Living and Working in Norway in 2010, presented by EURES
1. Living and Working in Norway
Nils-Erik Bjørholt/Innovation Norway
Johan Wildhagen/Innovation Norway
Erik Jørgensen/Innovation Norway
Janne Nilsen
NAV EURES NORWAY
2. NAV EURES
• Labour and Welfare Administration
- Job Centre
- National Insurance
- Welfare office
• EURopean Employment Services
• www.nav.no
• www.eures.no
3. Geography
• Population , 4 888 000
• Immigrants: 500,000
– (Poland, Pakistan, Sweden,
Irak, Somalia, Germany…)
• Length 1750 km
• 7.th largest in Europe
• 19 counties
• 16 person per km2
• Capital Oslo
– 575,000 inhabitants Bergen 252,051
Trondheim 168,257
Stavanger 121,610
Kristiansand 79,500
4.
5. Norway
• Currency Norwegian kroner, NOK
• Constitutional monarchy, King Harald V
• Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
• Centre-Left Coalition government
€ 1 = NOK 8,30
6. Characteristics
• -30° to +30°C
• Bright summers/Midnight Sun
• Dark winters/Polar Night
– Northern Lights
(aurora borealis)
• Natural variety
• Outdoor culture
• High standard of living
• Extensive welfare system
• Safe working conditions
7.
8. Language
• Two official forms:
– Standard Norwegian (bokmål)
– New Norwegian (nynorsk)
• Close to Swedish and Danish
• Many regional dialects
• Language of the Sami people
• Norwegians speak English well
• Most employers require Norwegian or a Scandinavian language
• Norwegian courses held in most towns
• Free language courses not offered
9. Language Tools
• www.migranorsk.no (web-based course)
• www.lexin.no (dictionary)
• www.dialang.org (language test)
• http://steinpastein.cappelendamm.no (free online
exercise book)
• Visit your local bookstore for book/CD courses
10. Cultural Matters at work
• Flat structure in the
workplace – Who is the
boss?
• Conformity/Equality/No
special treatment
• Enjoying space, keeping
distance, privacy
• Cold lunches
• Dress code
12. Labour Market in Norway
• August 2010: 2,9%
• Unemployment: 76 000
• Vacancies: 18 500
13. Labour Market II
• Shortages:
– Mechanical (skilled workers)
– Engineers (seniors)
– IT specialists
– Health sector (doctors, nurses, assisting nurses and
specialised nurses)
– Hotel and tourism (Seasonal - chefs and waiters)
– Sales staff
• On longer term:
– Employees for production of renewable energy
14. Offshore Industry
• Large competition for jobs
• Highly skilled personnel with
long experience only
• Shortages: Petroleum
engineers
• Recruits from Mechanical
Industry
15. IT
• Large activity in the late 90s
• 2006: Increasing demand
• Large demand for highly
skilled personnel
16. Health
• Dentists: Public Sector
• Doctors: Specialists
• Doctors: Rural areas
• Nurses: Specialised
education
• Assisting nurses
• Unskilled: No demand
17. Hotel and Tourism
• Chefs
• Waiters
• Bartenders
• Good language skills
• Seasonal work
f.ex Ski-resort in the
mountains
18. Working Conditions
• Written contract!
• 6 months probationary period
• Salary paid once a month
• Employer draws tax from your monthly pay
• 37,5 working hours per week
• Shift workers have 35,5 hours working week.
• Maximum 40 hours per week.
19. Working Conditions
• Holiday: 25 working days per year
• 30 days for employees over the age of 60
• Holiday pay normally paid out in the month of June
• Holiday pay 12% of gross pay for trade union members
• 10,2% for non trade union members.
• Holiday pay is accumulated
• The Working Environment Act: www.arbeidstilsynet.no
20. Taxes
• Working in Norway for a Norwegian employer, you pay
income tax and national insurance contribution to Norway
• Average income tax is 28%
• National Insurance contribution 7.8%.
• Deductions!
• EU citizens are entitled to a deduction called “standardfradrag” in
the two first years (10% or max NOK 40,000 per year)
• House mortgage, loans/debts increase your deductions
• Tax return submitted every year in April
21. National Insurance I
• What is covered through the National Insurance?
• Sickness Benefit
• 100% pay first year
• 66% second year if still in active treatment
• Unemployment Benefit
• About 63% of pay for a maximum of 2 years
• Child birth benefit
• 12 months with 80% pay (or 10 months, 100% pay)
• Paternity leave 10 weeks
22. National Insurance II
• What is covered through the National Insurance?
• Old-age pension
• Retirement age in Norway is 67 years
• Disability benefit
• Free hospital treatment
• Free dental treatment for under-18s
23. National Insurance III
• What is covered through the National Insurance?
• Child benefit
• Ages 0 to 18: NOK 970 (€116) per month
• Single-parent benefits
• Cash benefit “Kontantstøtte”
• Ages 1 to 3: Up to NOK 3657 (€435) per month.
• You have to apply for these benefits at Nav if the child is not
born in Norway.
