CDD reglementés: Oui

Remarks

Art. 14-9 (1) WEA states the following:
An employee shall be appointed permanently. Temporary employment may nevertheless be agreed upon:
a) when warranted by the nature of the work and the work differs from that which is ordinarily performed in the undertaking,
b) for work as a temporary replacement for another person or persons,
c) for work as a trainee,
d) for participants in labour market schemes under the auspices of or in cooperation with the Labour and Welfare Service,
e) for athletes, trainers, referees and other leaders within organised sports"

Motifs autorisés de recours au CDD: raisons matérielles et objectives

Remarks

Art. 14-9 (a) WEA provides for the following valid reasons for the use of the fixed term contracts:
for the nature of the work, for a temporary replacement, for work as a trainee, for participants in labour market schemes under the auspices of or in cooperation with the Labour and Welfare Service, for the use of athletes, trainers, referees and other leaders within organised sports.

Nombre maximum de CDD successifs: aucune limitation

Durée cumulée maximum de CDD successifs: 48mois

Remarks

- Art 14-9 (5) WEA states that an employee who has had a fixed term contract for more than four years (48 months) shall be considered a permanent employee, and therefore covered by the provisions on termination of employment. When calculating the length of the employment relationship, no deduction for employee's absence shall be made.
-Trainees, participants in labour market schemes under the auspices of or in cooperation with the Labour and Welfare Service, athletes, trainers, referees and other leaders within organised sports are however excluded from the 48 months' limitation of the maximum cumulative duration. (art 14-9 (5) WEA).

% de travailleurs sous CDD: 8.4

Remarks

Source: Eurostat, annul average for 2012.
The figure refers to the percentage of employee with a contract of limited duration (= temporary job) of total number of employee aged 15-74 years.
Eurostat data are based on the following definition:
"A job may be considered temporary if employer and employee agree that its end is determined by objective conditions such as a specific date, the completion of a task or the return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced (usually stated in a work contract of limited duration). Typical cases are: (a) persons with seasonal employment; (b) persons engaged by an agency or employment exchange and hired to a third party to perform a specific task (unless there is a written work contract of unlimited duration); (c) persons with specific training contracts."

Durée maximale de la période d'essai (en mois): 6 mois

Remarks

Art. 15-6 (3) of the Working Environment Act sets out the trial period may be agreed for up to 6 months. However, this may be extended in two cases:
1. If an employee has been absent from work during the trial period, the employer may extend the agreed trial period by a period corresponding to the period of absence. Such extension may only take place when the employee has been informed of this possibility in writing at the time of his appointment and when the employer has informed the employee of the extension in writing prior to expiry of the trial period. The right to extend the trial period shall not apply to absences caused by the employer.
2. The Ministry may issue regulations permitting agreement on a trial period longer than six months in the case of certain groups of employees (Art. 15-6 (4) and Art. 15-6(5) of the WEA).

During the probationary period, employee can only be dismissed on the grounds of the employee's lack of suitability for the work, or lack of proficiency or reliability (Art. 15-6(1) WEA). In the case of termination of employment under a trial period a 14 days' notice is required (art. 15-3(7) WEA).

Excluded from protection against dismissal: Non

Remarks

Art. 15-6(1) WEA reads as follows:
"If an employee engaged by written contract for a given trial period is dismissed, such dismissal must be on the grounds of the employee's lack of suitability for the work, or lack of proficiency or reliability."
In the case of termination of employment under a trial period a 14 days' notice is required (art. 15-3(7) of the Working Environment Act).

Obligation d'informer le travailleur des raisons du licenciement: Oui

Remarks

According to Art. 15-4 (3), the employer is required to state the reasons for the dismissal, only upon request of the employee in writing.

