Living and Working in Norway

1. Living and Working in Norway Erik Jørgensen/Innovation Norway Nils-Erik Bjørholt/Innovation Norway Marinella van Welsenes NAV EURES Norway Johan Wildhagen/Innovation Norway

2. NAV EURES • Labour and Welfare Administration • Job Centre • National Insurance • Welfare office • EURopean Employment Services • - Advisors in 31 countries • - Job market and job search • - Living and working • - Recruitment assistance • www.nav.no • www.eures.no

3. Up north!

4. Norway • Currency Norwegian kroner, NOK • Constitutional monarchy, King Harald V • Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg • Centre-Left Coalition government € 1 = NOK 8,02

5. 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. Geography • Population 4,845,126 • Immigrants: 500,000 • (Poland, Pakistan, Sweden, Irak, Somalia, Germany…) • 19 counties • Capital Oslo • 575,475 inhabitants • Biggest cities: Trondheim 168,257 • Bergen 252,051 Stavanger 121,610 Kristiansand 79,500

8. Norway • Length 1750 km • 432 km at the widest, 6 km at the narrowest • 25,148 kms coastline • 7th largest in Europe • 16 persons per km2

10. Language • Most employers require Norwegian or a Scandinavian language • Norwegian courses held in most towns • Free language courses not offered • Two official forms: • Standard Norwegian (bokmål) • New Norwegian (nynorsk) • Close to Swedish and Danish • Norwegians speak English well • Many regional dialects

11. 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

12. Cultural Matters • Flat structure in the workplace – Who is the boss? • Conformity/Equality/No special treatment • Enjoying space, keeping distance, privacy • Not the most impulsive ones – need time • Cold lunches • ”Rude”? • Dress code

13. Labour Market Statistics • Unemployment: 3.2% (83 434 persons) • Companies and institutions need: • Pre-school teachers • Teachers • Medical doctors, nurses • Psychologists • Dentists • There are 24 717 jobs advertised (www.nav.no) • Another 30 000–40 000 jobs not advertised

14. Working Conditions 1 • 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.

15. Working Conditions 2 • 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

16. 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

17. 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

19. 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

21. Vacancies – ledige stillinger

22. 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

23. 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

25. 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

27. Web sites of interest www.eures.no Portal - living and working in Norway www.nav.no Job data base, national insurance www.udi.no Directorate of Immigration www.skatteetaten.no / www.taxnorway.no Tax office www.toll.no Customs www.nokut.no The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education www.safh.no The Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel

28. Web sites of interest www.arbeidstilsynet.no Labour Inspection Authority www.nyinorge.no Information from public agencies www.norway.no Gateway to Public Sector www.visitnorway.com Travel www.trainee.no / www.traineeguiden.se Traineeships possibilities www.aiesec.org Internships www.europlacement.com Internship in Europe

30. Contact Marinella van Welsenes EURES Adviser NAV EURES Buskerud marinella.van.welsenes@nav.no Thank you & Good Luck!