Holiday Pay When You Change Jobs in Norway

When does your old employer pay your holiday pay?

Under the Holidays Act, when employment ends, all the holiday pay you are owed is to be paid no later than the last normal payday before you leave. Any part that cannot be calculated by then may be paid with the final pay settlement. ^{3, 4}

A collective agreement can set different rules for when holiday pay is paid, so if your workplace has one, check it as well. ⁴

What can the final payout include?

The earning year for holiday pay is the calendar year before the holiday year. ³ That means a payout on leaving can cover up to two years of earnings:

• Holiday pay earned this year. Holiday pay on what you have earned so far in the current calendar year is normally paid out by your old employer when you leave, instead of the following year. ^{1, 4}
• Holiday pay from last year that has not been paid yet. If you leave before your employer’s usual holiday-pay month, last year’s holiday pay is part of “all holiday pay” owed on leaving as well. ⁴
• Pay held back for holiday. Many employers pay holiday pay in a fixed month and hold back ordinary pay that month. If you leave, Arbeidstilsynet says to make sure you are reimbursed for the pay that was held back. This is pay you earned, not an extra bonus. ¹

You cannot normally swap unused holiday for money while you stay in a job. Arbeidstilsynet says the only way to receive holiday pay for unused holiday is when the employment ends. ¹ That payout is meant to cover the pay you will not get when you take holiday with your next employer, so it is not a windfall to spend straight away. ¹

Why is tax deducted from holiday pay paid on leaving?

Holiday pay paid in the holiday year under the Holidays Act is normally paid without tax withholding. A payout on leaving is different, because much of it is paid in the same year it was earned. Skatteetaten says that if holiday pay is paid to you in the earning year, tax is deducted when it is paid. ^{5, 6}

So do not be surprised if your final payslip shows tax on the holiday pay even though your summer payslips did not. Holiday pay is taxable in the year it is paid to you either way; withholding only decides when the tax is taken. ⁵ If your tax card uses deductions over 12 months, tax is always withheld from holiday pay. ⁶

Last year’s holiday pay paid out on leaving is paid in the holiday year, so the ordinary withholding-free rule can still apply to that part. ⁶ Your payslip shows how your employer has treated each part.

Aged 60 or over: which G applies to the 6G limit?

For employees over 60 who have the right to extra holiday, the holiday-pay rate rises by 2.3 percentage points, but that supplement is not calculated on the part of the basis above six times the National Insurance basic amount (G). Normally, the G in force on 31 December of the earning year is used. ³

If you leave during the earning year, the Act says the G in force at the time you leave is used instead. ³ This only matters if your holiday-pay basis is high enough to reach the 6G limit. It is also why the 60+ result in our calculator, which uses the 31 December G for a full year, is not the figure to expect on a mid-year exit.

Holiday in your first year with a new employer

Your new employer has not paid you any holiday pay yet, because holiday pay is earned on the previous year’s pay. You still have the right to holiday: the Act lets you claim time off regardless of whether you have earned holiday pay. You may refuse to take holiday to the extent that your holiday pay does not cover the pay you would lose. ^{2, 3}

How much holiday you can claim from the new employer depends on when you start:

These rights are not doubled by changing jobs. You can only claim holiday from the new employer if you show that you have not already taken your full holiday with another employer earlier in the holiday year. ^{2, 3}

In practice, the holiday pay your old employer paid out on leaving is what covers the pay you lose during holiday at the new job. If you have spent it, the time off is still yours, but it will be unpaid. ^{1, 2}

Can you take holiday during your notice period?

It depends on who ended the employment. If you resigned, you cannot demand to take holiday during the notice period, unless there is no other time left to take it within the main holiday period or the holiday year. If your employer terminated your employment, the employer cannot require you to take holiday during the notice period without your consent, unless the notice period is three months or longer. ²

What to check on your payslips

On the final payslip from your old employer:

• Is holiday pay on this year’s earnings included, and on what basis was it calculated?
• If you leave before the usual holiday-pay month, is last year’s holiday pay included?
• If ordinary pay was held back for holiday, has it been paid back?
• Has tax been deducted from the part earned this year? That is expected; ask payroll if something looks wrong.
• Is anything “to be paid with the final settlement”? Note when that will be.

At your new employer, check your first holiday-pay month the following year: the holiday pay there is based only on what that employer paid you in the earning year, so it will usually be smaller than a full year’s holiday pay. You can estimate it by entering only that employer’s pay as the basis in the Holiday Pay Calculator.

Common questions

Will I get holiday pay twice in the year I change jobs?

No. You may receive two payouts close together, last year’s and this year’s from your old employer, but they cover different earnings. The new employer then pays holiday pay the following year only on what it paid you. ^{1, 4}

Can my old employer pay the holiday pay later, in June next year?

The Holidays Act says all holiday pay owed is to be paid by the last normal payday before you leave, with any part that cannot yet be calculated paid with the final settlement. A collective agreement can set other rules. ⁴

I start a new job in October. Can I take holiday at Christmas?

If you start after 30 September, you can claim six working days of holiday from the new employer, provided you have not already taken your full holiday elsewhere that year. Whether those days are paid depends on the holiday pay you received from your old employer. ^{2, 3}