Leave

Brief information concerning leave

Specify leave if an employee is on full or partial leave from employment for 14 days or more. Applies to both continuous and non-continuous leave, as well as paid and unpaid leave.

You can specify all leave, including shorter leave of less than 14 days’ duration, but this is not a requirement.

The following are considered to constitute leave:

The list is not exhaustive

• Courses/studies etc. which are not required by an employer and which are granted in response to the employee's wishes
• Absence in connection with care allowance and training allowance which lasts more than 14 days.
• Leave after the end of a period with sickness benefit, e.g. upon transition to work assessment allowance
• Leave referred to in Section 12 of the Working Environment Act, such as pregnancy leave, maternity leave, parental leave, leave to care for children admitted to hospital or severely ill children, care of close relatives (if lasting more than 14 days in total), military service, civic duty.
• Course leave in accordance with tariff

The following are not considered to constitute leave:

• Courses, study, etc. which are either required or arranged by the employer
• Employees who are granted leave to work for another employer. In this case, you should state the end date for the employment. This is because the employer responsibility is transferred to a new employer.
• Employees who are ill and have to be off work because of a risk to the unborn child
• Employees who are at home with sick children (sick child days)

Partial leave

You must specify the leave if partial leave has been agreed and periods extend beyond 14 days. This will for example apply if leave of one day a week is agreed over the next ten weeks. In this case, you must specify a leave percentage of 20 during the period.

Several short periods of leave

In the case of several shorter periods of leave, you should specify this as leave if the leave collectively lasts for 14 days or more over a 12-month period.

Absence in connection with care allowance and sick child days

If an employee Is off work due to a sick child, the absence must not be reported as leave, even if it lasts for longer than 14 days. This type of absence is often referred to as ‘sick child days’. It does not matter whether the absence is covered by the employer or NAV.

Absence in order to care for a sick child or close relative which extends beyond sick child days must be reported as leave when it lasts more than 14 days. In such cases, the employee will receive care allowance from NAV under Section 9-10 or 9-13 of the National Insurance Act. Leave must also be reported if an employee is absent for more than 14 days due to training in looking after or caring for a sick child. In such cases, the employee will often be in receipt of training allowance from NAV.

Long-term illness

Less than 12 months:

If an employee has been on full or partial sick leave continuously for less than 12 months, you must not specify this as welfare leave. The sickness absence does not alter the information that you must give concerning the employment in the a-melding. This applies regardless of whether it is you or the employer who receives sickness benefit from NAV.  

More than 12 months:

If an employee has been on full or partial sick leave continuously for more than 12 months and the employment is not terminated, you must specify this as leave. Under the Working Environment Act, employees have a protected period of 12 months. From the date on which the employer considers the protection period to be over and he decides to continue the employment, this must be reported as leave. This is irrespective of any sick leave or entitlement to sickness benefit from NAV. The leave can be either paid or unpaid.

You must then specify leave corresponding to the normal working hours that the employee has been released from their obligation to work and for the period in excess of 12 months.

If the employee is 100 percent absent, you must specify the leave percentage as 100. This applies regardless of whether or not the employee is entitled to remuneration from the employer or whether the employee receives benefits from NAV.

Illness or other absence during pregnancy

If an employee is ill during pregnancy or is unable to work due to a risk to the unborn child and receives pregnancy benefit from NAV, you must not specify this as leave.

An employee who is pregnant may also be entitled to leave during their pregnancy which is not due to illness or a risk to the unborn child. This type of absence must be reported as welfare leave.

Is it mandatory

Yes, you must specify leave for all ordinary and maritime employment relationships when the employee is on leave.

You must not specify leave for freelancers, contractors and fee recipients or for pensions or other non-employment benefits.

The information you must provide

When you specify leave, each entry must include:

Leave with parental benefits

When an employee receives parental benefits from NAV.

Concerns:

• Maternity leave (the mother’s entitlement during the first six weeks after the birth) 
• Parental leave with parental benefits (both parents)

The leave period is agreed between the employee and the employer.

Leave in connection with military service

When an employee takes leave in connection with mandatory or voluntary military service, etc.

Education leave

In the case of paid and unpaid leave in connection with education. Concerns leave specified in a collective agreement for education and courses and studies that are not statutorily required and which the employee wishes to take.

Welfare leave

For all other types of leave which are not covered by the descriptions above. Applies to both paid and unpaid leave.

