Holiday and holiday pay

If you do not receive any of the benefits listed below, you do not have to notify NAV if you are going on holiday in Norway. If you are going abroad, special rules apply (text in Norwegian). These rules vary, depending on where you are going or staying. 

At the bottom is information about who is entitled to holiday pay from NAV. See also Ferieloven (text in Norwegian).

Attendance allowance and holiday

You are not entitled to attendance allowance on the days you are on holiday. Attendance allowance payments will be suspended during your holiday period, and will resumed once your holiday period is completed. Holiday pay is intended to compensate for your loss of income during your holiday period. If you take statutory holiday time while receiving attendance allowance payments, you must notify NAV. You can also call 55 55 33 33.

You do not have to notify NAV if you have agreed with your employer to postpone your holiday time in accordance with the provisions of the Holiday Act. If you have questions about the Holiday Act, please contact the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.

You may postpone Your holiday only if you receive 100 percent attendance allowance.

Normally, you have to stay in Norway to be eligible for attendance allowance. If you go abroad without taking statutory holiday time, you must apply to retain your attendance allowance during your stay abroad. Apply through the service Skriv til oss.

Holiday pay:

Holiday pay accumulates on the first 12 weeks of the qualifying year. Holiday pay is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the attendance allowance qualifying you for holiday pay.      

If the benefit period starts in one year and ends in the next, e.g. from 2017 to 2018, any holiday pay accumulated in 2018 will be paid in 2019.      

This means you can receive holiday pay for 12 weeks in the 2017 qualifying year , and for 12 new weeks in the 2018 qualifying year.

Care benefit days and holiday

You are not entitled to care benefit days when you are on holiday. If you take statutory holiday time while receiving care benefit days payments, you must notify NAV.

Normally, you have to stay in Norway to be eligible for care benefit days . Read more about care benefit days.

Holiday pay:

Holiday pay to employees is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the income qualifying you for holiday pay.  Normally holiday money will be paid by your employer.

Self employed and freelancers are not entitled to holiday pay when they receive care benefit from NAV.

Employment scheme benefits and holiday

If you are a participant in a training scheme, you will normally not be eligible for employment scheme benefits during your holiday. This also applies if you are a genuine job seeker and you are forced to take holiday time you did not choose, e.g. because your school/training centre is closed for the summer.       

If you are unable to accept work for health reasons, or you are not entitled to holiday pay, you may be eligible to retain employment scheme benefits during the summer holiday, provided your training scheme lasts longer than one academic year.      

If you are a job seeker, and you are entitled to unemployment benefit, you may keep your unemployment benefit payments during your training centre’s holiday, provided you are a genuine job seeker.

If you are a workplace scheme participant (not training/school) you may be entitled to keep your employment scheme benefit payments if the scheme is temporarily suspended as a result of the company’s joint holiday arrangement. This joint holiday arrangement must be documented by the company, and must include all of the company’s employees.

Financial assistance and holiday

The Social Services Act applies to every person who is stayingin Norway. If you are receiving financial assistance, however, the condition of residency in Norway does not preclude, that you can go on short stays abroad, for example on holiday, when this is considered beneficial for yours or your family’s needs. You must get advance approval for your stay abroad from your NAV office. We urge you to contact NAV at 55 55 33 33 as early as possible. 

Introductory benefit and holiday

As a participant in the introduction programme, you are entitled to up to 25 business days of holiday time each calendar year. 

You municipality will decide the timing of your holiday.

Read more on imdi.no (text in Norwegian).

Parental benefit and holiday

You can go on holiday while receiving parental benefits, or you can choose to postpone your parental benefit period (only available in Norwegian).

Holiday pay from NAV is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the gross parental benefit for the first 12 or 15 weeks of the total benefit period (12 weeks at 100 percent coverage, and 15 weeks at 80 percent coverage). This means that if only one parent has collected parental benefit for the first 12/15 weeks, no holiday pay will be paid to the other parent.

If only one parent has an employer, holiday pay will be paid to this parent.

If the employer is handling the parental benefit payments, the employer will also handle the payment of holiday pay.

