Parental leave by country / Norway
Maternity, paternity and parental leave in Norway
How long each parent can be away, who pays and how much, the notice rules and the job protection — in plain English, whether you run a team in Norway or work on one.
Norwegian parents share 49 weeks of parental benefit at 100% of earnings up to six times the basic amount, or 59 weeks at 80%. The period is divided in three: 15 weeks reserved for the mother, 15 for the father or co-parent (19 each at 80%), and 16 (18) weeks to share as they choose, plus three weeks for the mother before the birth. The mother must take the first six weeks after the birth; the other parent also has two weeks of care leave around the birth, paid only if the employer agrees or a collective agreement says so.
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How it works
Foreldrepenger under chapter 14 of the National Insurance Act require six months of work in the ten months before the leave. The 49-week (or 59-week) period comprises three weeks before the due date for the mother, a mother’s quota and a father’s quota of 15 weeks each at 100% or 19 each at 80%, and a shared period of 16 or 18 weeks; the mother’s first six weeks after the birth are compulsory, and the father’s quota can be taken any time until the child is three, in one block or flexibly. NAV pays the benefit on income up to 6G; anything above depends on the employer, and most collective agreements and many contracts pay full salary while the employer claims the benefit. The Working Environment Act adds the leave rights: two weeks of care leave for the partner at the birth (unpaid by statute), the right for each parent to be off for up to 12 months in total in the child’s first year and a further 12 months of unpaid leave each afterwards, and protection against dismissal. Parents who choose not to draw benefit for periods still keep the right to be absent.
Worth knowing: Since 2024 the shared period can also be taken while the other parent works, and the requirement that the mother be in work or study for the father to use the shared weeks has been removed for the quota; the father’s quota has never depended on the mother’s activity.
If you run a team in Norway
Send the income report to NAV when the employee applies, and decide whether you pay salary and claim the benefit or let NAV pay directly; salary above 6G is your call unless an agreement binds you. Grant the two weeks of care leave at the birth, the leave periods that match the benefit, and up to 12 months of unpaid leave per parent afterwards. Dismissal during pregnancy and leave is unlawful unless clearly unrelated. Holiday accrues in full during periods with parental benefit.
If you work in Norway
Apply to NAV about four to six weeks before you want to start, and tell your employer as early as possible — at least four weeks before leave of more than 12 weeks. Decide with the other parent between 49 weeks at 100% and 59 at 80%; the quotas cannot be transferred except in defined cases. If you earn more than 6G, check whether your employer tops up.
Parental leave and annual leave
Holiday pay accrues on parental benefit for up to 12 months per child under the Holiday Act, and the employer cannot schedule holiday during the leave without agreement.
The annual leave entitlement itself is covered on our Norway annual leave page — 21 working days minimum.
Keeping the record straight
Long leaves are where leave records go wrong quietly: holiday that kept accruing for months and was never credited, a return date nobody diarised, a reduced entitlement applied where the law forbids it. In Norway the rules above decide what is owed on return, and the record has to show it. A tracker like Leavo keeps the leave, the accrual and the approvals in one place so the return is a date, not a dispute. We compare the options in our leave management software guide, and the policy side — carryover, payout, accrual — in our guides.
Parental leave in Norway: common questions
Can the father take the mother’s quota?
Only in limited cases such as the mother’s illness. Each quota is reserved for its parent and lost if not used; only the shared 16 or 18 weeks can be divided freely.
Is the two-week care leave at the birth paid?
Not by the National Insurance Act. The Working Environment Act gives the right to be off; pay depends on the employment contract or collective agreement, and most Norwegian agreements pay it in full.
What is the difference between 100% and 80%?
The total benefit is roughly the same: 49 weeks at full coverage or 59 weeks at 80%, each capped at 6G. Choosing 80% lengthens the quotas to 19 weeks each and the shared period to 18.
Does annual leave accrue during maternity or parental leave in Norway?
Holiday pay accrues on parental benefit for up to 12 months per child under the Holiday Act, and the employer cannot schedule holiday during the leave without agreement.
Source
Primary source: Folketrygdloven chapter 14 (foreldrepenger); Arbeidsmiljøloven §§12-2 to 12-5 (leave rights). Benefit rates and ceilings change every year and collective agreements frequently improve on the statutory scheme — confirm against the current text before acting. See our methodology.