10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10797
The Norwegian Government has in March announced immediate measures to avoid unnecessary layoffs and bankruptcies in viable companies from the shock of corona virus and Covid-19 pandemic. It has therefor responded to the situation with different measures, from closing down schools to financially support businesses and employees. 
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1561-8048
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Bernard Johann Mulder
Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Sick leave
COVID-19 and Labour Law: Norway
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National Reports
2020-04-15
2020-04-14
2020-04-15
2020-09-15
ILLeJ
Bernard Johann Mulder
2020/04/15
10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10797
University of Osl
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Sick leave
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Norway
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Norway                                                   Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Bernard Johann Mulder                                                            Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
johann.mulder@jus.uio.no                                           Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                               ISSN 1561-8048
                                                                https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10797




                 COVID-19 and Labour Law: Norway
                     Bernard Johann Mulder*

                                                 Abstract
     The Norwegian Government has in March announced immediate measures to avoid
     unnecessary layoffs and bankruptcies in viable companies from the shock of corona virus and
     Covid-19 pandemic. It has therefor responded to the situation with different measures, from
     closing down schools to financially support businesses and employees.



     Keywords: Covid-19; Labour Law; Unemployment benefit; Parental leave; Sick leave.




 1. General framework.

     The Norwegian Government and authorities have introduced significant measures to
 mitigate effects of the corona virus pandemic on the economy to strengthen health services
 and to support jobs, help businesses and individuals.
     The first corona infected person in Norway was detected at the end of February 2020.
 The Government and the Ministry of Health and Care Services therefore decided to
 delegate1 to the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet2) and the Norwegian
 Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet3) the task to coordinate actions to prevent
 and delay the further spread of the corona virus. In addition, the Government asked the
 citizens to follow the health authorities’ recommendations on how to act in the incurred
 situation. The Government announced that urgent action should be taken with proposals
 to the parliament (Stortinget) to respond to the economic shock of the corona virus
 pandemic. There is a broad cooperation between the Government and the other parties in
 Stortinget.
     Consequently, the Norwegian Directorate of Health 13 March 2020 issued a decision4 to
 close schools, universities and other educational institutions. Furthermore, the Directorate
 issued decisions on banning or closing cultural and sports events, gyms and swimming
 pools, establishments in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, bars, pubs and
 nightclubs. Exceptions are made for eating places where food is distributed. They must
 *
   Professor of Labour Law, University of Oslo, Norway.
 1 https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/delegert-myndighet/id2692686/.
 2 https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/english.
 3 https://www.fhi.no/en/.
 4-https://www.helsedirektoratet.no/nyheter/the-norwegian-directorate-of-health-has-issued-a-decision-to-

 close-schools-and-other-educational-institutions#measures-to-safeguard-healthcare-personnel-in-norway.
 Bernard Johann Mulder                                                         Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                              Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                 Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                   Section: National Reports




ensure visitors to keep at least one (1) metre distance from each other. Companies
providing hairdressing services, skin care, massage and body care, tattooing, piercing, etc.
are also obliged to close down. Also, with effect from 13 March 2020, the Government
have taken steps5 to mitigate economic effects of the corona virus pandemic, prioritizing
immediate measures to avoid unnecessary layoffs and bankruptcies in viable companies
facing an abrupt fall in income. Recommendations6 on how to behave have been also
given, restricting individuals daily life: for instance keeping a social distance, staying at
home if one has covid-19 symptoms, travel advice, quarantine and isolation. Besides, there
are provisions7 on prohibition for persons against staying in holiday properties
(hytteforbud) in a municipally other than where the person in question is registered as
residing.
   The Government has adopted rules on quarantine for persons entering Norway after
traveling outside the Nordic countries8. Anyone entering Norway has a quarantine
obligation for fourteen days, risking six months imprisonment breaching the legislation.
However, persons who are at work crossing the border between Sweden and Norway or
Finland and Norway traveling between residence and workplace are exempted from the
quarantine obligation.
   On 7 April 2020 the Government notified9 prolongation of the taken measures, but
loosening up with start 20 April 2020 for restrictions for lower grades schools and the
prohibition for persons against staying in holiday properties outside the municipally were
they are registered.


2. Special measures.

   One of the first measures taken by the Government was to strengthen the employees’
daily unemployment benefits in the event of being temporary laid off (permittering). The
system of temporarily lay off is two-tired. There are no statutes admitting access to
temporary layoff but several statutes granting financial support implies such access. Instead,
the institute of access to temporarily layoffs has grown through practice in work life,
collective agreements and case law. The extension of the unemployment benefit schemes
entail granting benefits from the first day and increasing the daily allowance. Persons who
are temporary laid off are guaranteed 100 per cent compensation until a salary of nearly
600,000 NOK (about 53,600 EUR, 10 April 2020). Besides, the schemes for temporary laid
off and unemployed are also adjusted to include more people.
5-https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/the-government-acts-to-mitigate-effects-of-the-covid-19-

pandemic-on-the-
economy/id2693471/?utm_source=www.regjeringen.no&utm_medium=epost&utm_campaign=nyhetsvarsel
%2013.03.2020&utm_content=Norsk%20økonomi.
6 https://helsenorge.no/other-languages/english.
7 https://lovdata.no/dokument/SFE/forskrift/2020-03-15-294.
8 https://lovdata.no/dokument/LTI/forskrift/2020-03-15-295.
9-https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/gradvis-apning-av-barnehager-skoler-fagskoler-hoyskoler-og-

universiteter/id2697077/?utm_source=www.regjeringen.no&utm_medium=epost&utm_campaign=nyhetsva
rsel%2008.04.2020&utm_content=Høyere%20utdanning.

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10797                                                                2
 Bernard Johann Mulder                                                  Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                       Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                          Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                            Section: National Reports




   In addition, temporary schemes have been adopted to secure self-employed and
freelancers who are not included in the unemployment benefit schemes and to give them
sickness benefit from day four. These schemes will cover 80 per cent for incomes up to
about 600,000 NOK (about 53,600 EUR, 10 April 2020).
   The number of days parents can stay home with sick children are doubled for 2020 out.
An employee has right to stay at home for 20 days a year, 30 when having more than three
children; for single parents it is 40 and 60 days, respective. Self-employed and freelancers
are also entitled to the same number of sick-kids days as employees, less a three-day waiting
period.
   The employer is obligated to pay the first 15 days for an employee’s sick leave. There
has been a reduction in these employer-paid days to two days for temporary lay-offs, from
ten to three days for care-related leave and from sixteen to three for corona-related sick
leave.
   Corona infection and covid-19 are nowadays declared as a decease that can be accepted
as an occupational injury. This means that health personnel employed within the health
care who is infected with corona virus are covered by strengthened statutory financial
rights. Persons staying at home working are still covered by work insurance on the same
conditions as if they were working on their ordinary workplace.


3. The role of Social Partners in the design of the measures.

   The pandemic did coincide with the nationwide wage settling negotiations that are held
in spring every two year. The Norwegian wage negotiation system, similar to the other
Scandinavian countries’ (Denmark and Sweden) system is built on that the industry
exposed to international completion sets the level for the wage raise (frontfaget in Norway,
market in Sweden and spydspissaftalen in Denmark). Due to the pandemic, the social
partners decided to postpone the negotiations until the autumn, as they did in Sweden, but
not in Denmark where they decided to and actually did carry out the negotiations in March.
   On an overall level, the social partners seem to approve the measures taken by the
Government.




Copyright © 2020 Bernard Johann Mulder. This article is released under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License




https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10797                                                         3