Motifs autorisés (licenciement justifié): tout motif légitime

Remarks

Sec. 15-7 of the Working Environment Act reads as follows:
(1) Employees may not be dismissed unless this is objectively justified on the basis of circumstances relating to the undertaking, the employer or the employee.
(2) Dismissal due to curtailed operations or rationalisation measures is not objectively justified if the employer has other suitable work in the undertaking to offer the employee. When deciding whether a dismissal is objectively justified by curtailed operations or rationalisation measures, the needs of the undertaking shall be weighed against the disadvantage caused by the dismissal for the individual employee.
(3) Dismissal owing to an employer's actual or planned contracting out of the undertakings ordinary operations to a third party is not objectively justified unless it is absolutely essential in order to maintain the continued operation of the undertaking.

Motifs prohibés: grossesse, maladie ou accident professionel temporaire, race, couleur, sexe, orientation sexuelle, nationalité/origine nationale, âge, handicap, accomplissement du service militaire ou civil, congé parental, dénonciation/ alerte, congé d'adoption, origine ethnique

Remarks

* General protection against discrimination:

- Discrimination on the grounds of political views, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation, disability or age is prohibited according to Art. 13-1 (1) WEA.

- On Discrimination on the basis of gender, see Art. 13-1 (4) WEA and the Gender Equality Act (No. 45 of 1978) which provides in Art. 4 that "in connection with the employment, promotion, dismissal or lay-off of employees, no difference must be made between women and men".

- Discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin, national origin, descent, colour, language, religion and ethical and cultural orientation is prohibited by the Discrimination Act (No.33 of 2005) [see also art. 13-1 (5-6) of the Working Environment Act).

*Protection against certain types of dismissals:

- Protection against dismissal in the event of sickness
(Art. 15-8 WEA): Prohibition to dismiss an employee on the grounds of his/her incapacity to work (caused by an accident or illness) for the first 12 months after becoming unable to work. This does not prevent the employer from giving notice of termination on other grounds. However, there is a legal presumption that absence from work owing to accident or illness is the reason for dismissal during the protected period, unless other grounds are shown by the employer to be highly probable.

-Protection against dismissal during pregnancy or following the birth or adoption of a child (Art. 15-9 WEA):
Prohibition to dismiss an employee on the grounds of pregnancy. Pregnancy will be deemed to be the reason for the dismissal of a pregnant employee unless other grounds are shown to be highly probable.
An employee on maternity leave, parental leave (including adoption leave) for up to one year must not be given notice of dismissal that becomes effective during the period of absence if the employer is aware that the absence is for such a reason or the employee notifies the employer without undue delay that the absence is for such a reason. If the employee is lawfully dismissed during this period, the notice will be valid but the period must be extended accordingly.

- Protection against dismissal in connection with military service (Art. 15-10 WEA): Prohibition to dismiss an employee owing to leave of absence to perform military service. Unless other grounds are shown to be highly probable, such service will be deemed to be the reason for dismissal immediately prior to or during the period of absence.

Travailleurs bénéficiant d'une protection particulière: femmes enceintes ou en congé de maternité, travailleurs avec des responsabilités familiales

Remarks

No specific protection against dismissal other than the prohibition of discriminatory dismissal in respect of employees performing military service, employees temporarily unable to work, and pregnant employees (see above). This means that the employer can dismiss those employees provided that it is justified on other grounds (e.g. in the case of collective redundancies). However, the WEA establishes legal presumption that the dismissals are based on prohibited grounds if they happen during a certain period unless other grounds are shown to be highly probable.

Employees on maternity and parental leave enjoy protection in the sense that they cannot be given notice of dismissal (on any grounds) that becomes effective during the period of absence provided that the employer is aware that the absence is for such a reason.
If the employee is lawfully dismissed during this period, the notice will be valid but the period must be extended accordingly (art. 15-9 WEA).

Forme de la notification du licenciement au travailleur: écrite

Remarks

Art. 15-4(1) WEA.

Délai de préavis:

Remarks

Art. 15-3 WEA states that unless otherwise stipulated in collective pay agreement, the notice period shall be one month.
Before notice has been given, an agreement on a shorter period of notice may only be concluded between the employer and the employee's elected representatives at undertakings bound by a collective pay agreement. Furthermore, shorter notice periods may be provided for in the regulations issued by the Ministry for participants in labour market schemes.

