Employing in Norway

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Expanding into
Norway

Global expansion is a step to make for any business, regardless of what you wish to achieve. The opportunities that can come with an expansion can be both incredibly exciting as well as intimidating and confusing, especially when you consider all of the registration procedures that needs to be done and documentation required.

Norway Oslo Parliament
Norway Oslo Parliament

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Expanding to countries such as Norway – which is characterized by a productive and international workforce, strong labor and tax laws, a world-renowned infrastructure network and leading sectors in agriculture, industry, and services – can bring both excitement to the possibilities, but also significant stress to ensuring the entity with the country’s rigorous legal structures and laws.

Ensuring compliance without the sufficient knowledge of the country’s laws also adds to the stress of getting your new entity off the ground and ready to test new markets. Going at it without the proper support can increase the costs, time and risks involved.

Each new markets bring new challenges, and these can be worked through more efficiently and cost-effectively with the support of an International Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as Bradford Jacobs, especially through our Employer of Record (EOR) framework.

This can be best utilized when businesses are just beginning their expansion process and require more information before committing to incorporating an entity and fully establishing themselves in that market.

Country EOR Guide - Bradford Jacobs

Download our Guide to Norway

Learn all about expanding into Norway and see what we can do to make your expansion easier.

Download our Guide to Norway

Learn all about expanding into Norway and see what we can do to make your expansion easier.

Country EOR Guide - Bradford Jacobs

Hiring Staff
in Norway

Hiring Staff
in Norway

The Main Sectors of the Norwegian Economy

The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:

Norway is a high-cost producer with agricultural policies focused on maintaining a high degree of self-sufficiency. To maintain agricultural production, Norway’s subsidies for most agricultural products exceed those of the EU. High tariffs, quantitative restrictions, and technical barriers to trade severely limit competitive products from entering the Norwegian market.

Tariff-rate quotas exist for grains, meat, and a range of horticultural products. Additionally, Norway extends rebates to food processors in compensation for the high cost of agricultural inputs and to ensure that Norwegian processed products can compete with imports.

Aquaculture is the farming of various sea animals and plants (such as fish, algae, and crustaceans) for food.

Norway is regarded as a major world leader when it comes to seafood farming, production, and export. The country’s seafood industry is tied to its geographical location which includes 60,000 miles of coastline situated along the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean as well as its abundance of fjords teeming with a variety of aquatic life.

Over the years Norway has increasingly stepped up its efforts to maintain sustainable fishing practices and presently exports its seafood products to about 140 nations across the globe.

Due to its location shipping has always been an important industry in Norway. The country is well known for its history of maritime exploration especially during the time of the Vikings when these adventurers ruled the seas. Today shipping is still vital to the country’s economy with a growing stress being placed on creating more environmentally friendly ways to transport goods.

The Norwegian government has ambitious plans to turn their fjords into zero emission zones by the year 2026. This means that any vessel travelling through these areas must operate using electrical power.

Also, in keeping with Norway’s ongoing goals to combat climate change, the country has played a key role in propelling the International Maritime Organization’s decision to adopt a policy which aims at drastically cutting emissions from the global shipping industry by at least 50% by 2050.

According to figures from 2016, the Norwegian tourism industry accounted for 4.2% of the country’s yearly GDP. Furthermore, one out of every fifteen workers in Norway are employed in some aspect of the lucrative tourism industry.

Because of its often frigid and harsh weather conditions, however, the majority of visitors travelling to the Scandinavian country do so from the months of May and August.

Norway’s petroleum industry is extremely important to the nation’s economy. Aside from an array of Middle Eastern countries, Norway holds the title of being the largest oil and gas producer in the world.

This particular industry is so important that it accounts for almost half of Norway’s total exports and some twenty percent of its national GDP (gross domestic product).

The first discoveries of oil and gas reserves in Norway were made in the North Sea in the 1960s. Since that time, this industry has grown to become a very important contributor to the Scandinavian nation’s overall economy.

Along with oil and gas, hydropower is another major energy sector that plays a key role in fueling the Norwegian economy. The Nordic country is home to a wide array of hydro-power plants which are located throughout the country.

Some of these stations that are presently operational include the Aura Hydroelectric Power Station in Sunndal, Evanger Hydroelectric Power Station in Voss, Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station in Forsand, and Tyssedal Hydroelectric Power Station in Odda.

The Main Sectors of the Norwegian Economy

The country focuses on the following key sectors, which all have a significant impact on the country’s economy:

Wooden boat on beach in Norway
Norway is a high-cost producer with agricultural policies focused on maintaining a high degree of self-sufficiency. To maintain agricultural production, Norway’s subsidies for most agricultural products exceed those of the EU. High tariffs, quantitative restrictions, and technical barriers to trade severely limit competitive products from entering the Norwegian market.

Tariff-rate quotas exist for grains, meat, and a range of horticultural products. Additionally, Norway extends rebates to food processors in compensation for the high cost of agricultural inputs and to ensure that Norwegian processed products can compete with imports.

Aquaculture is the farming of various sea animals and plants (such as fish, algae, and crustaceans) for food.

Norway is regarded as a major world leader when it comes to seafood farming, production, and export. The country’s seafood industry is tied to its geographical location which includes 60,000 miles of coastline situated along the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean as well as its abundance of fjords teeming with a variety of aquatic life.

Over the years Norway has increasingly stepped up its efforts to maintain sustainable fishing practices and presently exports its seafood products to about 140 nations across the globe.

