Travel for work may count as working time when the journey is necessary for the assignment and you are at your employer’s disposal. Pay must be assessed separately. Distinguish your usual journey to work from a business trip, and agree on both time recording and compensation before you leave.
Does every journey to work count as working time?
No. Your usual journey between home and a fixed workplace is normally different from a necessary journey to another location for a work assignment. Each particular journey must be assessed.
Arbeidsmiljøloven § 10-1, the Working Environment Act, defines working time as the time you are at your employer’s disposal. The rules in this guide were checked on 7 October 2026 against the Working Environment Act on Arbeidstilsynet’s website. Arbeidstilsynet is the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, which supervises the working environment and working time.
Start by finding out what your agreement says about your workplace and where you must report for work. The number of kilometres alone cannot settle the question. A short journey between assignments can serve a different purpose from a long, ordinary commute.
This guide concerns employees. Self-employed contractors and some transport occupations may have different rules. SamfunnPrep’s overview of working hours and overtime in Norway explains the background to limits on hours.
What does the judgment on travel time show?
The Supreme Court’s (Høyesterett) judgment HR-2018-1036-A shows that necessary travel outside normal working hours may count as working time under the rules protecting workers. The judgment does not establish one universal rule for paying for every journey.
The case concerned a police officer who travelled to other reporting locations to carry out assignments. The Supreme Court found that the disputed journeys were working time under the rules protecting working hours and rest. Read the Supreme Court judgment on travel time, especially paragraphs 61–69.
Protective provisions are rules that protect you against too much work and too little rest. Compensation was assessed separately under the collective agreements in the case. Therefore, saying “the judgment says travel is working time” can be an incomplete answer to a question about pay.
Use the judgment as a basis for asking the right questions. Do not copy the police officer’s particular compensation or old agreements into a different job.
Does working time always mean overtime pay?
No. Counting travel time under the protective provisions does not, by itself, determine what wages or travel compensation you receive. You must check the basis for payment in legislation, the collective agreement and your employment terms.
A collective agreement, or tariffavtale, is an agreement on wages and employment conditions between an employer and a trade union. Ask for the agreement’s name and the clause covering your journey. An internal travel policy should also explain how your employer applies these rules.
A limited example appears in Hovedtariffavtalene i staten 2026–2028, § 8, the state sector’s main collective agreements, checked on 7 October 2026. This provision governs compensation for required domestic journeys. Calculated travel time can be compensated with time off, with payment under the agreement’s conditions when time off is not granted.
This is an example from the state sector, not a rule for everyone employed in Norway. The agreement has its own limits and distinguishes travel time from work performed during the journey.
What should you agree on before a business trip?
Ask for written clarification of the assignment, time recording, payment and expenses. Agreeing to the journey should be based on a clear picture of your whole working day.
Discuss these points with your manager:
- Where must you report, and what is the assignment?
- What departure time and mode of transport are necessary?
- How will the journey itself and any work along the way be recorded?
- Which agreement governs payment or time off for travel time?
- Who approves tickets, accommodation and other expenses?
- When will you work after returning, and how will your rest be protected?
You can write:
Before the journey, please confirm the departure time, assignment and expected return. Please clarify how travel time is recorded under working-time rules and how it is compensated under our agreement. Please also confirm expense coverage and when I should report for work the following day.
This is a practical message template. Add details of your particular journey, rather than standard rates you have seen in a different industry.
How do you document the journey?
Record actual times and keep travel, work and personal activities separate. A ticket shows the transport, but not always the full sequence of events.
A simple note might look like this:
| Event | Time in the example | What to describe |
|---|---|---|
| Departure for the assignment | 06:30 | Required reporting location and transport |
| Work at the assignment location | 09:00–16:00 | Tasks and breaks |
| Return journey | 16:30–19:00 | Travel and any waiting |
| Personal activity | After 19:00 | Kept separate from the assignment |
These times are an example of documentation. The table does not, by itself, decide which hours are working time or what payment applies.
If you work on the train, note the task and the period. If the journey is delayed, save the message and actual arrival time. Any extra stay you add for personal purposes should be visible in the overview.
Do not assume that all time away from home counts as working time. Ask for unclear periods to be assessed instead of recording one long shift without explanation.
How do you plan rest after a late journey?
Assess rest against the working time that actually applies, not just the meeting schedule. A late journey for an assignment may affect when you report for work the next day.
The Working Environment Act contains rules on daily and weekly rest in § 10-8, with exceptions and arrangements that can be agreed. If travel time counts as working time under the protective provisions, it must be included when assessing these limits.
Tell your manager as soon as you know about a delay: “I will return later than planned. Can we clarify tomorrow’s start time and rest?” Agree on the change in writing. Do not wait until the next morning to explain that the plan’s assumptions have changed.
A compensation arrangement with time off later does not necessarily meet your need for rest immediately after the journey. Time recording, compensation and the work schedule must therefore be checked together.
What do you do if your travel expense claim is rejected?
Ask for a specific explanation and separate the expense question from working time and pay. A missing hotel receipt does not, by itself, settle how travel time should be counted.
Find out whether the rejection concerns an expense, the number of travel hours or the payment rule itself. Send the approval, timeline and relevant receipts. Ask which agreement was used.
Check your employment contract and terms, and ask your tillitsvalgt for help if you disagree over a collective agreement. A tillitsvalgt represents employees, often through a trade union. Ask Arbeidstilsynet about working-time rules if time recording or rest is the problem.
When wages are paid, the payslip guide can help you find travel compensation and corrections. Use the same period when comparing documents.
Which three amounts must you keep separate?
Keep wages for work, compensation for travel time and reimbursement of expenses as separate items. This makes clear what you are asking about and what your employer has paid.
Reimbursement of a ticket covers an expense. It does not show that travel time has been paid. Similarly, an amount for travel time does not automatically show whether additional work tasks have been paid correctly.
Ask for a breakdown if everything is listed as “travel”. You can find more practical aids in SamfunnPrep’s tools overview. Before your next assignment, you can keep a separate travel folder alongside your employment contract and timesheet.