The same article further provides for the following notice periods:

*if the employee has been employed in the same undertaking for at least five consecutive years: at least two months' notice;
* if the employee has been employed in the same undertaking for at least ten consecutive years: at least three months' notice;
*if the employee has been employed in the same undertaking for more than ten consecutive years:
a) at least four months if the employee is 50 years old,
b) at least five months if the employee is above 55 years old,
c) at least 6 months if the employee is above 60 years old.

ancienneté ≥ 6 mois:

  • Tous: 1 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 9 mois:

  • Tous: 1 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 2 ans:

  • Tous: 1 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 4 ans:

  • Tous: 1 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 5 ans:

  • Tous: 2 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 10 ans:

  • travailleurs < 50 ans: 3 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 50 ans: 4 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 55 ans: 5 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 60 ans: 6 mois.

ancienneté ≥ 20 ans:

  • travailleurs < 50 ans: 3 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 50 ans: 4 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 55 ans: 5 mois.
  • travailleurs ≥ 60 ans: 6 mois.

Indemnité compensatrice de préavis: Non

Remarks

However, Art. 15-5(1) WEA states that if the notice is invalid, the employee may claim compensation.

Notification à l'administration publique: Non

Notification aux représentants des travailleurs: Oui

Remarks

Art. 15-1 WEA states that prior to the dismissal with notice the employer shall, to the extent that it is practically possible, discuss the matter with the employee and the employees representatives, unless the employee opposes such consultations.
As a result of an amendment to art. 15-1 introduced in 2009 by Act n°39 of 19 June 2009 (in force since January 1st, 2010), art. 15-1 specifies that "the discussions must concern both the grounds for dismissal and any selection between two or more employees regarding who is to be dismissed."

Autorisation de l'administration publique ou d'un organe judiciaire: Non

Accord des représentants des travailleurs: Non

Définition du licenciement collectif (nombre d'employés concernés): At least 10 employees within a period of 30 days.

Remarks

Art. 15(2) 1 WEA: "collective redundancies" shall mean
notice of dismissal given to at least 10 employees within period of 30 days without being warranted by reasons related to the individual employees. Other forms of termination of contracts of employment that are not warranted by reasons related to the individual employee shall be included in the calculation, provided that at least five persons are made redundant.

Consultation préalable des syndicats (représentants des travailleurs): Oui

Remarks

Art. 15-2(1) WEA: mandatory consultation with workers' representatives with a view to reaching an agreement to avoid collective redundancies or to reduce the number of persons made redundant.
Employers must provide the employees' elected representatives with all relevant information, including written notification concerning:
a) the grounds for any redundancies,
b) the number of employees who may be made redundant,
c) the categories of workers to which they belong,
d) the number of employees normally employed,
e) the groups of employees normally employed,
f) the period during which such redundancies may be effected,
g) proposed criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant,
h) proposed criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.
Such notification shall be given at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, at the same time as the employer calls a consultation meeting.
The employer shall be obliged to enter into consultations even if the projected redundancies are caused by someone other than the employer who has superior authority over the employer, such as the management of a group of companies.

Notification à l'administration publique: Oui

Remarks

- Art 8 of the Labour Market Act (No. 76 of 2004) (Lov om arbeidsmarkedstjenester (arbeidsmarkedsloven): "An employer contemplating collective redundancies shall as soon as possible or, at latest at the time the employer calls for discussions, notify the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration" [See also art. 15-2(3) WEA].
- Collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after the Labour and Welfare Service has been notified (art. 15-2(5) WEA).

Notification aux représentants des travailleurs: Oui

Remarks

Art. 15-2(2) WEA:
Employers must provide the employees' elected representatives with all relevant information, including written notification concerning:
a) the grounds for any redundancies,
b) the number of employees who may be made redundant,
c) the categories of workers to which they belong,
d) the number of employees normally employed,
e) the groups of employees normally employed,
f) the period during which such redundancies may be effected,
g) proposed criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant,
h) proposed criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.
Such notification shall be given at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, at the same time as the employer calls a consultation meeting.