Due to its location shipping has always been an important industry in Norway. The country is well known for its history of maritime exploration especially during the time of the Vikings when these adventurers ruled the seas. Today shipping is still vital to the country’s economy with a growing stress being placed on creating more environmentally friendly ways to transport goods.

The Norwegian government has ambitious plans to turn their fjords into zero emission zones by the year 2026. This means that any vessel travelling through these areas must operate using electrical power.

Also, in keeping with Norway’s ongoing goals to combat climate change, the country has played a key role in propelling the International Maritime Organization’s decision to adopt a policy which aims at drastically cutting emissions from the global shipping industry by at least 50% by 2050.

According to figures from 2016, the Norwegian tourism industry accounted for 4.2% of the country’s yearly GDP. Furthermore, one out of every fifteen workers in Norway are employed in some aspect of the lucrative tourism industry.

Because of its often frigid and harsh weather conditions, however, the majority of visitors travelling to the Scandinavian country do so from the months of May and August.

Norway’s petroleum industry is extremely important to the nation’s economy. Aside from an array of Middle Eastern countries, Norway holds the title of being the largest oil and gas producer in the world.

This particular industry is so important that it accounts for almost half of Norway’s total exports and some twenty percent of its national GDP (gross domestic product).

The first discoveries of oil and gas reserves in Norway were made in the North Sea in the 1960s. Since that time, this industry has grown to become a very important contributor to the Scandinavian nation’s overall economy.

Along with oil and gas, hydropower is another major energy sector that plays a key role in fueling the Norwegian economy. The Nordic country is home to a wide array of hydro-power plants which are located throughout the country.

Some of these stations that are presently operational include the Aura Hydroelectric Power Station in Sunndal, Evanger Hydroelectric Power Station in Voss, Lysebotn Hydroelectric Power Station in Forsand, and Tyssedal Hydroelectric Power Station in Odda.

Commercial Laws
in Norway

  • The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) – a government agency responsible for resident registration (National Population Register) and tax collection in Norway.The agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance and is based at Helsfyr in Oslo. It is organized in six regional organizations, based in Oslo, Skien, Bergen, Trondheim, Mo i Rana and Tromsø, in addition to local tax offices.
  • The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) – is a governmental agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, focused on occupational safety and health.The Labour Inspection Authority has approximately 600 employees and consists of a central office – the Directorate, seven regional offices and 16 local offices throughout the country.The Directorate in Trondheim regulates the agency’s overall strategy, programmes, and information. The district offices guide and supervise individual enterprises in local communities.

The employer-employee relationship in Norway is governed by the Working Environment Act, which stipulates the employer must draft a written contract to be entered into no later than one month after the start of work. Any changes to the working conditions should be written into the contract within one month after they were implemented.

Verbal contracts are equally binding on employer and employee, but not advised as they are harder to enforce in the case of dispute; employers may be considered ‘at fault’ for not having provided a written contract.

To learn more about general requirements that apply to all contracts and the main types of contracts and significant factors Download our Norway Country Guide…

Income Tax: Individuals become tax residents by living in Norway for more than 183 days in a 12-month period or for 270 days over three years and pay tax on their worldwide income. Non-residents are liable for taxes on certain categories of income earned in Norway and since 2019 have been able to opt for a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYE) system. Norway has a dual tax system with a flat rate of 22% applying to ‘general income’ and four rates from 1.7% to 16.2% applying to ‘personal income’. The tax year generally runs from January 1 until December 31.

For more information on topics such as Health and Social Insurance, Sick Leave, Paid Vacations, Public Holidays, Maternity and Parental Leave Benefits simply Download our Norway Country Guide…

Commercial Laws
in Norway

Evening lake scene with houses in Norway
  • The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) – a government agency responsible for resident registration (National Population Register) and tax collection in Norway.The agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance and is based at Helsfyr in Oslo. It is organized in six regional organizations, based in Oslo, Skien, Bergen, Trondheim, Mo i Rana and Tromsø, in addition to local tax offices.
  • The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) – is a governmental agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, focused on occupational safety and health.The Labour Inspection Authority has approximately 600 employees and consists of a central office – the Directorate, seven regional offices and 16 local offices throughout the country.The Directorate in Trondheim regulates the agency’s overall strategy, programmes, and information. The district offices guide and supervise individual enterprises in local communities.

The employer-employee relationship in Norway is governed by the Working Environment Act, which stipulates the employer must draft a written contract to be entered into no later than one month after the start of work. Any changes to the working conditions should be written into the contract within one month after they were implemented.

Verbal contracts are equally binding on employer and employee, but not advised as they are harder to enforce in the case of dispute; employers may be considered ‘at fault’ for not having provided a written contract.

To learn more about general requirements that apply to all contracts and the main types of contracts and significant factors Download our Norway Country Guide…

Income Tax: Individuals become tax residents by living in Norway for more than 183 days in a 12-month period or for 270 days over three years and pay tax on their worldwide income. Non-residents are liable for taxes on certain categories of income earned in Norway and since 2019 have been able to opt for a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYE) system. Norway has a dual tax system with a flat rate of 22% applying to ‘general income’ and four rates from 1.7% to 16.2% applying to ‘personal income’. The tax year generally runs from January 1 until December 31.

For more information on topics such as Health and Social Insurance, Sick Leave, Paid Vacations, Public Holidays, Maternity and Parental Leave Benefits simply Download our Norway Country Guide…

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