If the first 12/15 weeks of the parental benefit start in one year and end in the next, e.g. from 2017 to 2018, you will receive holiday pay in 2018 for the parental benefit days in 2017. Holiday pay for the parental benefit days in 2018 will be paid in 2019.

Pregnancy benefit and holiday

Holiday pay is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the gross pregnancy benefit for the first 64 days of the benefit period.

If the benefit period starts in one year and ends in the next, e.g. from 2017 to 2018, you will receive holiday pay in 2018 for any benefit days in 2017. Holiday pay for the 2018 benefit period will be paid in 2019, but total holiday pay is limited to a maximum of 64 days for one benefit period.

Qualification benefit and holiday

As a participant in the qualification programme, you are entitled to up to 25 business days of holiday time each calendar year. If you are older than 60, you are entitled to 5 further business days of holiday time per year. You do not accumulate holiday pay under the provisions of the National Insurance Act and Holiday Act. You will, however, be entitled to keep your qualification benefit payments when you go on holiday. No tax is withheld from qualification benefit payments in June.      

You municipality will decide the timing of your holiday. The decision concerning the timing of your holiday must be made in collaboration with you as a programme participant and your employer/scheme administrator.

Severance pay and holiday

You may take up to three weeks of holiday time per calendar year while receiving severance pay. During this period, you are exempt from the obligation to be a job seeker, and you may go abroad.      

You may choose to extend your holiday, but then deductions will be made from your severance pay.

To keep receiving severance pay during your holiday, you must contact NAV before you go on holiday.      

Holiday pay does not accumulate on severance pay payments.

Sickness benefit and holiday

If you take statutory holiday time during your sick leave, you have to check the box for this on your sickness benefit claim form and specify when your holiday begins and ends.      

You do not have to notify NAV if you have agreed with your employer to postpone your holiday time in accordance with the provisions of the Holiday Act. If you have questions about the Holiday Act, please contact the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.      

If you go abroad without taking statutory holiday time, you must apply to NAV to retain your sickness benefit payments during your stay abroad. You must submit your application and have NAV’s approval before you go. Read more about sickness benefits during stays abroad.

You are not entitled to sickness benefit on the days you are on holiday. Sickness benefit payments will be suspended during your holiday period, and will resumed once your holiday period is completed, provided that you are still on sick leave when you return. Holiday pay is intended to compensate for your loss of income during this period.      

You have be in Norway to be eligible for attendance allowance. Without dispensation from NAV sickness benefit payments will be suspended if you go abroad.

Holiday pay:

For employees receiving sickness benefits from NAV, holiday pay is accumulated for the first 48 sickness benefit days in the qualifying year. If your employer has advanced payment of the sickness benefit, NAV will transfer the holiday pay to your employer.      

Holiday pay is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the sickness benefit qualifying you for holiday pay. For employees who turn 59 years old or older in the qualifying year, this percentage has been increased to 12.5 percent.      

If the benefit period starts in one year and ends in the next, e.g. from 2017 to 2018, you will receive holiday pay in 2018 for any sickness benefit days in 2017. Holiday pay for the sickness benefit days you had in 2018 will not be paid until 2019. This means you can receive holiday pay for 48 sickness benefit days in the 2017 qualifying year, and for 48 new sickness benefit days in the 2018 qualifying year.

Single parent’s benefit and holiday

If you are a single parent, you are entitled to go on a temporary stay abroad: 6 weeks (42 days) over a 12-month period. The notice letter specifies when you have to notify NAV of temporary stays abroad.     

If you have an obligation to engage in occupational activity (work, training or job searching) and you suspend this activity to go on a temporary stay abroad, the single parent’s benefit will normally be suspended.

Supplemental benefits and holiday 

If you suspend participation in a scheme or programme to go on holiday, your supplemental benefit payments will normally also be suspended.

Training allowance and holiday

You are not entitled to training allowance on the days you are on holiday. Attendance allowance payments will be suspended during your holiday period, and will resumed once your holiday period is completed. Holiday pay is intended to compensate for your loss of income during your holiday period. If you take statutory holiday time while receiving attendance allowance payments, you must notify NAV. You can also call 55 55 33 33. 

