What rights do you have when your employment contract is terminated in Norway?

Have you received notice that your employment contract is being terminated in Norway and are wondering whether your employer acted lawfully? The reason for the dismissal, the content of the notice, how it was delivered and the deadlines for responding all matter.

In this article, we explain what rights you have in the event of oppsigelse (ordinary termination of employment), how the notice period is calculated and what to do if you want to challenge your employer's decision. The rules and amounts stated are current as of 20 August 2026.

When can an employer terminate your contract?

A termination must have an objective and justified basis related to the business, the employer or the employee. This rule follows from Norway's Working Environment Act, arbeidsmiljøloven.

Reasons for termination may include:

• necessary staff reductions or company restructuring,
• serious or repeated breaches of employment duties,
• inadequate work performance, lack of required qualifications or unreliability.

Where allegations concern the quality of your work, the employer should have clearly set out expectations in advance, provided proper onboarding and given you an opportunity to improve. Previous discussions, warnings and documentation of the issues will usually also be relevant.

In the event of staff reductions, the employer must assess both the company's needs and the consequences of dismissal for the individual employee. A termination is not justified if the employer has other suitable work for you. If the business belongs to a corporate group, suitable positions in other Norwegian companies within that group must also be taken into account.

A significant change to employment conditions, such as a substantial reduction in working hours, pay or responsibilities, may require termination of the existing terms and an offer of a new contract. The same requirements then apply as for ordinary termination.

A fixed-term contract generally ends on the date stated in the contract. If the employer wants to end it earlier, they must follow the ordinary termination rules.

What should the termination procedure look like?

Meeting before the decision is made

Before making a decision, the employer should, where practically possible, invite you to a consultation meeting - the decision to dismiss you should not have already been finally determined.

The meeting must discuss:

• the reason for the planned termination,
• the possibility of continued employment or transfer to another position,
• the criteria for selecting employees for dismissal if the reason is staff reduction.

At your request, a trade union representative or another person of your choice may attend the meeting.

Mandatory content of the notice

A termination notice from the employer must be in writing. It should be delivered to you in person or sent by registered mail to the address you provided. It takes effect when it reaches you.

The notice must include information about:

• the right to request negotiations with the employer,
• the right to bring legal proceedings,
• the deadlines for negotiations and court proceedings,
• the right to remain in your position during a dispute,
• the party against whom a claim must be brought.

In the event of staff reductions, the notice must also inform you of your preferential right to re-employment. In a company belonging to a corporate group, it should also identify the companies covered by the group.

You have the right to request a written and specific justification for the termination. If the reason is staff reduction, you may also ask for an explanation of the criteria used to select you.

Consequences of formal errors

If the termination is not in writing or does not contain the required information, the ordinary deadline for bringing a claim does not apply. If you bring the case before a court within 4 months, the defective termination should be declared invalid, unless this would be clearly unreasonable in the circumstances.

You may claim continuation of the employment relationship and compensation. The court ultimately decides whether the termination is valid and justified.

Notice period, pay and holiday

Unless your contract or collective agreement provides more favourable terms, the statutory notice periods apply.

A notice period calculated in months usually begins on the first day of the month following delivery of the notice. If you receive the notice on 15 March, your notice period will begin on 1 April.

A probationary period agreed in writing may normally last no more than 6 months. During this period, the notice period is usually 14 days and runs from the day the notice is delivered. For a fixed-term contract, the probationary period may not exceed half of the employment period.

During the probationary period, the employer must still have a justified reason for termination, primarily relating to your adaptation to the work, qualifications or reliability. They should have provided proper instructions, onboarding and an opportunity to improve beforehand.

Salary and the duty to work

Until the end of the notice period, you retain your normal rights and obligations:

• you are entitled to the agreed salary,
• you are required to perform your work,
• the employer must comply with the terms of employment.

If the employer releases you from the obligation to attend work, this does not automatically mean that you lose your salary. The terms of such a release should be clearly confirmed.

Norway has no general statutory right to additional severance pay for a lawful termination. Severance pay may result from a contract, collective agreement or individual settlement. Do not immediately sign a termination agreement, as it may include a waiver of claims and affect your entitlement to NAV benefits.

Holiday, feriepenger and employment certificate

If it is the employer who terminates the contract, they cannot schedule holiday during the notice period without your consent or force you to take previously scheduled holiday, unless the notice period is at least 3 months. In that case, the ordinary rules for planning holiday apply.

When employment ends, any due feriepenger (holiday pay) must be settled. If salary was previously deducted for holiday that you ultimately did not take, also check whether the deducted amount should be refunded. We explain the detailed rules in the article Feriepenger - the most important rights and rules.

You are also entitled to a written attest (employment certificate), which should include at least:

• your full name,
• date of birth,
• the type of work performed,
• the period of employment.

Special protection and staff reductions

Illness, pregnancy and parental leave

For the first 12 months of absence caused by illness or injury, you cannot be dismissed because of that absence. A termination delivered during this period is considered to be related to the illness unless the employer can make another reason probable, such as a genuine elimination of the position.

After 12 months, illness may justify termination in special circumstances. However, the employer should demonstrate that they assessed the possibility of adapting the position, transferring you and returning you to work. Read more about your rights during illness in the article Sykemelding, sykepenger and egenmelding - what happens if you are ill in Norway?

Your contract cannot be terminated because of:

• pregnancy,
• taking protected leave related to birth or adoption,
• military service,
• lawfully reporting wrongdoing in the workplace,
• gender, origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or caregiving responsibilities.

This protection does not prevent termination for a genuinely different, legally justified reason. However, the burden of demonstrating such a reason rests largely with the employer.

Preferential right to re-employment

If you lost your job for reasons relating to the business, you may have a preferential right to new employment with the same company and, in certain cases, with other Norwegian companies in the corporate group.

This right applies if:

• you were employed for a total of at least 12 months during the last 2 years,
• you have the qualifications required for the vacant position.

The preferential right applies from the time of termination until 1 year after the end of the notice period. If you receive an offer of a suitable position, you should respond within 14 days. Failure to respond may result in losing this right.

How to challenge a termination

The most important deadlines start running on the day you receive the termination notice. Record the exact delivery date and keep a copy of the document and the envelope if the notice arrived by post.

If you do not enter into negotiations, the 8-week deadline generally runs from the date you receive the termination notice. In the event of formal defects, the ordinary deadline for bringing a claim does not apply, but you should not delay your response.

You may attend negotiations with a lawyer, trade union representative or another adviser. Signed minutes should be prepared from the meeting.

In the case of ordinary termination, you can usually remain in your position during negotiations and court proceedings if you comply with the required deadlines. The automatic right to remain at work does not cover, among other things, summary dismissal, termination during a probationary period and certain fixed-term contracts, although the court may decide otherwise.

After receiving a termination notice:

1. Do not immediately sign a resignation or termination agreement.
2. Check the form of the notice, the reason for dismissal and the notice period.
3. Request a written justification and the selection criteria if this is a staff reduction.
4. Keep your contract, schedules, payslips, emails, warnings and meeting minutes.
5. Contact a trade union or lawyer before the 2-week deadline expires.
6. Check your final salary, allowances, overtime, feriepenger and holiday deductions.
7. Request an employment certificate.

If you are unemployed after the notice period, you may apply for dagpenger. We discuss the benefit conditions separately in the article Unemployment benefit in Norway - what are the rules? You do not have to deal with the formalities alone - we will be happy to help you submit an application through the Dagpenger/permittering unemployment benefit service :)

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Summary

• A termination must have an objective, justified reason, be in writing and contain the required information.
• The minimum notice period ranges from 14 days during a validly agreed probationary period to 6 months, depending on length of service and age.
• You have 2 weeks to request negotiations and generally 8 weeks to bring a claim to invalidate the termination.
• Until the end of the notice period, you retain the right to salary, settlement of feriepenger and an employment certificate.

If you need help with an employment contract termination matter in Norway, call us: +47 21 38 38 21. We will help you organise the next formalities.

Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no