Autorisation de l'administration publique ou d'un organe judiciaire: Non

Remarks

However, collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after the Labour and Welfare Service has been notified (art. 15-2(5) WEA).

Accord des représentants des travailleurs: Non

Règles de priorité pour l'ordre des des licenciements collectifs (situation sociale, âge, ancienneté): Non

Remarks

However, Art. 15-2(3) WEA states that the employer is obliged to give the employees' elected representatives written notification concerning criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant.

Obligation de l'employeur d'examiner des solutions alternatives au licenciement (transferts, formation...): Oui

Remarks

Art. 15-2(2) WEA provides for madatory consultations with a view to reaching an agreement to avoid collective redundancies or to reduce the number of persons made redundant. If the employer is considering closing down its activities or an independent part of them and this will involve collective redundancies, the possibility of further operations shall be discussed, including the possibility of the activities being taken over by the employees.
- If redundancies cannot be avoided, efforts shall be made to mitigate their adverse effects. The consultations shall cover possible social welfare measures aimed, inter alia, at providing support for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant. The employees' representatives shall have the right to receive expert assistance.

Règles de priorité de réembauche: Oui

Remarks

Art. 14-2 WEA: An employee who has been dismissed owing to circumstances relating to the undertaking shall have a preferential right to a new appointment at the same undertaking unless the vacant post is one for which the employee is not qualified.
- The preferential right shall also apply to an employee who is temporarily engaged and who, owing to circumstances relating to the undertaking, is not offered continued employment. This does not however apply to employees engaged as temporary replacements. The preferential right also applies to employees who have accepted an offer of reduced employment instead of dismissal.
- Employees enjoy such right provided that they have been employed by the undertaking for a total of at least 12 months during the previous two years.
- This right applies from the date on which notice is given and for one year after expiry of the period of notice.
- If two or more persons have a preferential claim to a post, the employer is obliged to follow the same rules for selection as apply in the event of dismissal.

Indemnité de licenciement:

Remarks

There are no statutory provisions on severance or redundancy payment. These can be included in collective agreements.

In addition, redundancy pay may be negotiated by the employer and the workers' representatives during the consultation and information process preceding collective redundancies. Art. 15-2(3)(h) WEA states that the employer must specify in written the criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.

ancienneté ≥ 6 mois: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 9 mois: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 1 an: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 4 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 5 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 10 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 20 ans: 0 mois

Indemnité de licenciement pour motif économique:

Remarks

There are no statutory provisions on severance or redundancy payment. These can be included in collective agreements.

In addition, redundancy pay may be negotiated by the employer and the workers' representatives during the consultation and information process preceding collective redundancies. Art. 15-2(3)(h) WEA states that the employer must specify in written the criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.

ancienneté ≥ 6 mois: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 9 mois: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 1 an: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 2 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 4 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 5 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 10 ans: 0 mois

ancienneté ≥ 20 ans: 0 mois

Notes / Remarques

Notes

There are no statutory provisions on severance or redundancy payment. These can be included in collective agreements.

In addition, redundancy pay may be negotiated by the employer and the workers' representatives during the consultation and information process preceding collective redundancies.

Compensation pour licenciement injustifié - montant librement déterminé par la cour: Oui

Remarks

Art. 15-12(2) WEA states that employees may claim compensation if the dismissal is effected in violation of the provisions on protection against certain types of dismissal (including dismissal during the probationary period, unfair dismissal, dismissal in the event of sickness, dismissal during pregnancy .... (art. 15-6 to 15-11 WEA).
Compensation shall be fixed at the amount the court deems reasonable in view of the financial loss, circumstances relating to the employer and employee and other facts of the case.

Compensation for unfair dismissal - Are there legal limits?:

Non

Possibilité de réintégration dans l'emploi: Oui

Remarks

-In Norway, employee may claim that the dismissal is invalid and request that the employment relationship continues. Such shall be initiated within or 8 weeks from the end of the negotiations between the employer and employee unlike compensation claims for which the timeframe is 6 months (art.17-4(1) WEA).