Examples:

• Leave of absence for nursing mothers
• Parental leave (leave for up to two years after the parental benefit period)
• Care of close relatives - care allowance
• Care of sick children - care allowance
• Absence in order to participate in training in caring for sick children
• Care leave (the entitlement of the father or another person who assists the mother to leave for two weeks in connection with birth)
• Religious holidays
• Civic duties
• Pregnancy check-ups
• Other type of absence granted by the employer

Description of leave up to and including 2017

For leave up to and including 2017, you must not use the leave descriptions above, but specify the description “leave” instead.

Leave ID

Leave ID is an identifier for the leave.

Specify a unique ID for the leave. The ID must not be reused and is not time-dependent. If you reuse an ID, what you reported previously will be replaced by what you later report under the same ID.

If you use a payroll or HR system, the leave ID will normally be generated when you create a new leave.

Several types of leave at the same time

If an employee has several types of leave during the same period, this should be specified as different types of leave with different leave IDs.  An example is a person who has 50 percent education leave at the same time as 20 percent parental leave. In this case, you must specify each of the leave types under a separate leave ID, period and percentage.

Work during a period of leave

If an employee works or is on a course for a number of days in the middle of a period of leave, the leave will not cease or be graded. Specify the combined leave with the same ID for the entire period.

From paid to unpaid leave

If a period of leave is altered from paid to unpaid, you must specify the same ID.

Switching payroll system or accountant

If you switch accountant, you will often have to switch to a new payroll system as well. When you switch your payroll system, you must transfer the information from one system to another. You can do this in one of three ways. For more information, see switching payroll system.

Note!
If you create a new leave ID in the new system, you will normally have to end the leave in the old system and set a new start date for the leave in the new system. The new start date must be the day after the end date in the old system.

Leave start date

Specify the date on which the leave starts and repeat the start date in each a-melding for as long as the leave continues.

Leave end date

Specify the date on which the leave ends.

You can state an end date in the future if the date is known. You must then repeat the end date in each a-melding for as long as the leave continues.

From leave to holiday or illness

If an employee switches straight from leave to either holiday or sickness absence, you must end the leave. In such cases, the employee shall be regarded as in work even if they are not physically working. However, holiday or sickness absence during the leave period has no effect on the leave you are reporting.

From leave to strike or lockout

If an employee switches straight from leave to strike or lockout, you must end the leave. In such cases, the employee should be regarded as in work even if they are not physically working.

Leave percentage

Specify the percentage that the leave represents of the employee's agreed full-time equivalent (FTE) percentage. The percentage must be specified as more than 0 (can only be used if you are deleting a leave) and not more than 100.

Examples

Kari is employed in a part-time position with an FTE percentage of 80. She is on 50% leave from this part-time position. Specify 50 as the leave percentage.

Jacob has an agreement concerning a day off every Friday over a four-month period. The leave is not continuous, but the same period of leave (same reason) is spread over time. As it is more than 14 days from the start date of the leave until the end date, they must report the leave. During this period, Jacob has 20 percent leave from a full-time position (100 percent FTE).

When you must submit reports

Specify the leave starting no later than the calendar month in which the leave starts and repeat until the leave is concluded.

Changing the leave percentage

In order to change the leave percentage, end the existing leave ID with the date on which the change took effect. Specify a new leave ID, leave description, new leave percentage and start date.

Correcting errors

Deleting leave

You can delete erroneously reported leave in one of two ways.

1. Submit a new a-melding in which the start and end dates for the leave are set to the same date and the leave percentage is set to 0 percent.
   
   Use the same leave ID as used in the previous erroneous report(s). The Aa register must be able to unambiguously distinguish between leave lasting one day and an erroneously reported period of leave which is to be deleted. If you set the start date as equal to the end date and the leave percentage to 0 percent, this can be unambiguously interpreted in the register as the deletion of previously reported information.
   
   
2. Submit a replacement a-melding which does not include the erroneously reported leave. You must then replace all reporting periods in which the leave has been specified incorrectly.

What do we use the information for

NAV uses information concerning leave in its case processing. From 2019 onwards, NAV will use information concerning leave directly in automatic case processing. To ensure accurate and expedient case processing, the accurate reporting of information as soon as it becomes known will be vital. In some cases, employees may be entitled to benefits from NAV even if they are on leave.  You should ideally report information concerning leave as soon as possible, so that NAV is able to reach decisions using accurate information.

Statistics Norway (SS) uses the information to determine who is regarded as being employed.

Information on leave is transferred to the Aa Register.