Your guide to salary

What is my salary?

The first thing you need to know is that there is no statutory minimum wage in Norway. This means that the state has not set a fixed hourly rate that everyone MUST follow.

So, how is salary determined?

Collective agreements: If your workplace has a collective agreement (an agreement concluded between employer organizations and trade unions), you are guaranteed a minimum wage and certain benefits.

Negotiation/Standard: If there is no collective agreement, the salary is set in the employment contract. The salary is then determined based on what is common in the industry, your experience, your age and education.

Remember! The salary should always be specified in the employment contract. Check that you are being paid for your experience and age, and don't be afraid to ask your boss or a union representative what is normal.

Overtime: When do you work for extra money?

If you work more than what is considered normal working hours, you are entitled to extra payment – ​​this is called overtime pay.

• What are normal working hours? The normal working hours in law are a maximum of nine hours a day and 40 hours a week. In many workplaces with collective agreements, the limit is 37,5 hours a week.
• Overtime starts: Work beyond these limits is overtime.
• How much extra? The Working Environment Act ensures you at least 40 percent extra in addition to your regular hourly wage.
• Collective agreements often provide between 50 percent and 100 percent, especially for evening, night, weekend and public holiday work.
• Important for young people: If you are under 18 years of age, you should never work overtime. Chapter 11 of the Working Environment Act makes this very clear.

Salary payment and holiday pay

Two other things related to your money are when you get it and the all-important vacation money.

When does the salary come?

The time when you will be paid your salary should be specified in your employment contract. This is often one fixed date per month. Always check your payslip to make sure everything is correct!

Holiday pay: Your extra salary

Your vacation money is money you have earned the year before you take vacation.

• The rate: The vacation pay is at least 10,2 percent of the total gross income you had from your employer last year.
• Payment: You will usually be paid your vacation pay as a large sum in June of the year after you earned it.
• Are you quitting your job? If you quit your job before December 31.12, you are entitled to receive all earned vacation pay along with your last salary payment (your final settlement).

Tax on holiday pay

Vacation pay is taxable income. To avoid tax withholding when the money is paid in June, a little more tax is usually deducted from your regular wages for the rest of the year. This is a technicality – in short, you pay the tax evenly throughout the year, so the vacation pay in June often looks like it is “tax-free.”

If you have a summer job, it is common for the vacation money you have earned to be paid out with your last paycheck. In that case, your employer also deducts tax on the vacation money.

Examples of allowances you may be entitled to

In addition to your fixed hourly wage, you may be entitled to various allowances that increase your hourly pay. These must be stated in the collective agreement or in your employment contract:

• Evening and night supplement: For work in the evening (for example after 18:00 PM) and at night.
• Holiday and weekend supplement: For work on Sundays, public holidays and public holidays.
• Food allowance/diet: If you are traveling for work.

Do you have questions about your salary? Contact your workplace representative or the YS union you are a member of. They will help you check whether you are actually getting what you are entitled to!