24. Salaries
• Average monthly salary NOK 34,200 (€ 4071)
• The 10% best paid average NOK 66,300 (€ 7893) per month
• The 10% least paid average NOK 19,300 (€ 2300) per month
• No minimum salaries
• Collective (tariff) agreements by sector
• Wage negotiations yearly (in April-May) between trade unions
and Norwegian Employers’ Confederation
25. What do you get for your wages?
• Norway – 5th place in Europe for cheap food!
• 6 hours’ work = 1 week’s supply of food
• How Norwegians spend their salary:
– housing, electric etc. 27%
– public transport, car 20%
– food & household goods 18%
– culture, leisure 12%
• UNDP:Norway highest score for income, life expectancy
and living conditions
• Statistics Norway – www.ssb.no
26. Average Prices
NOK €
Bread, 750 g 20 2,40
Milk, 1l 13 1,55
Butter, 250 g 17 2
Cheese, 1 kg 78 9,30
Beer, 0,33 l 19 2,30
Coffee, 250 g 16 1,90
Potatoes, 1 kg 9 1,10
Coca Cola, 1,5 l 20 2,40
Beef, 1 kg 200 23,80
Sausage, 1 kg 100 12
Salmon, 1 kg 80 9,50
Shrimps, 1 kg 80 9,50
NOK €
Big Mac menu, large 85 10,10
CD 170 20
Cinema ticket 90 10,70
Newspaper 15 1,80
Magazine 59 7
Chocolate, Mars 12,50 1,50
Hair cut, women 450 50
Hair cut, men 400 30
Bus ticket, Oslo 25 3
Cigarettes, 1 pack 70 8,40
27. Accommodation
- Most Norwegians own their own home:
- 90% of couples living together
- 67% of young couples and single parents
- Average rent for a house/apartment is NOK 6000 (€ 714) per
month. Oslo and Stavanger are more expensive
- You can get your own house with a garden for about NOK
1,500,000 to 2,500,000 (€ 180,000-300,000). Prices vary
depending on location and size. Exception Oslo and Stavanger.
28.
29. Jobseeking
• 60-70% of jobs are not advertised
• Make a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English
• Europass CV increasingly common
• Use www.gulesider.no and company web sites
• Contact employers directly
• Use your personal network
• Three reference persons
30. Where to find jobs
• www.nav.no (Norwegian)
• www.nav.no/english (jobs posted in English)
• www.eures.no
• www.finn.no/jobb
• www.stillinger.no
• NAV Service Centre Phone: +47 800 33 166
– (Mon-Fri 08:00-18:00)
• Contact the EURES Adviser in your area
34. Work/Residence permits
• Norway is an EEA (not EU) member
• EU/EEA citizens have the right to work in Norway
– Restrictions apply for citizens of Rumania and Bulgaria
• Jobholders (with written contract) must register:
– https://selfservice.udi.no (Register as a new user)
– Visit police or service centre for Registration Certificate
– Jobseekers self-register, only when staying longer than 3 months
35. Arriving in Norway
• Service Centre for Foreign Workers
www.sua.no
• Police (Politiet)
www.politi.no
• Tax Office/Population Register
www.skatteetaten.no
• Bank
• NAV
www.nav.no
Child benefit
Family doctor
Call centre +47 810 33 810
In Norway, the job centre, national insurance and local welfare offices are gathered in one organisation with local offices around the country – look for the logo.
As EURES advisers we work with labour mobility – helping people like yourselves, giving presentations about living and working in other countries and helping employers to find candidates for vacant positions.
EURES Portugal has arranged this job fair.
There are 34 advisers in Norway, just under 800 in the EU and EFTA
Norwegian is not quite a world language. However, if you learn one language, you might say you get two for free – gaining ”access” to a linguistic region of some 18 million people. Scandinavians understand each other well.
Our national football coach Egil Olsen on the left. Rubber boots are not part of the national costume…
These are some of the norms of working life in Norway.
A standard job contract is required by law to state:
Start date, place and type of work, pay and pay dates, holiday, weekly work hours, probationary or trial period, and end date if any.
Holiday pay is accumulated. The first year of work you will have the right to four weeks of unpaid holiday, and the following year you will be able to take five weeks of paid holiday.
In June most people receive their holiday pay, which is roughly equal to one month’s gross pay
Most jobholders in Norway are members of a union and we generally recommend membership. The fee is tax deductible…
What is drawn from your salary every month – typically 36% and around 45% for high wages – includes your national insurance contribution
Sickness and unemployment benefit rights are accumulated, from 8 weeks of full-time work for unemployment benefit to 12 weeks for sickness benefit.
The child benefit is automatic unless the child is born outside of Norway. Single-parent benefits are income-support, and depend on each case.
The cash benefit was introduced to give parents a choice of either sending their children to kindergarten, or caring for them at home during their early years.
This is the NAV frontpage and the link directly to the job vacancy search facility
Get out your dictionary and select category, sub category, and region
Add key word(s)
Get out your dictionary and select category, sub category, and region
Add key word(s)
If you have found a job in Norway, self-register and visit your nearest police station or service centre for foreign workers to obtain your registration certificate, which is also your formal residence and work permit
Jobseekers will not receive a certificate, and should register when staying longer than three months
Oslo, Stavanger and Kirkenes in the north have Service Centres for foreign workers. These are visiting centres
As soon as you arrive in any new country there are formalities to take care of as soon as you can.
We have a description of these formalities available after the presentation.