You do not have to notify NAV if you have agreed with your employer to postpone your holiday time in accordance with the provisions of the Holiday Act. If you have questions about the Holiday Act, please contact the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.

Holiday pay:

Holiday pay accumulates on the first 12 weeks of the qualifying year. Holiday pay is equivalent to 10.2 percent of the training allowance qualifying you for holiday pay.      

If the benefit period starts in one year and ends in the next, e.g. from 2017 to 2018, any holiday pay accumulated in 2018 will be paid in 2019.      

This means you can receive holiday pay for 12 weeks in the 2017 qualifying year , and for 12 new weeks in the 2018 qualifying year.

Lay-off and holiday

If you have been laid off from a company with a joint holiday arrangement, you are not entitled to unemployment benefits during the period your company executes or normally executes this joint holiday, provided you are covered by the company’s joint holiday arrangement. The same applies if you take holiday time during your lay-off as part of an agreement with your employer. 

Unemployment benefit and holiday

Normally, you are not eligible for unemployment benefit on days when you are on holiday, because unemployment benefit eligibility requires that you are a genuine job seeker.      

On your employment status form you must specify the days you were on holiday. On your employment status form you must specify the days you were on holiday. See question 4 on the form.      

In addition, you must contact NAV before your holiday begins, to inform NAV of when you will be on holiday. As soon as your holiday is over, you must immediately re-register as a job seeker on Ditt NAV, or you can call NAV. If your benefit payments have been suspended, you must apply to resume payment of unemployment benefits.      

If you have received unemployment benefit for more than 52 weeks, you will be notified by Ditt NAV that you are allowed to go on holiday for up to four weeks without this affecting your entitlement to unemployment benefit.

The period of 52 weeks only includes days where you have received unemployment benefit or have received reduced payment due to the mandatory waiting period.

The holiday is a part of the unemployment benefit period, and going on holiday does not extend your benefit period. You cannot save your holiday time until after your benefit period has expire, nor can you claim holiday time later if you begin a new unemployment benefit period.

Work assessment allowance and holidays

You do not qualify for work assessment allowance when you are on holiday. You may, however, go on holiday without your payments being suspended, if the activities you have agreed to participate in can proceed as planned. If NAV has no relevant activities to offer you in any given period, NAV considers you to be available. This means you will not list yourself as absent on your employment status form, and your work assessment allowance will be paid as usual.      

If you are on holiday and therefore is not available to NAV, you must specify this under question 4 about holidays or absences on your employment status form

• if you take time off/is absent from scheduled activities you agreed to participate in. Even if there may be a break in your activity plan, you must be available for other measures, such as a summer job, internship or other type of follow-up.         
• take some time off and do not want to be available to NAV during this period.  This also applies if you travel in Norway and/or abroad. When you are travelling, you are considered absent, and you are then not eligible for work assessment allowance.         

If you travel abroad, read more about absence due to illness or vacation (AAP) and rules to stay within the EU/EA area and outside the EU/EEA area.      

Please call NAV before you go on holiday if you are not sure whether it is allowed.      

If you combine work assessment allowance payments with part-time work, special holiday rules apply. Read more about  work assessment allowance and holiday absence (text in Norwegian).

Who are entitled to holiday pay?

• employees
• conscripts
• sailors
• fishermen taxed as employees

Who are not entitled to holiday pay?

• self-employed individuals
• freelancers
• retirees
• individuals receiving sickness benefit pursuant to Section 8-47, who are temporarily without gainful employment
• unemployed individuals
• fishermen taxed as self-employed

Most of the main information about your entitlements and duties is available here in English. There are also links to other more detailed information; however, some of this information is only available in Norwegian.

Is the tax on holiday pay deducted from NAV?

If you are entitled to holiday pay on your benefit from NAV, no tax is deducted. Note that if you have requested an additional / voluntary tax deduction, this will also be deducted from your holiday pay.