023 and the same month this year, figures from the Swedish data agency Statistics Sweden show. Inflation in Sweden has moderated significantly since the peak of 12.3 percent in December 2022.

Year-on-year inflation was measured at more than 10 percent for eight consecutive months between September 2022 and April 2023, but has slowed every month since January.

When it comes to work, Sweden has a higher unemployment rate than Norway. The latest figures from Sweden’s data agency show an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent. In Norway, some 4 percent of the workforce was unemployed as of April 2024.

After years of stagnant real wages (where salaries outpace inflation), workers in Norway are expected to see some positive progress. Wages are expected to rise by 5.2 percent, while inflation will be around 3.9 percent for 2024.

Earlier this year, economists at Swedbank estimated that wages in Sweden would increase by 3.7 percent in 2024. Furthermore, with the help of Statistics Sweden, the economists estimated that workers would have an average monthly salary increase of 1,300 Swedish kronor after tax cuts and inflation are accounted for. The Swedish krona and Norwegian krone are currently worth roughly the same.

Still, salaries in Sweden are, on average, lower than in Norway. At the time of writing, the most up-to-date average salary across all professions in Sweden was listed as 38,300 Swedish kronor per month.

The average salary in Norway was much higher, at 53,670 kroner per month. However, these figures are more recent (May 2024), so they will naturally be higher than Sweden’s, which are from June 2023. Additionally, Sweden generally has a lower cost of living than Norway.

READ ALSO: Do foreigners in Norway get paid less than Norwegians?

One area where Sweden’s figures are more promising than Norway’s is the key policy rate. In Sweden, the key policy rate is currently 3.75 percent, compared to 4.5 percent in Norway. Norway’s key rate isn’t expected to be cut until December 2024 at the earliest, either.

Another area where Sweden has outpaced Norway has been the strength of the Swedish krona against the Norwegian krone.

As previously mentioned, both currencies currently have roughly similar values. While the krone and the krona have struggled against other major currencies, the Swedish krona has traded for more than one Norwegian krone over the past year. In contrast, one Norwegian krone has typically been worth more than one Swedish krona in the past.

Furthermore, while Norway’s economy was performing roughly as expected, Sweden’s saw unexpected growth in the first quarter. 

READ MORE: How healthy is the Swedish economy right now?

Has the smoother economy brought Norway happiness?

The extra money in Norway isn’t everything, at least according to the annual World Happiness Report (WHR) by The UN Sustainable Development Network.

Norway was ranked the least happy of the Nordics but was still ranked seventh. Things were rosier in Sweden, however, with the country coming three places ahead of its neighbour at fourth.

However, the two countries had a separate happiness confidence rating. This is the confidence in the accuracy of the numbers. These figures placed a 95 percent confidence in Norway being between the 4th and 7th happiest country in the world.

This means that Norway’s happiness would be interchangeable or comparable with Sweden, which also had a 95 percent confidence ranking of 4th to 7th.

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