Under the Holiday Act, all employees in Norway have the right to at least 25 working days of holiday – four weeks and one day per year. Holiday pay is 10,2 % of the salary from the previous year and is usually paid out in June. Many have five weeks through collective agreement.

This guide brings together the rules set by the Labour Inspection Authority and the Holiday Act for holiday leave and holiday pay in Norway, and answers the questions newcomers to the workforce most often ask. The rules apply equally to full-time and part-time employees, regardless of where you come from. The figures apply as of June 2026.

How many holiday days are you entitled to under the Holiday Act?

The Holiday Act gives all employees the right to 25 working days of holiday each holiday year. The holiday year follows the calendar year (1 January–31 December).

A working day is Monday through Saturday. Sundays and public holidays do not count. Because the law counts Saturday as a working day, one holiday week equals six working days. Therefore, 25 working days equals four weeks plus one day – not five full weeks. The extra day is an addition, but does not reach a fifth week (which would require 30 working days).

Five weeks (30 working days) is not legally mandated. The fifth week comes from a collective agreement or individual employment contract. Most employees covered by a collective agreement received it around the year 2000. Check your employment contract to see how many weeks you actually have.

Main holiday and remaining holiday: when can you take summer vacation?

You can require that 18 working days (three weeks) be given consecutively as main holiday in the period 1 June to 30 September. This is your right to summer vacation. Exception: employees who start a job after 15 August do not have the right to main holiday in this period the same year.

The remaining 7 working days (remaining holiday) can you require to be taken together, but not necessarily in the summer. The legally mandated holiday is thus divided into 18 + 7 = 25 working days.

When does the employer decide the holiday?

The employer must discuss the timing of your holiday with you in good time. Discussion means a real conversation, but not that you must agree. If you don't agree, it is ultimately the employer who decides the timing – within the rules for main holiday and remaining holiday above.

You still have the right to be informed of holiday dates at least two months before the holiday starts, unless there are special reasons preventing it. The employer can also require you to take scheduled holiday.

Holiday pay: how it is calculated

Holiday pay replaces your salary while you are on holiday. You do not receive your regular wage on holiday – you receive holiday pay instead. Under the Holiday Act § 10, it consists of:

  • 10,2 % of the holiday pay basis for the legally mandated holiday (four weeks and one day).
  • 12 % for you who have five weeks through collective agreement or employment contract.

The holiday pay basis is what you earned in wages (work remuneration) the previous year. Bonuses and commissions that are the result of your own work effort count. This does not apply to holiday pay itself, share of profit, or coverage of expenses (travel, car, food, lodging).

Holiday pay is earned in the accrual year (the previous year) and paid out in the holiday year (the following year), normally on the last regular payday before the holiday – in practice in June. The holiday pay you receive in 2026 is thus calculated from what you earned in 2025. The more you earned last year, the more holiday pay you get this year. Make sure it is paid to a Norwegian bank account.

Is holiday pay tax-free?

No. This is the most common misunderstanding about holiday pay. Holiday pay is taxable income just like regular wages.

The reason many think it is tax-free is that no tax is withheld in June, the month holiday pay is paid. In return, your tax card is set up so that slightly more tax is withheld in the other months. Over the year you pay full tax on all income, including holiday pay. Check your tax card and your tax return if you have changed jobs or had a change in income, so you avoid any additional tax.

Extra holiday and holiday pay for you over 60

Employees who turn 60 during the holiday year receive 6 extra working days of holiday (one extra week). You decide for yourself when the extra week is taken.

The holiday pay rate also increases by 2,3 percentage points for this group – to 12,5 % (or 14,3 % for you with five weeks). The employer can limit the basis for this supplement only to 6 times the National Insurance basic amount (6G). As of 1 May 2026, the basic amount (G) is 136 549 kroner, so 6G is 819 294 kroner. The standard rate of 10,2/12 % has no such upper limit.

New to the workforce: holiday without earned holiday pay

If you are newly arrived or new to a job, you may not have earned holiday pay yet, because it is earned the previous year. Two important rules then apply:

  • You have the right to take the holiday days even if you do not have holiday pay – but these days will then be unpaid.
  • You can refuse to take holiday as long as the holiday pay does not cover the loss of wages. Exception: in case of full or partial shutdown (for example collective holiday where the entire company closes) everyone must take holiday anyway.

If you start a job after 30 September, you only have the right to 6 working days (one week) of holiday that year.

Illness before and during holiday

If you become ill, the Holiday Act § 9 protects your holiday – but only if you are 100 % on sick leave:

  • If you become completely unable to work before your holiday, you can require the holiday to be postponed to later in the year. The claim must be documented with a medical certificate and submitted by the last working day before the holiday.
  • If you become completely unable to work during your holiday, you can require an equal number of new holiday days later – from and including the first day of illness. (The old rule requiring at least six days before you received compensation was removed in 2014.) The claim is documented with a medical certificate without undue delay after you return to work. Self-certification is not sufficient.

If you are partially (graded) on sick leave, you cannot require the holiday to be postponed – it proceeds as normal.

Holiday during furlough and dismissal

Furlough: The Holiday Act applies even when you are on furlough, and you can be required to take scheduled holiday. These days you receive holiday pay instead of unemployment benefits.

During notice period (Holiday Act § 8):

  • If your employer terminates you, they cannot place holiday during the notice period without your consent – unless the notice period is three months or longer. If the period is shorter, you can refuse.
  • If you give notice yourself, the employer can set the holiday according to the ordinary rules.

Can the employer cancel your holiday or call you back?

Yes, but only under strict conditions (Holiday Act § 6). The employer can change scheduled holiday if it is necessary due to unforeseen events, and only when implementation would have created substantial operational problems and no substitute can be found.

The employer must first discuss the change with you, and must cover documented additional costs you incur – for example a cancelled trip. You can require to state any expected extra costs during the discussion.

If the employer deliberately or negligently fails to ensure that you receive holiday and holiday pay, this can result in liability for damages – both for financial loss and a reasonable amount for welfare loss.

Part-time, transfer and other common situations

Part-time: The Holiday Act is the same for part-time and full-time employees. Holiday is counted in working days, not in the days you actually work. If you take a full week off, you use six working days regardless of employment percentage. Regular days off that fall on working days during your holiday count as holiday days.

Transfer: You can by written agreement transfer up to 12 working days of holiday to the next year, and in the same way take up to 12 days as advanced holiday. Legally mandated holiday days you do not take out and have not agreed to transfer do not expire – they automatically transfer to the next holiday year.

When you resign: All earned holiday pay is paid on the last regular payday before you leave (Holiday Act § 11).

Sick pay and parental pay from NAV: NAV pays holiday pay at 10,2 % of sick pay for the first 48 days, and of parental pay for the first 12 weeks (100 %) or 15 weeks (80 %).

Bankruptcy: If your employer goes bankrupt, the state wage guarantee scheme (NAV) covers, among other things, outstanding holiday pay, up to 2G.

Note that this does not apply to self-employed: if you have a sole proprietorship, the Holiday Act does not give you holiday pay – you must set aside for holiday yourself. Your wages depend, among other things, on what counts as minimum wage in your industry.

Sources

The rules above are based on the Holiday Act (Lovdata), the Labour Inspection Authority, the Tax Authority and NAV. See the source list for direct links.