-When claimed by the employee, a notice of termination may be declared invalid if it is not based on objective grounds or in violation of the provisions on the protection against dismissal in certain cases (pregnancy, sickness, ....).
In the case of a dispute concerning the validity of a notice of termination, the employment will remain in force until the final settlement of the dispute.
In special cases, if so demanded by the employer, the court may decide that the employment shall be terminated if it finds it clearly unreasonable that employment should continue (art. 15-12 WEA).

- According to OECD table on Employment Protection Legislation in Norway (2008), reinstatement orders are fairly frequent in practice.

Conciliation préalable obligatoire: Non

Remarks

In Norway, most civil disputes are considered initially by the Conciliation Boards (forliksrådet). However, according to Art. 17-1 (3) WEA, the Conciliation Boards do no hear individual complaints related to unlawful dismissals and other claims mentioned in Art. 17-3 WEA. These cases are to be brought before the district court directly. [See also Ch. 6, Art 6-2 (f) of the Mediation and Civil Proceedings Act (No. 28 of 2012) ( Lov om mekling og rettergang i sivile tvister (tvisteloven).]

It is worth noting that according to art. 17-3 WEA, employees claiming that a dismissal with notice or summary dismissal is unlawful, or that it is a breach of the provisions of this Act concerning preferential rights may demand negotiations with the employer within 2 weeks from the date of the dismissal or the date the employer rejected a claim from an employee concerning preferential right to a new post.
The employer has an obligation to ensure that a meeting for negotiations is held as early as possible and, at the latest, within two weeks of receiving the request.
The negotiations must be completed not later than two weeks after the date of the first negotiation meeting unless the parties agree to continue the negotiations.

Courts ou tribunaux compétents: juridiction ordinaire

Remarks

- Individual disputes (for instance dismissal and termination of employment) are handled by ordinary courts (alminnelige domstoler) according to Art 17-1 WEA, the Mediation and Civil Proceedings Act (No. 28 of 2012) and the Courts of Justice Act (No. 5 of 1915).

- According to art. 17-4 WEA, the time period for claiming an unfair dismissal is eight weeks from conclusion of the negotiation between the parties or from the date of the dismissal if no negotiations took place).
- If an employee claims compensation only, the time limit shall be six months. In individual cases, the parties may agree
upon a longer time limit for initiating legal proceedings. If the dismissal does not meet the formal statutory requirements with regard to notice of dismissal, there is no time limit for such claims.

- In Norway, Labour Courts exist but their jurisdiction is, essentially, confined to collective disputes of rights. They do not have jurisdiction over individual disputes.
They are competent to hear disputes concerning the interpretation, application and validity of collective agreements, in cases of breach of agreements and of the contractual or statutory "peace obligation" and in cases of claims for damages resulting from such breaches. There are however, two exceptions:

1)Individual workers and employers are liable in damages for breach of a collective agreement or of the peace obligation. Claims for indemnification in such cases lie within the Labour Court's jurisdiction.

2)In addition, in a case concerning a collective agreement, the Labour Court may give a decision on individual claims being contingent on the decision given on the collective agreement issue at hand. Solely provided that this can be done without it being necessary to resolve further questions on evidence or legal problems in order to dispose of the individual claims. (See The Labour Disputes Act (lov om arbeidstvister (arbeidstvistloven) )

Règlement des litiges individuels par arbitrage: Oui

Remarks

- In Norway, parties may agree to have the dispute settled by arbitration. This is regulated by The Arbitration Act of 2004.
(see Eurofound: Individual disputes at the workplace - alternative disputes resolution - link provided below under "source of additional information").

- In addition, in respect of the chief executive of the undertaking, art. 15-16 WEA provides that "the employer may enter into a written agreement with the chief executive of the undertaking to the effect that disputes in connection with termination of the employment relationship shall be settled by means of arbitration".