Will any part of Norwegian employment law apply for expats?
Some parts of Norwegian employment law will apply for expats that work in Norway, regardless of any agreements to the contrary. This article gives a brief overview of the Norwegian employment rules that will apply for expats assigned to Norway.
Expats are usually employed with a foreign company and sent to Norway to perform work for the Norwegian company. More common than not, the employment contract entered into between the foreign company and the expat determines that the employment shall be governed by the foreign company’s national law. It is, however, important to know that some parts of Norwegian employment law will apply for expats regardless of which country’s law that apply for employment, unless the law that applies for the employment provides the expat with better conditions than Norwegian law would. This rule has its basis in an EU directive, and thus the same principle will apply when a company sends expats to any EU or EEA country.
Firstly, all HES provisions in chapter 4 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act will apply for the expat. Secondly, Norwegian working time provisions will apply as well.
From a practical point of view, this implies that it is important for the company to make an assessment of whether the expat under Norwegian law will be considered to be in a category of employees meeting the stringent criteria to be exempt from the working time provisions. If the expat falls into the exempt category, only very few of the working time provisions apply. If the expat works in a non-exempt position, however, the general working time provisions will apply. For instance these general provisions require that 40 % overtime is payable for any work exceeding 9 hours per day or 40 hours per week
Furthermore, the expat is protected by the non-discrimination rules of the Working Environment Act, which prohibits discrimination due to political views, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation, disability or age, as well as discrimination due to the fact that the expat works part time or as a fixed-term employee. The expat will also be entitled to leave of absence in certain situations determined by law, for instance maternity or paternity leave up to 12 months (up to three years if the leave of absence is taken as a part-time leave of absence). This rule does not, however, in itself obligate the company to pay salary (if the expat is a member of the Norwegian national insurance, the individual would normally be entitled compensation limited a certain amount) during any part of the leave of absence period. The expat is also protected against dismissal during a maternity or paternity leave period.
Further, the employment contract entered into between the expat and the foreign company must fulfill the requirements laid down by Norwegian law for employment contracts; the contract must be in writing, it needs to contain everything that Norwegian law states that it shall contain and any changes to the employment shall be included in the employment contract within one month after they occurred.
The Norwegian rules on hiring of personnel from temp agencies and from other companies also apply for the expat. In a worst case scenario, this rule can imply that the expat is considered to be a permanent employee of the Norwegian company. For international oil companies, this rule will however seldom have any practical meaning.
The expat will also be entitled to holiday and holiday pay according to the Norwegian Holiday Act. The Holiday Act provides employees with 25 days holiday (including Saturdays, meaning the holiday is four work weeks and one work day) and 10,2 % of the salary in holiday pay. In relation to this rule, it will often be necessary for the company to perform a thorough comparison between the holiday rights the expat has under his or her contract and those he or she gets under the Holiday Act to determine which one is more beneficial for the expat.
The foreign company and the Norwegian company cannot agree that the expat is prohibited from taking employment directly with the Norwegian company during a certain period. If such provision is included in any contracts, the provision will be considered invalid.
Lastly, certain provisions of the Norwegian Gender Equality Act will apply for the expat, for instance the general rule that men and women cannot be treated differently.