In this article, we have made a short summary of the many existing rules regarding different types of absences. Click on the different links to get a full overview.
Self certification
Self certification means that you report to your employer that you are ill, without submitting a sick note. You can use self certification up to three calendar days at a time and up to four times in one year. This is a minimum arrangement, and all businesses can use an extended right to self certification up to the entire employer's period.
Under company settings in the system, administrators can choose which rules should apply to their company. The standard setting is 4 cases within 12 months and 3 days per case, but these can be changed if the company uses an extended right to self-report.
On NAV's website you can read about the rules that apply to self-reporting.
https://www.nav.no/egenmelding
Read more in the National Insurance Act:
https://lovdata.no/nav/folketrygdloven/kap8/%C2%A78-23
Sick child
Days at home with a sick child are actually called care days. How many care days you are entitled to use during a calendar year depends on your family situation and how many children you have. Normally, you can use care days until the calendar year the child turns 12, but this too can vary if an application is submitted and approved.
To find out how many care days you may be entitled to, you can go to NAV's website and use the calculator:
https://www.nav.no/omsorgspenger
Under company settings, the administrator can choose how many care days the employees can register during a calendar year. The value the administrator chooses here applies to all employees, and it is not possible to choose different values for different employees. The default setting here is 10 days per calendar year, which is what you are automatically entitled to if you have one or two children. If the company has employees who are entitled to more days than the maximum value in the system, this can be arranged in two ways:
1. Administrators/team managers register the days in the calendar for the employee, when they has reached the maximum value. These users are allowed to register above the maximum value of their employees.
2. The administrator selects a higher value for the setting so that all employees can register up to the new maximum value. The administrator/team manager must then on their own make sure that an employee is not approved for more days than they are entitled to.
If an employee has one child who is chronically ill or has a disability, the employee can apply for extra care days. If an application is submitted and approved, the child can be marked as "Chronically ill" in the system. The employee can then register an unlimited number of care days in the calendar.
Read more in the National Insurance Act:
https://lovdata.no/nav/folketrygdloven/kap9
Paid and unpaid leave
Leave is the employee's right to be away from work for shorter or longer periods. For example, in connection with birth and maternity leave, doctor's visits, funerals, educational leaves, military service or other. Leave can be paid – in whole or in part – or unpaid. Some leaves are laid down in law, while others can be agreed between employer and employee.
Read more about different types of leave here:
https://www.arbeidstilsynet.no/arbeidsforhold/permisjoner/
https://lovdata.no/nav/lov/2005-06-17-62/kap12
Medical certificate
A medical certificate is relevant when there are medical reasons that prevent you from being at work. A medical certificate is written by a doctor, but dentists, manual therapists and chiropractors also have the right to write a medical certificate for certain diagnoses. It is NAV that decides whether the medicla certificate entitles you to sickness benefit.
Read more about medical certificate here:
https://lovdata.no/nav/folketrygdloven/kap8
Vacation
All employees are entitled to at least 25 working days' vacation each year. Since saturday is considered a working day, this will normally mean that the employee is entitled to four weeks and one day of vacation each calendar year. Employees who have reached the age of 60 must have an extra week. More vacation than what follows from the law can be agreed. Through a collective agreement or other agreement with the employer, many are entitled to five weeks' vacation.
Under company settings, the administrator can choose how many vacation days the employees can register during a calendar year. The standard setting is 25 vacation days and 5 extra vacation days (for those over 60), but this can be changed by the administrator if the company has agreed otherwise. The values here do not show working days as defined in the law, so 25 days here means that an employee can register 5 weeks' vacation, if the working week is 5 days.
Read more about vacation here: