How long is the employer-paid sick pay period in Norway, and what happens on a repeat absence?

Sixteen calendar days. Section 8-19 of folketrygdloven puts the employer on the hook for sick pay for a period of up to 16 kalenderdager, and calendar days are not working days — weekends and days off consume the sixteen exactly as scheduled working days do, so a period starting on a Friday includes both weekends. The rule that gets missed sits in the same provision. Where a new period of incapacity starts within 16 calendar days of the end of the previous one, it continues the same arbeidsgiverperiode rather than opening a fresh one with sixteen new days of employer liability. An employee off for five days, back for two weeks and then off again may therefore still be inside the first period, depending on the exact day count between them. Always count from the last day of the previous absence rather than from the calendar month when deciding whether employer liability restarts.

When does an employee qualify for sick pay in Norway?

After four weeks in work. Section 8-2 of folketrygdloven requires an employee to have been in work for at least four weeks to acquire the right to sick pay at all, so a new hire who falls ill inside that window has no automatic right to sick pay from the employer. Check the start date against the first day of absence before paying, because a payroll system that treats sick pay as universal from day one will pay something the Act does not require. Egenmelding has a separate and longer qualifying period: section 8-24 presupposes at least two months of employment before self-certification may be used. So a new employee can pass the four-week sick-pay threshold while still being unable to self-certify, and needs a sykmelding for an absence that a colleague of three months could self-certify. The two thresholds are easy to conflate and they sit in different provisions.

How many days does self-certification cover in Norway?

Up to three calendar days at a time, under section 8-24 of folketrygdloven, and the right presupposes at least two months of employment. Many undertakings additionally operate a limit of four egenmelding periods per twelve months, and this is where guidance goes wrong most often. That four-period limit is an employer-set or IA-agreed limit, documented by Altinn and resting on section 8-27, rather than a hard cap written into section 8-24 itself. Presenting it to employees as statute is inaccurate, and it matters because an IA undertaking may operate far more generous self-certification arrangements — some allow up to 24 days a year across eight periods. Establish which arrangement your undertaking actually operates before writing a number into the handbook, and describe it as your policy rather than as the law where that is what it is.

When must the income report be sent to the labour and welfare administration?

NAV publishes no numeric deadline, and that is the accurate answer rather than an evasive one. The nav.no page for employers says only that the inntektsmelding is sent as soon as the arbeidsgiverperiode is over. Any guide quoting a specific number of days for this deadline is not taking that figure from a NAV source, and several do. The practical consequence is that waiting for a deadline is the wrong model entirely: build the submission into the routine for days 16 and 17 of the absence, because nothing external will prompt you. It matters because the refusjon claim rides on the submitted inntektsmelding together with the documented sykmelding, so the sooner it is in, the sooner both the employee's transition to folketrygden and any refusjon to the employer can be processed. A late submission delays money, not paperwork.

Sick pay in Norway: the employer-paid period explained

An employee calls in sick. Two numbers decide your exposure: sixteen, and whether the last absence ended within sixteen days of this one starting.

Both are calendar-day counts, and both are easy to get wrong in the same direction.

Everything below follows folketrygdloven chapter 8 as it is drafted.

TL;DR

Sixteen calendar days. You cover sick pay directly for up to sixteen calendar days, weekends and days off included, before the national insurance scheme takes over.
The sixteen-day gap. A new absence that starts within sixteen days of the last one continues the same employer-paid period rather than starting a fresh one.
Four weeks before sick pay accrues. A new hire has no right to sick pay until they have worked for four weeks.
Two months before self-certification. Self-certification needs at least two months of employment, longer than the sick-pay qualifying period itself.
A cap on the qualifying salary. The salary used to calculate sick pay is capped at six times the National Insurance basic amount (6G) a year.
Day 17 handover. From day 17, the national insurance scheme takes over payment and reimbursement, provided the income report has been filed.

How long do you pay sick pay before the state takes over?

The employer pays sick pay for a period of up to 16 calendar days, the employer-paid sick pay period — Section 8-19 is direct about it.

Calendar days, not working days. A sixteen-day period starting on a Friday includes both weekends, not only the days the employee was rostered.

The rule that gets missed sits in the same provision. A new period of incapacity starting within 16 calendar days of the end of the previous one continues the same employer-paid sick pay period rather than opening a fresh one with sixteen new days of employer liability.

So someone off for five days, back for two weeks, then off again may still be inside the first period. It depends on the exact day count, not on how it feels.

Next: check whether your absence records let you answer “when did the previous absence end?” for any employee, instantly. If that needs digging, this rule is being applied by luck.

When does an employee qualify for sick pay?

After four weeks in work for sick pay itself, and after two months of employment for self-certification — two different thresholds, in two different provisions, and they are routinely conflated.

Right	Qualifying period	Provision
Sick pay at all	4 weeks in work	s. 8-2
Self-certification, eligibility	2 months of employment	s. 8-24
Self-certification, per occasion	Up to 3 calendar days	s. 8-24
Employer-paid sick pay period	Up to 16 calendar days	s. 8-19
Qualifying salary for sick pay, annual	Capped at 6G	s. 8-10
Maximum from the national insurance scheme	248 days over 3 years	s. 8-12

A new hire can therefore pass the four-week sick-pay threshold while still being unable to self-certify, and needs a doctor’s note for an absence a three-month colleague could handle with self-certification.

One caution on self-certification. Many undertakings operate a limit of four self-certification periods per twelve months. That is an employer-set or IA-agreed limit, documented by Altinn and resting on section 8-27, not a hard cap inside section 8-24 itself. Do not present it to employees as statute.

Next: state in your handbook which self-certification arrangement your undertaking operates, and label it as policy where it is policy.

How much of an employee’s salary counts for sick pay?

The qualifying salary for sick pay is capped at six times the National Insurance basic amount per year, under section 8-10, second paragraph.

This applies throughout the absence, the employer-paid sick pay period included. It is not a rule that only bites once NAV (the labour and welfare administration) takes over: a common assumption that overpays high earners during the employer’s own sixteen days.

The National Insurance basic amount is 136,549 kroner, set from 1 May 2026. Six times that is 819,294 kroner a year, and an employee earning above it has their qualifying salary for sick pay calculated on that cap, not on their whole salary.

Note this is a different 6G rule from the one in holiday pay, where the cap touches only the over-60 supplement. Same multiplier, different scope. See Holiday pay in Norway.

Next: confirm your payroll system applies the 6G cap from day one of the absence, not only once NAV takes over on day 17.

Who pays sick leave after day 16?

From day 17 the national insurance scheme takes over responsibility for payment, provided the employee still meets the conditions and the income report (inntektsmelding) has been sent. NAV then calculates the daily rate as 1/260 of the annual qualifying salary for sick pay, under section 8-10, third paragraph.

Your duty to pay directly stops there. A reimbursement claim for advanced pay continues to run through the income report.

The income-report deadline the labour and welfare administration does not publish

NAV’s employer page says only that the income report is sent as soon as the employer-paid sick pay period is over. No number of days.

Any guide quoting a specific deadline here is not taking it from a NAV source, and several do. Waiting for a deadline is therefore the wrong model: build the submission into the routine for days 16–17, because nothing external will prompt you.

Next: the reimbursement claim rides on the submitted income report and the documented doctor’s note. A late submission delays money: the employee’s transition to the national insurance scheme, and any reimbursement to you.

How long can someone be signed off?

The entitlement ends once the employee has received sick pay from the national insurance scheme for the maximum shown in the table above, under Section 8-12.

Not “52 weeks”, as it is sometimes rendered. The two are not the same number, and 52 weeks is not the Act’s wording.

Next: track cumulative sick-pay days per employee against the 248-day cap directly, rather than converting to weeks.

What is the employer’s follow-up duty during sick leave?

Beyond payment, the employer carries a continuing follow-up duty towards employees on sick leave: dialogue, workplace adjustment, and a follow-up plan. Those have their own deadlines, sitting outside the employer-paid sick pay period.

This article covers the financial and time-based rules only. Next: confirm a follow-up plan exists and is current for anyone on sick leave — a specific record to check, not a general assumption that it runs on the same clock as the employer-paid period.

How does Taito.ai help with this?

The employer-paid sick pay period depends on absence history: when it started, when the previous absence ended, and how many self-certified periods an employee has used. Taito.ai sets up that absence record and keeps it maintained for every employee, to the day.

Sources

Lovdata publishes no official English translation of folketrygdloven, so every rule here is paraphrased rather than quoted. Grunnbeløpet is re-set every 1 May, so the 6G figure above carries its date.

Disclaimer

Taito.ai does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice. This article is general information about the law as it stood on the date above, not advice on your situation, and it is not a substitute for it. Rates and thresholds change. Check with a qualified adviser before acting on anything here.

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