One of the most critical tasks involved with starting any new business is the act of recruiting and hiring employees who will help take your company off the ground. However, hiring employees...
Read MoreOne of the most critical tasks involved with starting any new business is the act of recruiting and hiring employees who will help take your company off the ground. However, hiring employees and setting up payroll in a foreign country is not a simple task.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
One of the most critical tasks involved with starting any new business is the act of recruiting and hiring employees who will help take your company off the ground. However, hiring employees and setting up payroll in a foreign country is not a simple task.
Globalization Partners is the company you need on your side when you decide to expand to Norway. Instead of learning the ins and outs of employment compliance on your own, you can count on us for Norway hiring outsourcing.
Before you can hire an employee, you need to get details about your job vacancy in front of them. Trade unions, newspapers, and websites are all great places to post about your open positions in Norway. The largest newspaper in the country is Aftenposten, and it has many listings for candidates to look through.
The majority of online job vacancies are presented at:
When hiring, employers are required to notify the Labor and Welfare Administration (Norsk Arbeids- og velferdsetaten, or NAV) as well as existing employees of vacant positions.
Employers typically want to run a background check on candidates while recruiting. This process could include verifying information about the candidate or looking into their education, professional experience, credit or business interests. Less commonly, employers look at salary information, medical history, and reasons for past terminations.
Your candidate’s health is also private unless the job requires special health considerations. You cannot ask questions about any future health problems either. Only obtain medical checkup records if the job involves high risks or you feel it’s necessary to protect the individual’s life or health.
Finally, you can obtain a candidate’s credit report only if the position is high-ranking and involves a degree of economic responsibility. Even then, you can do so only during the final rounds of the recruitment process.
There are some types of information you cannot gather in Norway, including details about the candidate’s family life, religion, ethnicity, functional disability, and sexual orientation. The only exception is a requirement for the information to determine whether the candidate is capable of handling the type of work you need them to.
You cannot ask discriminatory questions during the interview process or request a certificate of good conduct unless the particular position or profession requires it. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority prohibits the processing of certain data, including sensitive personal information. Make sure you don’t ask questions related to these topics or gather any information about the candidate’s record.
Hiring employees in Norway should start with a written employment contract. Employers must draft an employment contract within one month of the employee’s start date.
Norway employers often operate under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that outlines separate labor laws. Your employment contract needs to meet or exceed the CBA’s requirements based on your industry.
An employment contract should spell out these terms:
Employment compliance in Norway starts with the workday. Employees typically work nine hours per day with a one-hour lunch. Any hours over nine per day or 40 per week is overtime and should be paid at a rate of at least 40% more than the employee’s standard rate. Employees cannot work more than 10 hours of overtime a week, 25 hours every four-week period, or 200 hours per year.
Norway’s employment law is described in the Norwegian Employment Act of 2005 and is interpreted by the country’s general courts. The Working Environment Act also outlines Norway employment compliance rules that govern employment relationships whether the employee is engaging in permanent or temporary work.
The best way to onboard employees is to go over the employment contract. Although Norwegian law does not require you to have the employment contract ready by the employee’s first day, it can be helpful to go over it together on that date. Try to onboard multiple employees at the same time so that they can go through the process together.
Other helpful tips include:
Norway hiring outsourcing services offer multiple benefits. As a global PEO, Globalization Partners can help you employ workers in a few days instead of a few months.
Instead of setting up a subsidiary, you can use our established subsidiary in Norway. We’ll hire employees and assign them to work for you. You won’t have to worry about how to hire Norway employees or the different employment compliance laws. We’ll take the risk onto our shoulders and off of yours.
If you need help hiring employees in Norway, we are here to make your expansion easier. Contact us to learn more about our comprehensive solution.
If you’re ready to grow your business, or you have questions about a specific country, complete the form. One of our experts will be in touch shortly.
